Latin America Collection

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, and has probably
had the most tumultous history of all the Central American counties. The
present population of the country is around 4,000,000 people. An
archaeological site in the capital city of Managua has revealed evidence of
civilization having existed here some 10,000 years ago. It appears that the
population was buried in the ash of a volcano as the people were trying to
flee its eruption.

The first contact Europeans had with Nicaraguans was when Columbus
came to the Caribbean coast in 1502 on his fourth voyage. Later when the
Spaniards came to Nicaragua in 1522, they followed the Río San Juan up
to Lake Nicaragua, where they found the southern shores of the lake
populated by Indians.

Much later during the California Gold Rush of 1848, the gold seekers
wanted to find a quicker and safer way to reach California from the East.
By sailing to San Juan del Norte, a sea-port on the Caribbean, which was
the outlet of Río San Juan, they could go up this navigable river to Lake
Nicaragua, then across the lake to the port of San Jorge. From there it was
only about 20 km by stagecoach to the Pacific sea-port of San Juan del Sur,
where they boarded waiting ships on to California. The American tycoon
Cornelius Vanderbilt operated the steamship company that carried
passengers across Lake Nicaragua. Later, this route was considered very
carefully as the route to build a canal across the isthmus. This canal was
later built in Panama. Since then there have been rumors of several countries
building a new canal across Nicaragua after the Panama Canal reverts back
to Panamanian control at the end of this century.

One historical note of interest. In the mid-1850's an American by the
name of Willim Walker with a small band of followers took over the
government of Nicaragua and held power for over a year. His idea was to
make Central America a colony of the U.S. He was later driven from power
an eventually excuted.

In 1937 the infamous Somoza family came into power. The first of the
Somozas was Anastasio Somoza Garcia Commander of the National Guard,
who overthrew the elected government and took power as President. He
amassed a great fortune and had land holdings larger than the country of
El Salvador. It is said that he virtually owned the whole country. Anastio
Somoza was assassinated in 1956, and was succeeded by his oldest son, Luis
Somoza Debayle, who subsequently died in 1967. His younger brother,
Anastio Somoza Debayle took over.

In 1974 the Sandinistas were founded in opposition to Somoza. Fighting
continued until the Sandinistas won and marched triumphantly into
Managua on July 19, 1979. The armed struggle continued all through the
1980s between the Sandinistas and the opposing Contras. In 1988, President
Oscar Arias Sánchez of Costa Rica proposed the final peace plan that was
signed by the Presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala
and Honduras. For his work on this peace plan, Arias was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize.

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was elected President in 1990, and peace
was somewhat restored to this embattled nation. There have occasional
flare-ups of sporadic violence from time to time, so is best to check for
travel advisorys from the U.S. State Department before you decide to enter
the country. However, we have never heard of any Americans being affected
byNicaragua's politcal problems while travelling through the country by
car.

The good news is that peace has virtually come to all of the regions
former "hot spots". You shouldn't have any problems. The last country to
end its civil war was Guatemala at the end of 1996. You should plan to follow
the Pan-American Highway through this country , and only drive during
day.

Like the other Central American countries, except El Salvador, and
Belize, Nicaragua stretches from the Caribbean side to the Pacific Ocean.
The country three distinct different regions:
THE CARIBBEAN REGION
is characterized by a wide coastal plain
and is the largest in Central America, averaging 50 miles in width. It has
many rivers and lagoons with dense tropical rain forests, and is sparsely
populated.
THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION
is composed of the high mountains
and valleys which are more sparsely populated than the coastal areas, but
supplies about one quarter of the agriculture products of the country. The
highest point in Nicaragua--Pico Mogotón (6898 feet) is in this area.
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THE PACIFIC COAST REGION
is a low-land plain that is hot, fertile
and stretches along the Pacific Coast. This area contains several volcanoes.
Some of them are San Cristóbal(5724 feet), Concepión (5281 feet),
Momotombo (4198 feet) and Masaya or Santiago (4471 feet). Lake Nicaragua
is the largest lake in Central America and has the only fresh water sharks
in the world. They were cut off from the ocean in ancient times when the
lake became landlocked after an earthquake.
MANAGUA
with a population of almost one million is the capital of
Nicaragua. Located on the shore of Lake Managua, the city is less than
200 feet above sea level, so it has an average daytime temperature of 88
degrees. Over twenty-five percent of the population of the country lives
in Managua. The center of the city was vritually destroyed by the earthquake
of 1976 and further damaged during the revolution of 1978-79. There are
some notable old buildings and a couple of museums. Boats can be hired
to visit the still-smoking Momotombo volcano on the shore of Lake
Managua, west of the city near León. There are several resorts on the Pacific
side about an hour's driving time from Managua. They are Pochomil,
Masachapa
, Cesares and La Boquita.

LEON
is located northwest of the city of Managua. It was founded in
1524 and is one of the oldest cities in Nicaragua. It is located on the shore
of Lake Managua at the foot of the Moomotombo volcano. Eruptions from
the volcano have damaged the city several times, the latest being in 1992.
GRANADA
is Nicaragua's oldest city and the country's third city of
importance. It was built by the Spaniards in 1523 on the shores of Lake
Nicaragua at the foot of Mombacho volcano. Much of the old city was
burned to the ground by William Walker in 1856. This city has always had
access to the Caribbean via Lake Nicaragua and the Río San Juan, and
originally became the principal trading city with Europe. It has many
interesting old Spanish buildings.
LAKE NICARAGUA
is the largest lake in Central America. It has many
islands which you can visit by boat. The Isla de Ometepec is a double
island with two volcanoes--Volcano Concepción (5281 feet), and Volcano
Madera
(4395 feet). Mt. Conception last erupted in 1983.

RIVAS
is the last city of importance on the Pan-American Highway or
CA-1 before leaving Nicaragua to enter Costa Rica. Again, be sure to have
all of your papers in order before you cross the border at Peñas Blancas.
COSTA RICA ROUTES MAP



Property in Nicaragua
Sunshine Estates offer a wide selection of property in Nicaragua. Visit them to find the best in beach real estate for living or investing.