Riding the Wave of Tourism in Nicaragua By Barry Stepe

(This article orginally appeared in Nuevo Impacto Magazine)

Nicaragua has always possessed a wealth of beautiful natural resources that can hold its own against any of the more expensive and crowded destinations like Costa Rica and the Caribbean. However, those who have visited Nicaragua in the past have been pleased to discover what an exciting and beautiful country there is to discover. Perhaps its visitors were a little too possessive to let go of their secret, but somehow the word got out.

For the last ten years, Nicaragua has had a booming tourism industry along with real estate development and investments that have been increasing at a rapid pace.Not only does Nicaragua have coastlines on the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, impressive volcanoes, quiet beaches, and virgin forests, but most importantly - welcoming people who give life to their tourism tag “a country with a heart.” Nicaraguans will make you feel at home and make sure that your trip is a memorable one. Delta Air Lines has recently introduced direct flights to Managua, which makes this approximately three and a half hour trip even more enjoyable and accessible.

During our trip in mid January this year, the weather was surprisingly temperate with nice cool breezes and very little humidity. From the capital city of Managua, we made a day trip to Granada, less than an hour away on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. The city itself is an important tourist destination with its colonial architecture, charming hotels and the spacious Parque Colon (Central Park) complete with strolling vendors and local food merchants.

From the city of Granada it was a short drive to Las Isletas, which is a made up more than 360 islands that were created by a volcanic explosion 20,000 years ago. We rented a small boat and a guide took us through some of the most beautiful waters imaginable. Sailing by the islands, holiday mansions peeked out from gigantic mango trees and swaying coconut palms. We stopped at a little island complete with a small hotel, restaurant, pool and other accommodations. We felt like we were truly in paradise. No mosquitoes or oppressive heat, just the sounds of birds and monkeys in the distance along with the calming waters slapping quietly against the boat.

Our next stop was the quiet fishing town of San Juan del Sur, located just over two hours from Managua. This fishing village is still an undiscovered gem, but won’t be for long. The area has recently been featured in many international and national surfing magazines as the next hot spot for surfing. I noticed more international visitors than my last trip in 2000, many of them surfing enthusiasts searching for the “perfect wave.” There are also more mansions dotting the hillside that overlook the bay that has become an investor‘s paradise. Cruise ships park in the bay and also bring vacationers into the quiet town for a day or two of exploration.

In just five days, I began to get into the San Juan del Sur groove, which is definitely laidback and relaxing. San Juan del Sur has everything a vacationer desires but none of the hassles. The locals are welcoming, the food is cheap and delicious, and the accommodations are very reasonable and comfortable. The bay and surrounding beaches offer a variety of sports including swimming, boogie boarding, sailing, diving, fishing and of course, surfing. The waterfront area offers a large number of restaurants to choose from that overlooking the bay. There are also a number of cyber cafes scattered throughout the town in which we were able to keep in touch with friends and family.

For nightlife, we enjoyed the international atmosphere at Ricardo’s, a bar which was founded by Canadians. We met an interesting mix of world adventurers, local surfers, NBA basketball players and other characters. We spent a couple evenings here exchanging stories with people from all over the world about travel and the local surf scene. We stopped in during “movie night” where they project giant movies onto a screen in the back of the restaurant in front of the beach. Some of the same clientele also gather at Marie’s Bar across the street, which can just as interesting. There are also a lot of great seafood restaurants nearby like Tiburon and Timon Bar.For surfers there are a couple local surf shops in town that can provide the surfer with everything they need. Arena Caliente offers surfboard rentals, fishing expeditions and trips to local surf hot spots.

For six dollars (roundtrip) I piled in with a bunch of surfers and their boards in a pickup to visit Maderas Beach for the day, where there are excellent waves for surfing and a beautiful beach to explore. The conditions at Maderas Beach are pretty basic, but the beach is incredible with its huge rock formations and virgin forests. The water was a little chilly for surfing, but I soon got used to it. The fact that there were not a lot of people in the water, made it the perfect opportunity to practice my surfing skills. Here we met with travelers from Japan, Australia, Canada, Germany, Chile and many other countries including the U.S.A.

Byron Lopez is the owner of Arena Caliente. He began surfing the area 15 years ago and opened his store six years ago. “The last three years have been better than before,” he told Nuevo Impacto, “There are more surfers and tourists. 50 percent of them are usually Americans.” His store often sponsors local surfers to compete in Costa Rica and they are participating in competitions held at Maderas Beach with competitors from Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador. Lopez explained the difference between surfing in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. “We are much more friendly with the tourists. There are waves for everyone. In Costa Rica there are too many tourists and everyone is on top of each other.”

Joe Borsberry, an American who traveled to Nicaragua from Illinois to surf stated, “this is the happiest place on earth. Forget Hawaii, this is much better!”San Juan del Sur is usually quiet and laidback but during Christmas and Semana Santa, busloads of Nicaraguans from all over the country come to the beach to enjoy sun, food and fun. However, while we there, we enjoyed nothing but cool ocean breezes, warm sun, and the hospitality of its locals, who go out of their way to care and welcome their visitors with open arms.I

t is really amazing the progress Nicaragua has achieved to attract tourism and investors in the last couple of years. The country has always possessed incredible natural resources and the world seems to have finally taken notice. And Nicaragua is ready to welcome them with open arms!We left the Managua airport with the anticipation of seeing even more positive changes during the next couple of years.For more information on Nicaragua tourism visit www.visit-nicaragua.com. For surfing information and expeditions visit: www.arenacaliente.com

Copywright 2006 by Barry Stepe