Subject: Report #129 Corinto, Nicaragua May 8, 2016 Sunday Partly cloudy & 89 degrees Part #1 of 2 89 Pictures
Gosh, these ports are coming up too quick, as we are in Corinto, Nicaragua this morning. Looking outside our window, we realized it was going to be another hot, humid, and smoky day. No sign of rain however, so that was good.
The capital of Nicaragua is Managua with 50,323 square miles. The Spanish-speaking citizens number 5,891,199.
Nicaragua has had a rollercoaster of dictatorships, revolutions, civil wars, and economic collapse. But that describes the past however. Fast forward to today, the "Nicas" as they are known, consider their country among the safest in Central America. Far from being settled, outside travelers are coming in large numbers. Filled with colonial settings, and big beach breaks, Nicaragua has become a regional hotspot. Dollars go far here in this warm, tropical climate. Just don't say Nicaragua is the next Costa Rica, or you will insult your hosts.
The best time to visit is June to March to avoid the dusty, dry season. The top things to see could be the moonrise over the cathedral in Granada. Or one island and two volcanoes on the biggest lake, Lago de Nicaragua in Central America. Spanish fortresses, bright handicrafts in Viejo marketplace and giant papier-mache people in Leon's Carnaval.
What is there to do? Lay on a beach in the surf of San Juan del Sur, or climb up Cerro Negro and sand-board down steep hillsides. You can dive with hammerheads (not us), or swim with rays off Little Corn Island. Paddle the mangroves of Reserva Natural Estero Padre Ramos.
What can you eat here? Nacatamales – a mix of cornmeal, potato, pork, tomato, onion, and sweet chilies packed in a banana leaf. What do you drink? Flor de cana rum called pinol, or toasted corn powder sweetened with sugar or cacao (chocolate).
Trademarks are Sandinistas and Contras, both renegade bands, dusty farms and chicken buses, earthquakes and hurricanes. Hmmm, perhaps the smoky appearance in the air is due to the farming dust, like we see in the valleys of California. Might be harmful to their health as well.
A random fact is Nicaragua is the least densely populated country in Central America and 72% of the population is under 30 years old.
A few of the tours offered here today included lunch. They were Cortijo El Rosario Estate and Horse Show for $120. Colonial Leon and Folk Show was $100.
Three to five hour tours were a banana plantation and hacienda for $100, Traditions of Nicaragua was $90. Three more tours went to the colonial city of Leon and cost $70. The ride there was 1 ¼ hours. A visit to the Flor de Cana Distillery for $70 sounded like fun, as well as a drive to nearby El Viejo and Chinandega for $55. We have done this tour, finding the excursion OK, but the narrative from the tour guide was really informative. He spoke more about the political atmosphere, as well as the impact of the rebel forces of the Sandinistas from the past and also the present.
Having been here many times, we always enjoy a stroll through the city, mixing with the locals, and perusing the many stalls selling treasures…..all quite affordable. Corinto is a sleepy little town, where life seems slow and relaxed. It was built in the 19th century, and really has not progressed with the times that much. It is, however, Nicaragua's largest port on the Pacific Ocean, and keeps many locals working with the ship traffic and dock work.
Today, being a Sunday, the town was for the most part, closed up. A few produce markets were selling fresh veggies and fruit, The hardware shop and a pharmacy were opened. The area that was alive with people was the main square. All of the souvenir stands were set up on the outside and inside the square. Some vendors were selling the wooden bowls that we saw yesterday in Costa Rica, but for much less. One item that was not really being promoted was a wooden earring holder with three tiers. It worked like a lazy-susan, and could be dismantled. After some serious bargaining, we ended up buying one. The lady selling the earrings had to take all of her earrings out of the display, which took time. We guess there were perhaps 80 pairs of earrings to remove. Anyway, it will be put to excellent use at home. We also picked up a nice covered wooden bowl with a spoon, and one sunflower with a hummingbird, all made out of carved wood. They are so well-made, and terribly hard to resist. The last purchase we made was one pair of blue beaded earrings to match a necklace that we bought in Petra last year. Oddly enough, it was a perfect match in color.
After a two hour walk through town, and a visit to the local cathedral we went back to the ship before the dining room closed for lunch. It was very warm today, so the dining room was a perfect place to cool off. Two large glasses of ice tea also helped to the job. We both had the melted three cheese sandwiches with potato salad, and a small dessert.
