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What a Difference a Decade Makes

Nicaragua - Revisited

Story and Photos By

Sandra Scott

 

A decade ago my husband I sat in our hotel room overlooking the small Nicaraguan harbor town of San Juan del Sur and agreed there was no need to ever return. The hotel, the best in town at that time, had all the ambiance of the Bates Motel. Other than brilliant sunsets the small town had little to offer. The crescent beach was littered with debris, a rusting hulk of a ship lazed lopsided on the beach with a sign, “Do not urinate on the beach.” That alone was enough strengthened our resolve to check San Juan del Sur off our “we-have-to-return-some-day” list.

But resolutions are made to be broken. A decade later the view from 4-star Pelican Eyes Hotel showed a different San Juan. The harbor was dotted with small yachts, fishing boats and sailing boats. High on the hill

Narcome - Sailing on the Crater Lake
to the right of the protected harbor expensive private homes afford their owners a sweeping view of the ocean. The area is abuzz with building and energy. How things have changed! Pelican Eyes is a boutique hotel with unique free-form construction nestled among the jungle vegetation above the town. While eating a gourmet dinner al fresco by hotel’s infinity pool, we marveled at what a difference a decade makes. Two weeks driving around Nicaragua made us we realized not only can one go back, one should go back.

All travel starts in Managua. After thirty years of moldering in the tropical sun, the city center of Managua, leveled by the earthquake of 1972, is rising like the Phoenix. Blocks that were a grassy oasis for so many years now have malls, convention centers, new hotels, and fountains. In the city center, only the stark remains of the old cathedral destroyed during the ’72 quake, the Rubin Dario Theater, and a few other buildings stand as reminders of the past.

Another “survivor” of the ’72 quake is the Crown Plaza Hotel, still the “best of Nicaragua” when it comes to accommodations. The pyramid style makes it a Managua icon. Once its unique profile was visible from every part of the city center. Clearly it is still the top of the line when it comes to accommodations but now it shares the skyline with a massive convention center, a mall, and a casino.

Perhaps, the most intriguing site in Managua is the Acahualinca Museum. Here preserved forever are 10,000-year-old footprints of men, women, children, and animals desperately fleeing the deadly rain of volcanic ash.

Nicaragua is a country of lakes, volcanoes, and beaches. Between Managua and the colonial town of Granada are two volcanoes, one with a crater suitable for swimming! The waters of Laguna de Apoyo, a volcanic crater lake, are perfect for swimming and sailing. However the nearby Masaya Volcano is not. Visitors can peer into the crater of a smoldering volcano and visit the artisan market before continuing on to Granada, the jumping off site for travel on Lake Nicaragua.
Colonial Granada, the oldest city in the Western Hemisphere, is getting a new facelift. Located on the shore of Central America’s largest lake, the central plaza still has the ambiance of colonial times as horse and carriages go clip clopping along. Old buildings are getting a fresh coat of paint or being reinvented. The 19 th Century La (image 6- Gran Francia) Gran Francia, once a private home, is now a beautiful boutique hotel. The rooms surround the small pool with a feeling of privacy yet it is but steps from the Central Plaza. Boat rides to the Las Isletas are a do-not-miss.

North of Managua is the old capital, Leon. It is beginning to realize that their colonial heritage is a tourist draw. It is a city of churches and museums including the Metropolitan Cathedral where Ruben Dario, Nicaragua's famed poet, is buried. Adjacent to the San Francisco Church is El Convento, a new hotel with an old look. The central garden in manicured, the halls filled with colonial artifacts, and while the large rooms have the simplicity of a convent they also have all the conveniences of today. It is close to several museums, including the Museo de Arte Fundacion Ortiz-Gurdian, Nicaragua’s premiere art museum.
Church At Leon
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