Northwestern Nicaragua Travel Guide

It may be intimidating to be in Somoto.  From Soldiers patrolling around at night with asssault rifles, to Sandinista rallies every so often.  Somoto was the city that really helped me start to understand how much i really have.  Growing up in America has been a blessing.  Don't be intimidated though, just brush up on some Spanish.  The majority of people that i had a chance to meet seemed to be fairly friendly.  It could have been because i am a gringo and i had American currency.  Of course they were  nice to me!  Actually when i was trying to find a market/ store, a gentleman asked me what i was looking for.  I said souvenirs like knives and such.  (Switchblades everywhere LOL)  He didn't miss a beat and pulled a knife out of his pocket!  I was alarmed (thinking i could get stabbed) but he told me he wanted forty cordobas for it.  After inspecting the blade, and doing simple math, i realized that he wanted a little more than $2 (USD) for it! (At the time the exchange rate was approximately 16 cordobas to the dollar)  It was a nice one too! 

i visited a number of places in nicaragua-all along the pacific (albeit not as well known for its beauty as other areas such as bluefields). out of the places i visited leon was most definately my favourite, i think this was largely because of the local people and how friendly they were. Leon is not as touristy as some other places such as grenada but theres still plenty to see, and lots of volcano trips to go on.

If you go during the week.. you will be the only tourist there... good food... great old barn like hotel on the beach....arrange to take a tour into the mangrooves... you end up on a beach that looks untouched by man... crazy body surfing waves (tie your shorts on tight!!)