Rivas & Hacienda Amayo, Nicaragua
The morning found us waking up in the waters of Nicaragua, an amazing country still unexplored due to the lack of information of what it has to offer. Today this is a country where people can walk safely discovering the marvels of a nation that was hidden for years and is now open to share a combination of culture, history and landscapes.
Our first stop was at the Rivas museum, where a group of little children greeted us and showed us their graceful ability to dance to the typical music of Nicaragua. The activity was a wonderful way to break the ice, with a wonderful experience when our younger explorers participated in a dance and exchanged presents with the Nicaraguan children. Then we took the famous pepanos, tricycle taxis that drove us to the central market in what became sort of a trip to the past, with a life style bringing flashes of what life must have been like decades ago.
To finish our visit to Rivas we visited the cathedral of San Pedr, a building that combines several architectural designs without a dominant one. An interesting painting done more than half a century ago is located at the dome, for some believers it is a prophecy. It shows the collapse of the Nazis and communism, the latter having run the country for over 12 years and being defeated at the beginning of the 1990’s with the end of the revolution.
Afterwards we drove to Hacienda Amayo, a gorgeous place right in front of Lake of Nicaragua, with a view of Maderas and Concepcion Volcanoes giving a dream like scenery. This impressive lake encloses a creature that in normal conditions would find its natural habitat in salt water: the bull shark. Due to different circumstances related to the uplifting of the isthmus formed by the south of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama and the connection between the lake and the Caribbean Sea through the San Juan River, this shark got adapted to the fresh water conditions.
A baseball and soccer game followed the delicious endemic lunch offered by the Barrios family and then we finished our visit with a piñata party. It was definitely a delightful visit to a country of friendly people and beautiful land.
The morning found us waking up in the waters of Nicaragua, an amazing country still unexplored due to the lack of information of what it has to offer. Today this is a country where people can walk safely discovering the marvels of a nation that was hidden for years and is now open to share a combination of culture, history and landscapes.
Our first stop was at the Rivas museum, where a group of little children greeted us and showed us their graceful ability to dance to the typical music of Nicaragua. The activity was a wonderful way to break the ice, with a wonderful experience when our younger explorers participated in a dance and exchanged presents with the Nicaraguan children. Then we took the famous pepanos, tricycle taxis that drove us to the central market in what became sort of a trip to the past, with a life style bringing flashes of what life must have been like decades ago.
To finish our visit to Rivas we visited the cathedral of San Pedr, a building that combines several architectural designs without a dominant one. An interesting painting done more than half a century ago is located at the dome, for some believers it is a prophecy. It shows the collapse of the Nazis and communism, the latter having run the country for over 12 years and being defeated at the beginning of the 1990’s with the end of the revolution.
Afterwards we drove to Hacienda Amayo, a gorgeous place right in front of Lake of Nicaragua, with a view of Maderas and Concepcion Volcanoes giving a dream like scenery. This impressive lake encloses a creature that in normal conditions would find its natural habitat in salt water: the bull shark. Due to different circumstances related to the uplifting of the isthmus formed by the south of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama and the connection between the lake and the Caribbean Sea through the San Juan River, this shark got adapted to the fresh water conditions.
A baseball and soccer game followed the delicious endemic lunch offered by the Barrios family and then we finished our visit with a piñata party. It was definitely a delightful visit to a country of friendly people and beautiful land.