The rest of the afternoon, we watched a movie about a ship sinking in the New England area many years ago, and a rescue, a true story. Then we worked on photos and reports until it was time to watch the sun go down. All aboard time was 6:30pm, so we needed to get some sail away photos before we lost the light. Of course, we had not left by then, but at least we did get some good sunset pictures.
Sometimes around 6:45pm, Gene came on the speakers asking for two guests to call the front desk. Guess they were the only ones not back on the ship, and we could not leave yet. Usually it is a failure of the kiosk to register the room cards, but obviously, after three calls for these folks, something else must have prevented their return to the ship. We did leave about 7:15pm, and we do not know if the guests ever got back onboard. Will try to find out more tomorrow.
The dinner items were good tonight. The soups are now being served with the broth added to the meat and veggies separately. Tonight one of our soups was not really hot, even with the new method. But the problem was that the waiter had brought five soups, and they sat on the serving tables for 15 minutes at least. They will never stay hot that way. The chicken noodle soup was much hotter at lunch, because it came directly from the kitchen. Guess they will have to figure this problem out soon, because the new soup bowls are here to stay. Dessert of lemon tart and frozen coffee yogurt were really tasty.
The entertainer this evening was a Latin America virtuoso pianist by the name of Juan Pablo Subirana. Always a pleasure listening to fine music by talented local artists.
Tomorrow's port will be Puerto Quetzel in Guatemala.
By the way, we had a question regarding coffee table books from our trips. We have never followed up with one as such, but friends have collected every report with photos on some previous world cruises, and had them bound and made into books. One trip consisted of three booklets the size of phone books. We have enjoyed looking at them, and reminiscing over the photos. We do have cruise buddies who carefully choose two photos from each port, and create a real coffee table book. They feel that any more photos than that will be overwhelming for most guests to look at, so keep it simple. We like that idea.
The second question dealt with the make-up of the nationalities of the world cruisers this year. We don't think there was any foreign crowd that stood out in large numbers, except for the North Americans, the largest group of all. The average age may have been in the late sixties, but that is us guessing. We did have over half a dozen or more kids onboard as well. Helped drop the age averages.
Bill & Mary Ann
The tugboat arrives to assist
The coastline
The smallest commercial port we have stopped at
Isla el Cardon – a deserted island accessed by boat
The tide was out this morning
The sleepy village is not awake yet
A Sunday morning
A few row boats in the harbor
The pier with one loading crane
A cargo ship was in port
Very dated facility
But still working well for them
Someone liked pink paint
Not sure how these were used
Have survived many years
The tour buses wait for passengers
Only authorized buses and vans were allowed inside port area
Tours went off to colonial Leon and outlying areas
Small cargo ship
Welcome to Corinto, Nicaragua's only port
A marimba band included a guitarilla and a bass guitarist
The local dancers arrived one hour late...better late than never, we say
The gangway was already steep
Going off was slow at first
Amsterdam docked
Corinto Port Building
The guarded gate to the village
Going into town
Most of the town was closed down today….it was Sunday
All the shops here were closed
The first souvenir store we saw
Vendors selling drinks and hammocks
The local hardware store
The colorful veggie market is always opened
Wooden treasures - probably from Costa Rica
Now this wooden earring tree would be quite useful……..
Wallets, coin purses, and jewelry
This type of beaded jewelry is usually seen in Guatemala - better-priced here
Wonderful colors
So many choices
Very nice hardwood products….we have a collection at home already
Cool hammock
Native-dressed dolls
Amusing paintings and feather painting
Pottery was abundant, but breakable
Dolls for the young ones
Nice quilts locally -made
The village meeting place
Locals watching us today
Colorful and a lot of work
Many stalls, many shoppers
Toys for the kids
A marathon was taking place this morning
Must be a bike marathon
The central tower of town
Bikers of all ages were gathering
Food stands probably opened later in the day
A better-looking building
Stands in the central plaza
Knick-knacks
A food vendor
A movie rental shop
Popular type of transport – also replaces cars, which there were few
Fruit and veggies display
Some of the items were foreign to us
Small shops – some were opened
Many pubs and bars would open later
Typical marketplace – a little of this and that for sale
The further out of town, the fewer people
Selling for the day
The town streets were very clean today
They sure like wild colors here
One barber shop was open today
The end of the road
Local shops
A ride was $5 per person, but to where, we don't know
Food stands for later
An open square
Fountain and benches
The main street filled with tourists and locals
Looks official
A variety of shoes
A monument in the plaza
The quilter's shed
A canon
Old train
Meeting place
Landscaped nicely
Hanging out in the shade
