"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #13 Corinto, Nicaragua January 12, 2017 Thursday Partly cloudy & 92 degrees Part #1 Of 3 86 Pictures

The Central American country we visited today was Nicaragua, with a population of 5,892,000 Spanish-speaking people. The capital is Managua and the best time to visit is from June to March in order to avoid the dusty end of the dry season. It is a nation of Contras and Sandinistas (political groups), dusty farms, chicken buses, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and baseball. An interesting fact about the country is that it is the least densely populated in all of Central America. Also of interest, is that 72% of the people are under the age of 30.

When we sailed into the port, running over an hour late, we saw what looked like a massive fire in the distance. The smoke covered the highest of the surrounding volcanic peaks, and seemed to drift for many miles. Captain Jonathon announced that the smoke was due to sugar cane fields being burned, a common practice here.

What totally surprised us was the fact that we could see several volcanoes in the distance, something we have never seen on many previous stops here. Pollution, smog, smoke or clouds have always obscured these peaks during the month of May, when we stop on the re-positioning cruise after the world cruise. One of the largest volcanoes appeared to be active. Later at sail away, one of our friends told us that this volcano did erupt not long ago, and took out much of the capital of Managua.

Many tours were offered here today….like 11 of them. The problem arrived when we arrived an hour late, and all of these excursions needed to be off of the ship one after the other. The gangway was set up on deck one, mid ship, so the hallways, stair wells, and elevators backed up for quite some time. Turned out that due to the high tide, the narrow gangway was extremely steep. That considerably slowed up the exit for everyone. Glad we were not in a rush to go to town, because we doubt we would have gotten out of our room. People were jammed three deep down our hallway, and they were not all happy campers, we heard.

It was a good thing we had photo work to do. It was going to be a very warm day, so we figured noontime was soon enough to go exploring. Leaving the ship was a challenge, since the gangway had become even more steep. Right after we exited, this gangway was removed, and the gangway on deck A was set up. So much easier for folks to get off, especially those in walkers and scooters.

A local group of young dancing ladies and one fellow wearing colorful outfits greeted us. At the welcome table, we picked up some informative brochures and a postcard of Nicaragua. The info lady handed each of us a balsawood bird figurine. Nice surprise gift. The Shore excursion managers, Leslie and Irene, happened to be there at this desk. First time we had a chance to say hello since we have boarded. They were not on last year's world cruise, so it was great to see them back for this one. Leslie said this morning's procedure to fill the buses was unacceptable for them. He said that two gangways are needed to avoid the mess they had. Of course, they will get the brunt of the complaints when these folks return from their trips. We all knew that the ship would not delay our sail away, so all of the longer and more expensive tours would be cut short by one hour. Those excursions would have been to colonial Leon with either a stop at their museum, gardens, history and arts, or the bubbling mud pots. They all included a lunch. The other shorter tours went to an equestrian show, a rum factory, or a banana plantation. Lastly, a 4 hour tour took folks to two villages nearby. We did that one many years ago, and once was enough.

We stayed in town, a very short walk out the port gates. Did we mention that the shuttle information has been printed on the front page of the daily newsletter? It makes it very clear whether or not a complimentary shuttle will be provided in every port. This has got to take the pressure off of our port lecturer or location guide, Barbara, as she got a lot of grief from many passengers concerning these shuttles.

Not much has changed since we were here last May. Not the prettiest of ports, Corinto happens to be the only seaport for Nicaragua on the Pacific side. Because it was not a tourist destination, there is little in the way of infrastructure. The streets outside the gate are taped off with police tape, so there is no car traffic. Truthfully, there are few cars in town. Most everyone rides a bike, or has a tricycle that will seat two to four passengers. The guys offer a ride for $5 per person. We always walk the town, since we needed the exercise more than a ride.

Souvenir tables were set up under tents. The popular treasures are ceramic bowls, wooden items, leather goods, embroidered tablecloths, beaded jewelry, and native paintings. Since more and more cruise ships stop here, their prices have gone up. On past trips, we bought some nice wooden bowls, leather sandals, and an earring tree made from wood. Other tiny shops in town had some clothing, hardware, and housewares.

