Visiting Managua, Nicaragua

After a 2 day bus ride (with sleepover stop in San Salvador), I arrived in Managua, Nicaragua 2 days ago. The power was out when I arrived and I had no cordobas—the national currency. But U.S. dollars often work around here and luckily I had some. I paid $5 for a little dive hotel and then took a taxi to local mall to use a cash machine.

I’m staying in a little neighborhood near the TICA bus stop. Lots of little hotels and restaurants, I heard it called “gringolandia.” They say crime is rampant here, but I haven’t encountered anything strange except for a bunch of kids and drunken guys asking for cordobas. Right now I think Guate. City and San Salvador are much more dangerous.

I’ve actually been having a great time here. I walked down the street to a local bar and drank some beers with Bismarck, a Nicaraguan guy about my age who works at the local Coca-Cola bottling plant. . We talked about politics and U.S. policy.

He said that the Coke employees here haven’t experienced the same oppression and the union leaders have not had problems like in Colombia. He told me that most people here do NOT dislike U.S. citizens, but they need our help especially after the U.S. backed contra war which has literally devastated this country.

Yesterday I took the bus to the old cathedral, partially destroyed in the 1972 earthquake and it’s no longer used. It is very picturesque in a stygian sort of way. It was a Sunday and it was wonderful to sit under a tree and look at Lake Managua, and feel the tropical breezes. I ate great local food and watched the people going in and out of the free UNESCO bookmobile that had “libros para todos” (books for everyone) pasted on all four sides. They don’t lend out books and people can read all day if they so desire. I watched some parents trying to entice their children to stop reading and come with them, sometimes without much success. It made me think even more about the possibility of being a librarian. Here in Nicaragua, before the 1978-79 revolution, less than 49% of the citizens could read. Part of the Sandinista revolution involved sending out young people to teach reading. After the literacy campaigns, 90% of the people could read. How can I be proud of my country which tried to stop people from learning to read or from trying to get better medical care?

Nicaragua is probably the poorest country I’ve ever been in. But I’ve found many of the people to be friendly and talkative and I feel grateful to be here. I plan to head off to Granada tomorrow and then we´ll see where I end up next.

Blessings and peace to you all.