Nicaragua. A really, really special place. I compare almost everywhere that I went in Central America to Nicaragua. In an age of constant connectivity — everyone knowing about everything, and the 'Tulumification' of travel destinations all over the world, to me, Nicaragua stands someone sheltered from this storm. I describe Nicaragua commonly as a place that is back in time. — Literally back in time. When you are walking or driving around the towns, it's common to see men on horse-drawn carriage as one of the main forms of traffic on the road. The country as a whole is still very rural — primitive, compared to most of the rest of the developed world. The country has historically and publicly had a very difficult time. They have gone through many hardships, conflicts and generally it's been a tumultuous place. Recent history is no exception. As a result, the people of the country are for the most part very poor. Everywhere you go you will see people living in a stark contrast to the travel life you will be living here. I think this is one of the reasons why I personally didn't find the people of Nicaragua to be the most welcoming, in general. That is an extremely generalized phrase. I met lovely people all over the country. I am merely speaking about generally. My experience at borders, with police, government officials, etc. It was all generally pretty miserable. The country itself, however, is extremely beautiful. Home to some of my favorite beaches in the world, beautiful jungles and volcanoes, the most beautiful islands I have ever been to, amazing freshwater lakes in jungle paradises, and amazing little colonial towns. Nicaragua, to me is almost everything that Costa Rica is — just extremely authentic and real. Above all, I guess that's what Nica is, it's authentic. That's probably why I loved it so much. Driving around Nicaragua just feels real, and it's this addicting feeling that I had while I was there. I loved driving down the mainly dirt roads and just feeling free. There is so much to do and see in Nicaragua. So many waves to surf. It's probably, outside of Mexico, my favorite place for wave exploration. A lot of people only hit a few places, but I think I did a pretty good job of going all over the country. So here is what I saw in Nicaragua and a lot of the things that I loved about it. To me, Nicaragua is split up into four different sections. The North, The Middle, The East, and The South. Each section below contains a number of different unique locations. A NOTE - getting across the land borders of Nicaragua sucks. Just be prepared for it. If you are a photographer, be ready for them to give you a really hard time about your camera equipment, and drones are strictly illegal. I am not sure why, but the powerful and relatively oppressive government has something clearly they don't want you to see.
