NICARAGUA PRACTICALITIES

Facts and Figures

At 129,494 square kilometers, Nicaragua is Central America’s largest country. From it’s Nahualts roots (Nic-atl-nahuac) the name means “aquí junto al agua” or “here near the water”.

Area: 129,494 square kilometers

Population: 5,000,000

Population density: 42 per sq km

Capital: Managua

Passport/Visa requirements

Visitors must have a passport with a minimum validity of six months. No visa is required by nationals of European Union countries. Other passport owners should contact the Trips office for more information.

Geography

An extraordinary landscape of volcanoes, lakes, mountains and vast plains of rainforest. Most of the population lives in the hot, relatively dry and fertile pacific lowlands which are covered with plains, lakes and volcanoes, several still active. The mountainous central region is distinctly different, with a much cooler climate. Beautiful beaches can be found on both the pacific and atlantic sides. The Caribbean coast is more humid and covered with tropical forest. Most of  the mountains are located in the northern part of the country where coffee & tobacco plantations can be found.

Climate

Hot and dry in the pacific coast, cooler in the northern mountain area and hot and humid on the Caribbean side.Summer is from November to April (dry season, no rain) and winter is from May to November (still warm but rainy season).

Langauge

The official language is Spanish. A basic knowledge of the language is preferable as many people do not speak English. On the Carribean coast, English is more widely spoken.

Money

Currency is the Cordoba, set at US$1 = 15.76 cordobas. Any bank in Nicaragua will change US dollars to Cordobas, and vice versa, and while dollars are accepted, change will always be given in Cordobas. Cost of living is low, especially outside the capital.

Religion

Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5%

Time

GMT –6 hours

Electricity

110 Volts, 60 Hz. Visitors from Europe an some other countries will need both a converter and an adapter with two parallel flat pins (as the used in North America) for any appliances they plan to bring along. Many rural areas have no electricity.

Brief History

Unlike its neighbours, Nicaragua’s pre-columbian history is far from evident today. Indian settlements were smaller, and more wide spread than in Guatemala for instance, allowing the Spanish conquistatdores to easily infiltrate. Only along the Atlantic coast are there any signs of indiginous culture.

For this reason, some say that Nicaraguan history begins with the arrival of the Spanish, because since then the country has seen civil war, revolution, poverty, more war and a couple of natural disasters until now at last it has reached a state of stable democracy.

Initially invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the conservatives, an American named William 

Walker and his "filibusters" seized the presidency in 1856. The liberals and conservatives united to drive him out of office in 1857, after which a period of three decades of conservative rule ensued.

With the exception of a 9-month period in 1925-26, the United States maintained troops in Nicaragua from 1912 until 1933. From 1927 until 1933, U.S. Marines stationed in Nicaragua engaged in a running battle with rebel forces led by renegade liberal Gen. Augusto Sandino, who rejected a 1927 negotiated agreement brokered by the United States to end the latest round of fighting between liberals and conservatives.

After the departure of U.S. troops, National Guard Cmdr. Anastasio Somoza Garcia out-maneuvered his political opponents, including Sandino who was assassinated by National Guard officers, and took over the presidency in 1936. Somoza, and two sons who succeeded him, maintained close ties with the U.S. The Somoza dynasty ended in 1979 with a massive uprising led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which, since the early 1960s, had conducted a lowscale guerrilla war against the Somoza regime.

The FSLN established an authoritarian dictatorship soon after taking power. U.S.-Nicaraguan relations deteriorated rapidly as the regime nationalized many private industries, confiscated private property, supported Central American guerrilla movements, and maintained links to international terrorists. The United States suspended aid to Nicaragua in 1981. The Reagan administration provided assistance to the Nicaraguan Resistance and in 1985 imposed an embargo on U.S.-Nicaraguan trade.

The country reached a stable democracy over 12 years ago. A president is elected every 5 years, as well as the Congress members. The army has been reduced to 12 000 persons, and participates in many social works as the country is perfectly stable. Tourism is a national priority for the government. They offer many incentives, including hospitality chains like the Holiday Inn Select, Intercontinental and others who have opened luxury and modern hotels.

Natural History

Home to mammals, butterflies and bird life, cloud forests with unique orchids, and coastal mangroves inhabited by crocodiles and turtles. Volcanoes, the world’s biggest fresh water lake, and tropical dry forest reserves, home to more than 800 nesting parakeets,  howler monkeys, ocelots and agoutis.

Music

Marimba, merengue, and more recently Reggaeton (a hybrid- overtly sexual form of dancehall which has taken Nicaragua by storm) are most heard in Nicaragua. There are a number of popular dances for couples, for example: La Vaca (the cow), La Yeguita (the mare), and El Toro (the Bull). The folklore capital is Masaya. The Caribbean coast is a totally different cultural region. The English speaking black people of Jamaican origin have a maypole dance, and their music is typically Afro-Caribbean.

Getting around

The Pacific side has good roads and infrastructure and is currently getting modernized in a spectacular and very efficient manner. The capital of Managua is located 1 hour away from Granada, from the beach and the Montelimar Beach Resort and is only 2 hours away from the northern border of Costa Rica, through the Pan-American Highway. The Caribbean side is slightly less developed with two main cities, Bluefields and Puerto Cabezas. 3 different air companies offer domestic flights to the main cities and tourist areas in the Caribbean side.

