Trip Report: Nicaragua

[Hamlet]

Greetings all,

I just returned from a three month trip to Nicaragua, Cuba and Costa Rica.  I will post about Nicaragua today, and then the other two.

The main reason for the trip to Nicaragua was to study Spanish.  I spent two weeks in Leon and two weeks in Granada.  Both are cities filled with beautiful colonial architecture (and beautiful women).  I lived with families, which helped facilitate my language and cultural education, and one of the families fixed me up with a total of five dates once they learned the overall purpose of my Latin trip.  I had a great time with this family and I am certain that I will visit them again.

The language training was good.  We had 4 hours of class in the morning with one on one instruction.  It cost $175 a week which included the room and board.  It also included activities and trips each afternoon to volcanoes, the ocean, lakes, museums, forts, etc.  It also included to bonus of getting to date my teacher, 28.  I suspected that she found Northamericanos a fringe benefit of the job.  It was enjoyable to spend time with her, and even though she wanted to marry me she was not what I was looking for.

I think that Nicaragua is a good place to find a wife, although I have not found any internet marriage services that concentrate on that country.  The people there are very friendly.  While many people - native and foreigners alike - warned me to stay away from Managua not only because it is ugly (the center of town was destroyed by the 1972 earthquake and never replaced) but also crime-filled, those same people told me that Leon and Granada are safe.

As far as the five dates went, one was good but too young at 23, one was too fat and she worked for some women's rights group, one fancied herself in the upper class and she smoked cigarettes.  The fourth I liked a lot and I think she liked me, but I couldn't arrange a second date with her.  The last was a lawyer like me with a great personality and she looked like a young Rachael Welch.  I know she enjoyed my company but I don't think that she would be attracted enough to marry an average-looking 47 year old so I didn't pursue her and my time ran out anyway.

Hamlet

[Ross2]

... in response to Trip Report: Nicaragua, posted by Hamlet on Apr 22, 2002

Hamlet,

Thanks for the interesting post.
I'm assuming there aren't any agencies there, since you couldn't find any internet marriage sevices that concentrate on that area. Sounds like there needs to be some.

If you don't plan to pursue the lawyer who has a great personality and is a Raquel Welch look-a-like, please give me her email adress or vice versa!

Ross

[Darkstar]

... in response to Trip Report: Nicaragua, posted by Hamlet on Apr 22, 2002

I'd be very interested in your opinions concerning Nicaragua and the women. Their general appearance, personality, willingness to move, their opinion of Gringo's, etc.

I may make plans to go to a language school their myself.

How long are the courses? Is this something you would recommend?

Thanks,

Tim.

[Edge]

... in response to Trip Report: Nicaragua, posted by Hamlet on Apr 22, 2002

Wow Hamlet, Nicarauga.  Not many of the men here probably think of going there.  Interesting place to start your journey from the sounds of it..

1)  Where did you meet the women you had the dates with.. From just the family that you stayed with and also the spanish school?  Do you feel that you could freely converse with women out in public and they would be interested in talking with you?  I remember seeing a stunning woman from Nicaragua in a TLC catalog.  While I am sure many of the women are not as pretty as she was, what was your overall impression of the ladies??

2)  Which city did you enjoy the most?  Was it expensive to travel there?  How was the food??

3)  Did you see any other gringos there??

Take care and welcome back to the states-
Edge

[Hamlet]

... in response to Re: Trip Report: Nicaragua, posted by Edge on Apr 22, 2002

Edge,

The dates I had were all set up by my family except for the teacher who latched onto me the day I arrived.  Yes, I did think that it was easy to strike up conversations with Nicas in public.  But always they would be polite even if they were not interested, so it was important to read the non-verbals.

The women seem to be quite amenable to being good wives and having good family relations.  

I enjoyed Leon and Granada both very much and can't choose one over the other, but Granada is more popular with tourists as it is a bit cooler, has more natural features (volcanoes, lakes, etc.) nearby, and is more compact and packed with architectural treasures.  But the people of the two cities have distinctly different characters: the Granadians are cooler and harder to reach.  The Leonessas are warmer and friendlier.  Granada is a Liberale (Republican) stronghold, and Leon has always supported Sandinistas (Democrats).  My families reflected these statistics: the housemaid for the family in Leon was a Sandista guerrilla during the revolution against the corrupt and brutal dictator Somoza.  But my host-father in Granada lost his two brothers, both captains in Somoza's army, to the Sandinista victors who executed them after capturing control of the country in 1979.

Nicaragua is very cheap.  You can get a hostel bunk for $4.50 and a private room for $7.  I paid $10 when I went back at the end of my trip to visit my family but that included three meals.  If you go up to $35 you get a room in a brand new hotel with A/C or in a beautiful colonial also with A/C.  Food is cheap and good food can be found in many places.  You can have a nice meal for $2.50.

The gringo presence is increasing by the day, as more and more people find out that Nicaragua is cheap, filled with nice people, beautiful, and has put its most terrible political problems behind it.

Hamlet

[Canadian]

... in response to Trip Report: Nicaragua, posted by Hamlet on Apr 22, 2002

It's odd that many of the ones that work for the women's rights groups are too fat.Another thing; have you seen Racquel Welch lately? She still looks mighty FINE.

[bret]

... in response to Trip Report: Nicaragua, posted by Hamlet on Apr 22, 2002

hey man,

that was the best story i read here in a long time. i mean it!!!

good to see you got a bargin on your spanish, and had a good time. you can't beat $175 a week. living with the families is the best way to learn, and they are always willing to introduce you to their friends.

it's always funny how when your "host" family finds out that you aree interested in local women, they go into overdrive with the "who can they set you up with thing". even if it doesn't go anywhere, it's still fun.

i know costa rica and cuba well, so i'm interested in heraring your thoughts on havana, etc.

bret