Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
Where do the inhabitants of León, Nicaragua, go to if they need some time off at the beach? It is most probably Las Peñitas – a fishermen’s village located just twenty kilometers (or one hour in a chicken bus) from León. It is named after the rocks spread in some parts of the beautiful sand beach which is used for surfing. Along the beach you’ll find lots of relaxed bars and hotels; the sundown there is simply awesome.
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The Volcán Masaya is the most heavily venting volcano of Nicaragua. While the lava is continuously bubbling you’re nevertheless allowed to get up and have a look into the crater. The mountain is 635 meters high and pre-Columbian civilizations called it the ‘burning mountain’ (Popogatepe). Its eruptions have been seen as a sign of enraged gods and therefore children and virgins have been offered to calm them – not the last time that people fell into the hot lava.
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Whether you want to buy some souvenirs like a tourist or buy some shoes, toys or food: shopping is different in Nicaragua and it mostly happens at markets outside. A good place to learn about this is Masaya where they have two markets, one for tourists and one for locals. But first you’ll have to find them in this confusing and busy city known for the artisan production of hammocks.
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If you want to enjoy the best view on the Laguna de Apoyo, the lake inside a former volcano crater west of Granada, you’ll have to visit the Mirador de Caterina. It belongs to the city of Catarina in the Masaya region and sits on top of the mountain range surrounding the lagoon. As you can guess the Calle hacia El Mirador guides you to your destination and at the end there is a paid parking area and lots of seats on which you can enjoy sundown over the lake.
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The Laguna de Apoyo west of Granada, Nicaragua, is a little piece of heaven: a sweet water lake inside a former volcano. The region is a nature protection area but around the lake you’ll find a hand full of hotels and hostels blending into the forest. Some people just get here for a day trip. The hotels allow entrance for a small fee, you can use their facilities and are well-catered. But to be honest: it is best to stay here for some days, go swimming for sunrise and enjoy the natural beauty inside the crater.
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When you’re leaving the city center of Granada, Nicaragua, to the east you’ll reach the Malécon at the Cocibolca lake. Don’t expect a promenade with many people passing along or bars and restaurants. It is the chance to have a look at the lake or to get onto the pier to catch a ship going to the Isletas, to Zapatera or Ometepe. If you want to have a drink you need to walk along the shore further to the south, to a place flagged as Centro Turístico.
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People sitting on benches chatting, children chasing pigeons, merchants selling their products on a small market, horse carriages waiting for passengers to jump in. The Parque Central of Granada, Nicaragua, is as usual in colonial cities the heart of the town, the living room, the meeting place. Bars, restaurants and hotels surround this place which makes a good starting point for a visit to the city. Fountains and statues, dedicated to national poet Rubén Darío, to the country Nicaragua and to mothers in general decorate the place.
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The Cocibolca or Lago de Nicaragua is the second-largest inland lake in Latin America after Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and Peru. It stretches from the border to Costa Rica in the south to the city of Granada in the north. The water of the lake runs through the Río San Juan into the Caribbean Sea and this river can also be used by larger ships. That was discovered in 1525 by the Spanish, but also in the 17th century by pirates attacking the city of Granada.
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In the east of Ciudad de México you’ll find Chapultepec, the hill of the grasshoppers. It is a large garden and an important recreation zone for the people living in this vast capital city. It was a settlement area of the early cultures of the Toltecs and Aztecs. Today it contains a lake with many restaurants, a zoological garden, a botanical garden, a castle and lots of museums – including the famous Museo Nacional de Antropologia.
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Do you remember the opening scene of Spectre by Sam Mendes? When Daniel Craig as James Bond hunts terrorists on the Día de los Muertos in Ciudad de México? The filming location was the Plaza de la Constitución, most often referred to as the Zócalo. It is the main square of the city and a tradition of colonial times: Latin American cities all have such a central square (that is most often called Plaza de Armas). In CDMX this place once hosted a memorial for Spanish king Carlos IV during colonial times which was removed after the Mexican independence and only the base or socket (Spanish: Zócalo) remained.
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