Nicaragua shot report march 2013

I spent January and February in Nicaragua, visiting Managua for way too long, then Granada and San Juan del Sur. Nicaraguan Spanish was a surprising hurdle for me in Managua, and it literally took me about a week to understand and be understood, mostly. I found the people kind of formal and stiff in both Granada and Managua, and the ones I met in SJDS who seemed looser turned out to be Ticas. By Midwestern US standards, many Managua taxi drivers are thieves but in-country transportation generally was frequent and cheap, hotels were commonplace and cheap, restaurant fare and bar prices were cheap. Grocery store food was, however, very high -- chicken, beef and eggs were all much higher than in Michigan. At local wage levels the food prices are very high indeed. Wood and gas for cooking are both cheap, but electricity is expensive and service seems prone to disruption everywhere. Water is so cheap I couldn't even find anyone who knew for sure what it costs. Road maintenance standards are very high, but gasoline is US$5 a gallon or more, and the price oscillates widely around the country. Tickets to baseball games at Dennis Martinez Stadium in Managua are $70 Cordobas, or about $3. Cigarette papers are very hard to find. Rules and regulations about foreigners starting a business seem manageable and even modest, and I found foreigners working the front desk at several hotels in SJDS. However, compared to El Salvador and Honduras, many Nicaraguans are not as immediately outgoing or welcoming.

Thanks simplyfantabulous, it seems we visited the same country.