entering nicaragua was relatively easy…athough it still took about 1hr, $30 ($7 per person + $12 for the vehicle) and was a bit of a pain. for one thing, we all had to wear masks (swine flu). luckily i had brought a few along. then we had to wait in line (again)…get a bunch of paperwork, etc.
then we had lunch at leon, which is a nice colonial town about 1-2 hrs from the border. driving in nicaragua, one gets the impression that the country is poorer than it’s neighbors. houses look cheaper, more people are missing limbs, etc.
leon has a nice center…which seems a bit like a student town. it’s a cool place to visit….but quite hot (temperature).
with limited time (patrik leaves tomorrow), we headed for managua. managua is a relatively small/manageable city. the view from the lake is awesome. they also have some cool monuments/museums there. unfortunately this touristy area is also in a poor neighborhood and seems quite deserted. it feels almost like a ghost town over there. here are two pics from managua.