Nicaragua

While driving a back road in Nicaragua last winter, threading through the usual chaos of livestock, ox carts, bicycles and other variable-speed vehicles, I did a double take when I saw a young man riding a big, tawny cow that was saddled up like a horse. He was herding a bunch of cattle that was asserting its right to the roadway as surely as a monster truck. We were on island of Ometepe, in Lake Nicaragua, and it felt like the land that time forgot. That sensation that could apply to all of Nicaragua. After decades of revolution and counter-revolution in the 1990s, the country has returned to the somnolence we expect of a Central American backwater – but it has also been enjoying a peace dividend, and one of the payouts is the interest it is attracting as a memorable place to visit. Nicaragua has much to offer: empty beaches, exotic wildlife, tropical forests, recreational activities, hotels and restaurants up to the standards of, say, Mexico or Costa Rica. And it’s considerably cheaper than Costa Rica. In fact, Nicaragua is a lot like its next-door neighbour was 30 years ago before it was overrun by norteamericanos. So now is the time to go, before the charter-flight hordes descend.

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