There is a central square where cement benches made a good place for some passengers to sit under the shade of trees. Free internet drew a small crowd of folks, who soon found out it was over-loaded. Oh well, nothing gained or lost by trying.

By the way, the money conversion was 28 Nicaraguan Cordoba oro to $1 USD. And the locals were happy to take US dollars, and as many as you cared to spend. We did make an offer on some embroidered leather purses, but the vendor was asking way too much. She kept insisting that these purses were not made in China. She claimed to have made them herself. We continued on to some more stalls to find the same identical purses for far less money. Interesting they all looked the same.

We ran into friends who were relaxing in the shade. Good chance to catch up on news with each other. It is remarkable how many past passengers have chosen to take this particular cruise. The itinerary is different, so that must be the trick. Whatever the reason, it is so nice to see so many familiar faces this time.

Walking further into town, we came across a series of buildings with locked doors and no windows. Assuming they were shops, we found some doors opened. They were homes of the locals. We could see one large room with couches, chairs, TV's, and kitchen tables. Bedrooms must have been towards the back, but we could not see inside really well. There were no windows anywhere, just a space above the door that let in a little light. We have heard that most all of the town's residents work at the port, or in the nearby fields.

When we sail into the pier, we always passed by a few buildings on the water's edge that might be restaurants. Not sure, we made our way to that area, and we did find two restaurants that were rather inviting. The thought of ice cold beer did sound good, so we checked out a place called Costa Azul. They had a patio on the water's edge that offered the nicest view with a strong breeze. Worked for us, although most everyone we saw there lived here.

The first table we came across had familiar faces….Rich and Peg with two other friends from the ship. The first thing Rich said was "What took you so long?" They know we always go in search of the best pizza in all the ports, so they knew we may find this place. However, there was nothing close to pizza, only local dishes. OK, we were game to try something new. How bad could it be?

The local beer was called Tone. Guess how much they cost? Try around one US dollar each. We had four of them, since it was so hot outside. Then we split an appetizer of fried plantains with deep-fried cheese on the top. If it wasn't for the frying, the food would have been very healthy. Sure tasted good to us. Our total bill was $10. Great value, and we didn't die. Just joking……

The walk back to the ship was fairly short. We got back by 3pm, and found that the marimba band was still playing on the pier.

Sail away was at 5:30pm, Appetizers of chunks of steak and mango in a marinade were passed among the guests. Not a combination we would expect, they were very tasty. So far, all of the appetizers back here have been different from past trips. No complaints with the food so far.

The biggest treat tonight was watching the intense sunset. With the smoke in the air, the sun took on an unusual orange glow. Following the sunset, the moon, about full now, began appearing from behind the big volcano. If we did not know better, it appeared to look like the volcano was exploding. Tablemates Bob and Martin agreed, so we tried to start the rumor that it was indeed an eruption. The color of the moon was intense orange, surreal, but no doubt the moon as it rose quickly and came out from behind the peak. Once again, we never have left this late, so having such a good sunset and moon rising was a treat. Miss Martha joined us as the moon got higher in the sky. She was also impressed.

Everyone shared their tours or no tours today at dinnertime. There were mixed opinions….some liked where they went, while some did not. Much depends on the state of the buses and the luck of getting a good guide. Some are better than others.

We ordered the lamb dinner this evening, and it was excellent. Extra veggies are being served every night now. Steamed carrots, cauliflower, green beans, and asparagus will keep us all healthy for sure. Good conversation kept us at the table until 10:30pm.

Tomorrow's port is our last one in Central America…….Guatemala.

Bill & Mary Ann

PS Here's a little tip for the day: At home, we bought a very small lamp that clamps on the desk mirror. It's perfect for typing these reports at night, as we use many sources of info…..books, pamphlets, the port guide, the tour booklet, and the daily newsletter. So much better than using the little flashlight.

Corinto's tugboat also served as the pilot boat