Highlights from the Weekend: Northwestern Nicaragua

Locations: El Viejo – Padre Ramos Wetlands Reserve – Jiquilillo – Corinto

A weekend at the house of one my supervisors turned into an exploration of a number of remote corners of northwestern Nicaragua. Favorite moments:

1. Sitting on the beach at Jiquilillo with only a few cows as company.
Jiquilillo used to be a fishermen’s town until a 1992 tsunami wiped out most of it. Right now it appears more like a small, but growing, village (located far north on the Pacific coast). The fishermen are back. Most of the families living there have “beachfront” property. Several “cheles” (I think American or Canadian) have settled there and are renting out cabañas (small huts) and giving surf lessons to tourists who happen to venture out to this part of the Pacific. The beach stretches as far as the eye can see and it is literally uninhabited. The surf supposedly is good as well.

2. Eating mussels cocktail prepared on the spot in 5 mins for $1.50.
I was a little skeptical if my stomach would cope with the raw mussels, but decided to try them since they were recommended by people who’d eaten them before and are supposedly super fresh. Needless to say, the mixture of mussels, lemon juice, and chopped tomatoes and onions was delicious! (And my stomach seems fine.)

3. Swimming in the estuary at Padre Ramos Wetlands Reserve.
Padre Ramos is a protected area of wetlands located almost at the very northwestern tip of Nicaragua. It is home to many species of birds and some turtles (between the months of November and January) and is best explored by boat. The ocean can be pretty rough, that’s why many people prefer to swim in the estuary instead. It is a beautiful, peaceful place.
Small communities live on the shores of the estuary (sometimes literally right next to the water during high tide), completely detached from the rest of civilization. We visited one lady living there – no electricity, no running water, no phone, no nothing, apart from maybe a few Honduran radio stations. But she claimed that she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

4. Being asked if I was from Spain.
This I took mostly as a compliment to my Spanish, and it made my day.

5. Having my supervisor and her friend tell me story after story about their travels through Nicaragua.
Their laughter is contagious. Even more so is their love of food. Nicas love to eat and have a high appreciation for good food. I hadn’t heard as much talk about food as I did this weekend :) I also realized that my supervisor and I share a love for the outdoors and a hatred for over-development and locations that are “exclusive” and over-priced.

View of Padre Ramos Estuary

We visited an old lady who literally lived by the water of the estuary. You probably can't see much in this photo because it is quite dark, but an essential piece of "furniture" of every Nica home, no matter how remote the location, is the hammock. Rural homes usually have their "stove" outside. Even if inside, all houses seem to lack chimneys so the smoke just fills the room, which serves as sleeping quarters as well. But, people don't even seem to notice, let alone be bothered by this.

Among all sorts of plants, the lady's garden included a wild orchid ...

... and a couple of parrots who seem to have made their home on a nearby tree - making loud noises the whole time we were there.

Off next to Jiquilillo beach...

... where there literally was no-one ...

... except for a cow or two.

The thatched-roof cabañas (right on the beach) can be rented out.

And if you don't feel like battling the ocean waves and currents, you can swim in the estuary. It was nice. Except for the people (pictured here) who threw an empty plastic Coke bottle in the water at the end of their swim. I fished it out. I still can't understand how people can be so reckless when it comes to their trash in such pristine areas.