Essentials

Shopping

In Nicaragua’s commercial hub, Masaya there are two markets: El Mercado Viejo (completely aimed at tourists, relatively overpriced, but with a wide variety of true ‘Nica’ artisanery- colourful paintings of large ladies holding watermelons, wooden egg cups, hammocks and purses made from stuffed frogs!) and El Mercado Central, which is where the locals buy 

fruit and veg, cheap clothes, make up, cosmetics, and just about anything else they can think of selling-It is a real Nicaraguan experience, so enter if you dare. Bigger towns like Granada, Managua and Leon have quite large supermarkets where you will be able to pick up most European goods.

Airport Departure

Departure tax is US$25 on all departures which must be paid at the airport. Ask your hotel to reconfirm your flights 2 days before departure. Although some airlines say there is no need to do this, they may change their schedules without warning, so you need to check the times are the same.

Communications

Th internet is widely available in all main cities, and some smaller towns. Airmail to Europe takes 2 to 4 weeks. Phone lines are owned by Empresa Nicaraguense de telecomunicaciones (Enitel). Automatic national phonecalls are possible from any phone. Phone cards are available from petrol stations, supermarkets, and some shops. International calls can be made at any Enitel office, 07002200.

Useful Numbers

From Nicaragua to the UK: 00 44 +area code less the 0 + number

To Nicaragua from abroad: The international code is 505

Media

All newspapers are published in Managua, but many are widely available throughout the country: Dailies are La Prensa (the country’s best, especially for coverage of events outside Managua) El Nuevo Diario (centre-left and sensationalist) and La Noticia (right-wing government paper). Cable television is becoming increasingly widespread over the country, so international news can be picked up.

Food and Drink

However humble, Nicaraguans are proud of their food. The staples (which are eaten at every meal, even breakfast) are rice and beans- either eaten seperately: ‘aroz y frijoles’, or as a combination, which is called ‘gallopinto’. Plantains (‘platanos’) are cooking bananas, and can be eaten in their green, yellow or black stages. A favourite way of cooking them are frying them to create ‘tostones’. Cheese is white, unpasteurised and salty (but very tasty), and favourite main dishes include:

Nacatamal: a dough which is prepared with grinded corn and butter, filled up with pieces of pork or chicken, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, sweet pepper, and packed in leaves of plantain trees (which are not edible!)

Indio Viejo: meat is prepared with onions, garlic, sweet pepper and tomato. In addition, some tortillas are put into water and this has to be grinded until they form dough. The meat is shredded and then fried with vegetables, the dough, and orange juice.

Quesillo: A piece of cheese placed in a tortilla. This is then wrapped up and salad (cabbage and union) is placed on top. The finishing touch is the fresh cream.

By the coast fresh fish is served whole, deep fried and served with a rich tomato and garlic sauce.. On the Altlantic coast food is sweeter and spicier (more distinctly Caribbean). Rice is often cooked in coconut milk, and fresh coconut bread is delicious.

Local beers are Tona, and Victoria-both relatively weak but tasty. Flor de Cana rum, is about the only other thing Nicaraguans drink (apart from lots and lots of sweet black coffee). And the custom, when you’re out on the tiles, is to buy the whole bottle, which comes with coke, ice and lots of lime, and share it with your friends.

‘Refrescos’ are the wonderful, refreshing fruity drinks made with a vast array of exciting fruits, and sometimes grains, seeds and liquidised with coloured milk (chicha), cinamon and sugar.

What to pack

Unless you are going into the cooler mountain areas, Nicaragua is going to be hot hot hot. Pack light linen items of clothing in preparation: shorts, vest tops, and cool, loose-fitting garmets are ideal, but not forgetting that it is seen as inappropriate to reveal too much flesh.Practical walking shoes, sport sandals, or trainers with a  rugged sole are useful if you plan on heading out into the wilds, and if you’r after a bit of wildlife, don’t forget the binoculars. If you are visiting Ometepe or the Caribbean side, perhaps take a mask and snorkel. Mosquito nets, repellent and aloe vera are vital in most areas. For extra remote areas, a torch is useful, as there may be no electricity after a certain time. And if you’re going Bluefields and the Caribbean, don’t forget your raincoat-especailly during the months of

May to November.

Warning

Nicaragua has a reputation as an unsafe country. The civil war in the 80’s, placed the country in the headlines for a long time. However, times have changed. According to a survey of the UN, Nicaragua is the 2nd safest country in Latin America after Uruguay.

The people of Nicaragua are honest and respectable. On local buses, if you dare to travel on one, do not be alarmed if a young man disappears with your money (it is always best to carry small change), he has simply gone around the whole bus trying to look for the correct change. Parts of Managua leave much to be desired, and taxi drivers (who are often struggling to feed their families) are reknowned for over-charging foreigners, but rather than feeling threatened, you are more likely to feel welcomed with open arms into Nicaragua.

When it comes to health, many people find their digestive systems react differently to the Nicaraguan diet. The main thing to bear in mind is that water is not safe to drink, unless purified. In all good hotels, bars, restaurants etc the ice cubes will be made from purified water. From street vendors, watch out for peeled fruit, salads and meat.