Affordable, safe (believe it) and undiscovered (though not for long), Nicaragua is the next great eco-travel destination. F&W's Jen Murphy checks out its wildlife and nightlife.
For many, watching a volcano spout lava 1,000 meters in the air is exciting enough. But true thrill seekers might prefer to actually slide down the side of active volcanoes at 50mph on a plank of wood.
Yes, this option is now available.
After spending time in beautiful and gritty Nicaragua, it's easy to understand why North Americans clamour to go back again.
Though still a developing country and about two decades behind Costa Rica's thriving tourism industry, over the past 20 years it has transformed itself into one of the safest and fastest-growing countries in Latin America.
CERRO NEGRO, Nicaragua — Peering down from atop the Cerro Negro volcano, it's easy to see how a daredevil on a bicycle earned a land speed record gliding down its cinder cone slope.
The drop is a stomach-churning 41-degree angle, for nearly 2,000 feet.
Tourists do it for fun.
Worried that the economy might put a crimp in your travel plans next year? Never fear: travel doesn’t have to break the bank. Your currency may be depressed, but that doesn’t mean you have to be; there are still many destinations around the world that can be enjoyed on the cheap.
As I prepared to hop on a plane to Nicaragua, a place I've never visited and have only cursory knowledge of, and Uncle Sam had me on edge.
THE WIND IS HOWLING, the bats are flying, and I’m on the wrong side of the zona de peligro—no pase sign, peering into what 16th-century Spanish priests considered to be the burning maw of hell.
(September/October 2010 issue)
The dollar goes a long way in Granada—and the breathtakingly beautiful landscape doesn't hurt either.
WaterWays Surf Adventures published a feature on surfing in Nicaragua: http://ww.surfline.com/surf-news/best-bet-may-nicaragua_55012
Looking for your own slice of heaven? Central and South America offer the unbeatable combination of warm weather and inexpensive real estate. And for Old World charm, you'll always have Paris.
Super-affordable: Nicaragua, specifically León, Granada and San Juan del Sur
"In a work of art, chaos must shimmer through the veil of order." ~ Novalis
Unthinkable not long ago to vacation in Nicaragua, but now, fully bathed in peace, and blessed with preternatural beauty, it is a beginning blip on the adventure travelers' radar; perhaps at the brink of a tourism revolution.
IT was June, the height of the Nicaraguan rainy season, and the sky was thick with clouds. Our small boat cut south through the wind-churned Pacific, rounding one bend, then another. The looming hills were green with shrubby trees and coastal grasses; where they met the water, layers of rock folded like cake frosting into the ocean.
ar faded from the nightly news broadcasts of network television, Nicaragua is about to make its return to prime-time TV in the United States. Only this time, the story is much more positive.
Starting July 15, the Emmy award-winning reality TV series Survivor will start filming its 21st season in various remote areas around San Juan del Sur.
Reporting from Altagracia, Nicaragua
On the road south from the international airport in Managua, Nicaragua swooshes by, unfurling in buzzing, humid green. Fields of swaying banana trees recede from the road in rows, the shaggy fronds bouncing against a searing blue sky.
(NOTE: visit this article online - there is an extensive gallery of photos from all over Nicaragua attached to this article)
It’s easy to see why Paul Rivers and Tyler Carpenter left the snow, cold, hustle and bustle behind back home in Canada.
When Dom Joly got a call from his agent he never dreamed it would lead to this ... skiing down a volcano in Nicaragua.
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua — Today, like every day, begins with a smoothie: a blend of pineapple, melon, banana, passion fruit, papaya, yogurt, nuts and pitaya, a Central American delicacy responsible for the bright magenta coloring of the drink in Bob Schmidt’s hand.
(Tropical Retirement: Nicaragua wants to become a hot new retirement destination.)
MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Responding to an increasingly complicated and competitive market in times of global economic downturn, the government of Nicaragua is changing its game plan.
In Nicaragua, three months into the rainy season usually means few tourists. But not this year.
In the first five months of 2009, tourism in Nicaragua grew by 11 percent, even as most of the world experienced a downward trend.
(Surf's Up: San Juan del Sur's real estate market is catching a second wave.)
SAN JUAN DEL SUR – Surfers bobbing in the lineup off the beach at San Juan del Sur know that if they miss one wave, another one is sure to come along.
The rules for investment, however, are usually trickier: you either stay ahead of the wave, watch it go by, or get crushed by it.
If you've already done the "easy" central american destinations like Costa Rica and Belize and want to try something a little more adventuresome (and a little cheaper), you may be surprised how far Nicaragua's tourism infranstructure has come in a few short years.
In a country where history is alive and always present, T+L finds well-preserved colonial towns and remnants of the 1970’s revolution, teeming jungles, white-sand beaches, and charming Caribbean hideaways.
The last time I was in Granada, Nicaragua, was in 1984. My “solidarity gringo” friends and I, in the country to support the embattled Sandinista revolution, were taking a break from the capital city of Managua, where it seemed like every other person had an automatic weapon slung over their shoulder.
THERE’S nothing quite like the sudden silence one experiences midway through the descent down a roughly 1,600-foot volcanic slope, having just somersaulted out of the pebble-scraping, air-rushing trajectory previously occupied by you and your volcano board.
News editor Paula Szuchman on the remote beaches of Nicaragua.
TOLA, Nicaragua – Nicaragua's Pacific coastline has all the natural ingredients needed for a golf boom: there are large swaths of unused land that have been cleared by generations of cattle raising, abundant supplies of fresh water and rain, year-round sun and tropical weather, and stunning ocean views.
Nicaragua was featured in the March 2009 issue of GQ Magazine:
... Yes, the financial forecast is grim, but that doesn't mean you have to deny youself a sunny escape. Get to Central America, where the wave riding, cerveza sipping, and beach bumming come cheap and easy ...
(download the pdf to read the full article)
Fourteen years ago, on my first trip to Costa Rica, I agreed to check out some land a Canadian expat was selling. Zancudo Peninsula. One lot back from a rustic beach. Lush hills. Thirty grand -- or, about $29,500 more than I had. I excused myself to catch some waves, and ever since have tried very hard not to dwell on how much that parcel must have appreciated.
Ruth Chapman is a runner-up in the adventure category of our travel writing competition with her tale of volcano boarding in Nicaragua.
Finding holiday joy far from Europe — in Nicaragua
Travel writer Rick Steves goes afar for holiday celebrations — to La Purisima festival in the city of Leon, Nicaragua
By
Tribune Media Services
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