I'll have to admit that before deciding to travel to Nicaragua the only thing that I knew about it was from Beavis' alter ego Cornholio (from the intellectually stimulating show "Beavis and Butthead") who hailed from Nicaragua.  And, yes, I will have to admit after seeing or hearing the word "Nicaragua" every day for 3 weeks, I still thought to myself "I need TP for my bunghole!"  What Beavis and Butthead failed to tell me (because everyone knows they taught me sooo much), was that Nicaragua is the best country in Central America hands down.  I guess that would be hard to slip that fact into the middle of constant penis and fart jokes.  In any case, why do I think Nicaragua is the best Central American country?  Let me count the ways.

1. Culture


I'll be the first to say that I don't understand 90% of the traditional Nicaraguan culture.  There are tones of folklore stories and traditional plays and dances to go with them.  Some have been explained to me, but I don't remember exactly what they mean or signify, but I can say that it's interesting to see people dressed as horses and people on stilts, dancing to the rhythm of a traditional song.  Someday I'll have to learn exactly what the hell I am watching and remember it.  In any case, points for Nicaragua for keeping old folklore around.

Speaking of music, there is a set of patriotic (and kinda leftist) songs that seem to play in every corner of the country.  If there's a live band, they're likely to strike up one of the songs with half the drunken crowd happily singing along.  It's also not uncommon to hear them being played by a marching band during a processional or a protest.  It's almost like there's a roaming production of "Musak, Live!" that contains only nationalistic Nicaraguan songs.  Of course, I don't really care much for the tunes, but they are uniquely Nicaraguan, so you have to give them points for that.

And then there's Ruben Dario.  I saw enough sights of his statues and his name that he's worth mentioning.  He's probably the most famous Nicaraguan that you haven't heard of.  In short, he's an anti-imperialist poet.  He's kind of like Che Guevara except that he didn't want to go out and kill people, instead he wrote poetry.  So, there you go, the national hero is a poet.  It would be as if we replaced all the images and statues of Abraham Lincoln and replaced them with Walt Whitman.  More points awarded to Nicaragua for idolizing poetry.

2. Food


Ok, let's get one thing straight.  I don't care what anyone else says, all Central American food is basically the same.  Rice, beans, and a piece of meat.  That's what it is.  Let's not take miniscule differences and call them different cuisines.  What makes Nicaraguan food better, then?  Nothing, really.  But it's cheaper.  Same thing but better price.  It's like getting Target items at Wal-Mart prices.  Points awarded to Nicaragua for allowing me to eat well.

3. Nature


People go to Costa Rica for the nature and the nature there is really nice.  There are pretty birds, cool-looking trees, and languid sloths.  Nicaragua has the kind of nature that makes your jaw drop and say "Holy crap!".  Fueled by all of the active volcanos, the landscape of Nicaragua is not the bird-watching, passive, "isn't that nice" kind of beauty.  It is the in-your-face, watch-your-step, "don't mess with nature, it is more powerful than you" kind of feeling.  When people talk about putting the fear of God in someone, I never really felt it until I was in an active volcano, looking around at the land it has destroyed, and then watching as a part of the crater wall falls 50 yards away from me.  I've seen so many large, scary-looking works of nature that it makes me feel like this tiny, little human that could easily get smooshed at any second.  I understand that many people don't willfully go for this feeling, and I'm certainly don't want that feeling ALL the time, but it is something grand and wonderful to experience.  Points to Nicaragua for scaring the crap out of me but letting me enjoy it.

4. People


At this point, I could go to the most beautiful place on earth, but if the people there were complete jerks, I probably wouldn't enjoy it.  On the contrary, if I went to the most tear-jerking boring place on the planet and everyone invited me into their house for food and tea, I would be inclined to return.  Saying that, the Nicaraguans are great people.

To be clear, there are a number of Nicaraguans who use their charm to try to dupe you out of money, but most people are just genuinely nice, affable people.  To put this in perspective, after our 2 day "Death March" hike through the mountains, we were waiting for a long time for the next public bus to arrive.  It was not coming at the normal times because it happened to be the independence day of Nicaragua, so there we were, sitting out in the sun, smelling quite ripe and probably looking homeless, when we saw a boy walk by with a bunch of bags of water.  (Note: quite often beverages are in bags because it is cheaper than any other alternative)  Bessie asked if we could buy a bag of water and the kid told us no.  Later on he came back, with the urging of his father, and gave us all the water he had!  Keep in mind that the average citizen of Nicaragua makes less in a year than what you probably make in a month, and now consider that he just gave us all the water that he was carrying.  We tried to pay, but he would not have any of it.  Can you think of anything more nice and self-less than that?  Many points to Nicaragua for taking pity on my smelly, tired, baking-in-the-sun white-ass soul.

