N i c a r a g u a

Land of Lakes and Volcanoes

 

 Nicaragua begins to defines its self as Nicaragua long before the conquistadors came, for its indigenous past speak about a prophesy that led to a huge migration coming from Mexico and breaking off a branch of a pre Aztec time period, The prophecy spoke of and Island to the south of Mexico with two volcanoes in the middle of a great ocean of fresh water. This prophecy was fulfilled when the Cheaf Nicarao found Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua. Building sacred idols and gods, the Chef Nicarao and his ancestors have left us a great deal of artifacts on the island such as pertoglifs or stone carvings and a great deal of pottery and arrow heads scattered all throughout the island.

 

Since the beginning of the colonization period the king and queen of Spain had four major goals for the conquistadors of the new world. One, settle land and claim it for Spain, two, pass on their religious beliefs of Catholicism to the natives, three, find gold and the most important, find a rough that could connect the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Even Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage got lost looking for the Pacific Ocean in the north of Nicaragua when he entered the coco river, the longest river in Central America, coming out half alive due to a tremendous storm and naming that “cabo gracias a dios” or “Cape thanks to God”.

 

Finally the conquistadors did find the pacific through what is now today Panama. But later on they found an alternate rough through Nicaragua to get to the Pacific Ocean which was through the southern point of Nicaragua called River San Juan 200km in through this serpentine river piercing through Lake Nicaragua.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lake Nicaragua is a humongous body of water, the third largest lake after Lake Superior and the great lakes and Lake Titicaca in Peru. Lake Nicaragua measures approximately 8,624 square km and 18 km (even today) of land divide what is Lake Nicaragua and the pacific. Lake Nicaragua was navigable for the steam boats of the 1850s and was used during the Gold rush of California, Cornelius Vanderbilt decided to open this transit rough through Nicaragua long before the Panama Canal was built.

 

River San Juan was also used for the 1650s and 1700 by infamous pirate attacks. Pirates such as:  John Davis, William Dampier, and el Olones and were all interested in attacking the prosperous colonial cities of Nicaragua, Granada the oldest colonial city on firm land that still maintains its self in the original spot where it was founded in 1524 being a mayor city full of many churches and commerce in two instances was sacked by pirates until the Spanish decided to build its defenses on river San Juan “El Castillo de La Immaculate Concepcion.” or the Castle of the Immaculate Conception. 

 

Even a famous renound Inglish corsair called Horatio Nelson attacked the fort in 1780 and though he was sucessful, bad luck and disease, "Dysentery" an inflammation of the intestine causing diarrhea with blood made the expidition a total falure.

 

About 3,600 men died from this disease

 

On the pacific side we also had the Colonial city of old Leon which was destroyed in 1610 by the Momotombo volcano. Old Leon was left in ruins and immediately relocated and built strong with the largest cathedral in Central America that had under ground tunnels that were connected to 8 different churches incase of any pirate threat.

 

 

 

Who would guess that such a silent country to the media in the last decade would have so much to offer. 77 protected areas, including natural wild life reserves, Nation parks, Pristine jungles, cloud/ rain forest, virgin beaches, Islands, lakes, lagoons all sorts of plantation; Coffee, cattle, sugar, rice, papaya, plantain and in the back round of these plantations you will always find at least one volcanoes ( in total 22 of which 6 are active