FreakAuth_light®

You can drive in Nicaragua on your valid foreign drivers license
for a 30-day period only. To get a Nicaraguan drivers' license,
you must first be a resident, then apply for a license at the local
police station.
A stretch of the Pan-American Highway


Pacific Coast Tourism Highway Coming
By Tim Rogers
Tico Times Nicaragua Correspondent
MANAGUA ­ Over the last several years, hackneyed tales of Nicaragua's
elusive, yet-to-be-built Pacific coast highway ­ or the Carretera Costanera
­ have been based more of hopeful fantasy than fact.
It has become the chimera of the real-estate world; something that people
whisper about in private confines of their homes, but don't discuss much
in public, for fear of being exposed as gullible or hallucinatory.
But hear ye: she be real.
THE 131-kilometer tourism highway has officially entered into the nine-
month Design and Planning Stage, which is being funded by an $800,000
loan from the Central American Economic Integration Bank.
Construction is scheduled to begin early next year. And, if all goes
according to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure's (MTI)
timetable, the two-lane highway will be opened in 2008.
The highway, according to preliminary blueprints obtained by The Nica
Times, will parallel Nicaragua's Pacific coast from Masachapa in the north,
to "Los Mojones" on the Costa Rican border, southeast of Peñas Blancas,
near Punta Salinas.
Costa Rican authorities, meanwhile, reportedly are studying the possibility
of extending the paved coastal highway inland to the northern town of La
Cruz, Costa Rica's last stop on the Inter-American Highway before the
Nicaraguan border.
The possibility ­albeit preliminary ­ of extending the road into Costa Rica
creates the possibility of opening a new border crossing with Nicaragua.
BUT all that is several years (at least) into the future.
And those who are dubious the project will ever be christened, have history
to justify their dubiety.
Nicaragua first started studying the prospect of constructing the Pacific
coast highway in the 1940s, as the original proposed rout for the Inter-


American Highway. It was judged infeasible, and the current rout was
chosen, paralleling the western shore of Lake Nicaragua.
Since then, technology has improved and motives have changed.
In 2002, the Costanera project was again thawed and brought back to life.
This time for tourism.
NICARAGUA'S Pacific coast is booming with development, anchored by
the popular beach town San Juan del Sur, which attracts close to 300,000
tourists per year.
There are now a total of nine major tourism attractions on the coast,
which, in the words of MTI's planification director Ernesto Téllez: "Make
you forget you're in Nicaragua."
The tourism developments are, from north to south: Masachapa,
Pochomil, La Boquita, Casares, Huehuete, Astillero, Brito, San Juan del
Sur, and Ostional. Nicaragua's Pacific coast attracts 646,000 tourists
annually, justifying a tourism highway to connect the dots, according to the
government.
"THERE is enormous potential in this cluster of tourism," said Téllez,
who is overseeing the Design and Planning state of the Costanera. "The
new highway will continue to help development along the coast."
According to Téllez, the Costanera will not be a high-velocity highway, but
more of a scenic tourist drive.
But real-estate agents claim that the highway ­ regardless of speed limit ­
will accelerate the appreciation of neighboring property values by as much
as 60% in the first couple years.
THE highway will have to bypass two costal nature reserves, and the exact
rout is still being determined with consideration to which properties it will
have to traverse.
The MTI admits it will most likely have to pay indemnification to some
private land owners. This is a serious consideration in the planning of the
highway, whose construction will cost as estimated $47 million.
The project will also include the paving of several other already existing
dirt roads, or roads in current disrepair, connecting the Costanera to the
Inter-American Highway.


People drive aggressively ­ and often foolishly ­ in Nicaragua, so
you need to be very aware of other vehicles at all times, especially
if you are not familiar with the streets.
At nighttime, many of the streets are poorly lit, or not lit at all.
This makes driving even more dangerous, considering the
potholes, animals and drunks staggering home from the bar
along the side of the road.
You can drive from the States or Canada to Nicaragua. If you
decide to make the journey purchase the guidebook, Driving the
Pan-American Highway to Mexico and Central America
. You can
now order this one-of-a-kind book by writing to Costa Rica
Books, SJO 981, P.O.Box 025216, Miami Fl 33102-5216,
through http://www.amazon.com, calling 800-365-2342 toll
free or see the ad in Chapter 7.
Nicargaua has about 18,000 miles of roads of which 25% are
paved.
Expect to get flagged over from time to time by Transito police
who operate roadside checkpoints. Make sure all your paper
work is in order and handy. It is a bad idea to try to bribe cops;
it is illegal and could get you in more trouble than you are
already in.
Be very careful when driving in Managua or any other cities.
Many streets in Nicaragua are narrow, one-way and very crowded
due to heavy traffic. When in doubt always yield the right of way.
Some names of streets are not on signposts, but tacked to signs
on corner buildings. Still other streets don't even have signs, or
names, at all.





Drive slowly and cautiously and always be on the look out for
pedestrians and bicyclers, especially in pedestrian cities such as
Granada.
IN the countryside, be careful when exploring unknown roads
that are not paved, especially during the rainy season, when roads
can quickly turn into rivers.