5. Travel


To me, getting from point A to point B should not be just about arriving (although arriving is always preferred), it should be about the experience on the way.  While we didn't take any truly adventurous routes, we had a fairly comfortable and cheap ride getting around on the local refurbished school busses.  While many of the surrounding countries have developed what amounts to tourist-only transit, in Nicaragua, one has no choice but to take what the masses take.  And what we found out was that the transport is cheap, reliable, and fast.  With Nicaragua being the least densely populated country in Central America and also having some splendid highways, it makes for a rather smooth, worry-free ride.  More points to Nicaragua for making me not worry about plowing into oncoming traffic.


In closing, I hope you don't change Nicaragua.  Please stay the way you are even as other travelers make their way there.  I hope those travelers will help you and I hope you help them in return.  I heart you, Nicaragua.

Nicaragua is a genuine country.  The people are real and easy to relate to.  The cities are authentic and rough around the edges.  The views and landscapes are nothing short of dramatic.  In short, Nicaragua is a fantastic country, and I'd have gladly called it home.

Nicas
Nicaraguans call themselves Nicas, probably because Nicaragüense is close to impossible to say, and the word 'Nicas' smiles to me, the same way the people do.  The Nicaraguans are great people that are always good for conversation.  Like many Central Americans, they live close to the land and treat every day is a gift, despite it's challenges.  The country statistically has a major natural disaster about every 10 years or so, but they persevere, and most are very proud to be Nicas.  Oh, and as a side note, good old American baseball is revered here, giving soccer the backseat. 


The Nicas are so much of what won me over in Nicaragua, and unfortunately I can't exactly convey why they're great nor can I recommend them as a tour package.  All I can vouch for are many pleasant experiences with gentle, warm-hearted people eager to share their country.  They've been humble that it's their home you're interested in and delighted you've stumbled across their path.

Cities
I needn't go into too much details that I have a crush on the cities of Nicaragua, specifically Granada & León (see Greatest City in Central America post).  The things that get me about them are the Spanish colonial charms that are true to the people, so you see things like people pushing ice cream carts with bells and horse drawn carriages, and they're not just there to enhance the city, they're for real.  Moving across town? Uhual in Nicaragua = a 4-legged horse.


Oh, and bike riding here is almost always done with two people to a bike, and it seems to be done with great pleasure.  The person in back gets the seat & pedals while the person in front straddles the bike bar (yes, think ouch!) while steering.  If you're a lady however, a gentleman will just do all the work, and ride you around side-saddle style.


Nicaragua = Great Hiking
Nicaragua now means to me great hiking, and one of the perks is that it's at sea level, so their highest peaks are about 6,000 ft and don't leave you breathless.  There's a string of volcanoes just beckoning to climb.  (Check out our hiking experiences: two-day & over-night hike.)  The hiking is raw too, that means to say pretty eXtreme and thrilling.  They're lacking guardrails and overly-worn trails, and that part rocks.  If you're looking for adventure and a close to nature experience, Nicaragua is the place.


Tourism Measure
During our time in Central America, we've experienced the all levels of tourism infrastructure.  From Costa Rica, where it can sometimes feel like a Disney jungle tour, to El Salvador, where signs and tours are just cropping up, you can find it all in Central America.  On a scale with those two as extremes, I found Nicaragua to be right in the middle with a balance between very helpful tourist info & tours, affordable amenities ($20 room with internet, hot water & a shared kitchen), and yet plenty of room to get off the beaten path and interact with locals that aren't annoyed by your presence.  It's still at the point that it may be a challenge for non-spanish speakers to get around (which I can't say that I mind), but it's certainly welcoming for basic speakers. 

Even the $US Goes Far Here!
I nearly forgot to mention a major perk, that Nicaragua is super affordable!  We're talking a large breakfast for $1.75; a cold bottle of beer always <$1; a 2 hr bus ride on a comfy microbus is $1-2.  Hotel wise, a private room for 2 with bathroom is +/-$15 (sometimes with a pool, kitchen and/or internet).  Our splurge hotel rooms for our anniversary & when my stomach bacteria meant me being b.f.f. with a toilet were +/- $60 with AC, breakfast, internet, pool.  In short, it's a budget traveler's dream!