BACKPACKER'S JOURNAL 12

NICARAGUA PART 1

When i arrived to Managua, Nicaragua I have already noticed the big poverty levels present in the country. Driving for almost 5 hours through its lands enabled me to see the struggles that locals have to face everyday. Costa Rica even though still listed as one of the poorest countries in the world, seems to prosper much better because of its high levels of tourism and foreign investments. Nevertheless the beauty of Nicaragua should never be estimated by the amount of dollars floating through the wallets of its citizens or to be compared to its Tica neighbour. This country has a lot to offer and I for one of the many others, was about to experience and to see it all.

The picture below shows the famous Nicaraguan trees. It was an investment made by the current president to show to the people of NIcaragua that their country prospers well. The entire project wasn't taken well by the public as it costed them a lot of money and all of the Nicaraguans are aware of the the economic problems their country is facing, therefore it was stated by the public that it was an unnecessary expense . For me however it was a good decision as it definitely brightens the city, making it less depressive.

Managua is the capital of Nicaragua and it remains to be the place that is always being left unexplored by many travellers. Most of these wanderers follow the guide books which in fact don't mention much about the capital. I was one of these people, however i never used printed guides. I for a change, listened to opinions of others and partly followed it. I only realised later how bad this really was for my backpacking adventure.

I arrived to Managua very late at night and normally I would decide to take a taxi straight to my hostel but when i got off the bus in UCA terminal for some strange reason I felt there safer than even back home. I have decided to do something I promised myself I won't ever do and so I opened my map and started walking towards my hostel at night, in the country that according to all of the statistics of the European countries I shall die within minutes.

I have walked past buildings that should be reconstructed immediately, yet still people lived in there. I walked past businesses that seemed to stop offering their services ages ago. I walked past people sleeping on pavements, stairs, roofs, roads. The impact of that image will stay with me forever. After all when you see a 5 year old girl, taking water from the paddle on the street, dogs eating the leftovers of another dog and people eating whatever they find on the road. I don't think a human can remain the same. I read about all of this at home, in the very moment when i was mapping my travel steps but i never truly imagined how one feels when one sees it all. I never imagined how I will feel like to see it.

Although people in NIcaragua have very little , it seemed as if they had more than most of the europeans. I was astonished to notice that all of the people I met or spoke to were extremely happy and positive about their lives. They had so little and yet still they shared it with you with the smile on their faces. You could read their honesty in their eyes. I fell in love with them at that point.

I haven't taken any photographs during that night because my camera isn't good enough to capture anything in low light conditions but all of the pictures in this post had been taken the next day so I hope you will enjoy them.