December 27, 2017 – Corinto, Nicaragua

One of Central America’s most visually arresting countries, Nicaragua is blanketed with

vast expanses of tropical jungle and smoking volcanoes. They have 24 volcanos with 17 of them still active. The highest is San Cristobel, which is 740 meters in height. Nearly 20 percent of this nature-loving nation is protected as parks and reserves. Its Pacific coast is home to the largest freshwater lakes in Central America: Lake Managua (named for the nearby capital) and Lake Nicaragua. The latter is famous for its rare resident freshwater sharks. Home to dozens of volcanoes, Nicaragua claims some of the most fertile soils on Earth and its farming culture has thrived for centuries. Many of the country’s fincas, or coffee plantations, open their doors so visitors can see how the beloved bean is grown, harvested and roasted.

As we came into the harbor there was a point with a lighthouse and a statue. The statue was of a man, but could not read what his name was.

Our tour today was to Colonial Leon, which was a former capital of Nicaragua. It is one of the country’s most important cities for its rich culture and history. The city was established on its present site after an earthquake destroyed the old town in 1609. The reason it was moved from its precious site, called Old Leon, was because the mayor killed the bishop as he was going to report him for misdeeds. The people said the earthquake was to punish them for what the mayor did, hence they had to move the capital.

The major industries here are tourism, cows (everything to do with them), mining (gold and silver) and coffee. Unfortunately Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America, next to Haiti. However, they are a very relaxed people with 80 holidays a year. Private industry does not observe them all, but government does. The extended families all live together in one house, as they cannot afford any more. Our guide said that about 70% of the people live on $1-2 per day. Here are some of the sights, read the signs carefully, as we went for another 1.5-hour bus ride across the country.

Today, Leon’s old architecture is lovingly preserved. Single-floor houses are topped with brick and wood roofs and colonial-era streets evoke the spirit of Spain. We visited the colonial-baroque Metropolitan Cathedral, also called the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of León. The largest in Central America, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is the final resting place of Rubén Darío, the father of Modern Spanish Literature.

The cathedral is beautiful, but the interesting thing is that you can go and walk on the roof of the cathedral. Here are the pictures we took, both in the church and up on the roof.

Across the street from the church there were vendors and lots of people having a good time. Notice the picture of the boy walking with a plastic bag in his hand. In it is his Coke. They take the soda and pour it into a plastic bag, add ice, stick a straw in it and tie it.

So, the surprise of this tour was when we got back to the ship. A large number of the crew were out there welcoming us back as well as serving us champagne.