May 2008

Issue: 2008 - 3

Nica - Newsletter

Tourism

• Tourists Discover Peaceful Nicaragua
• Good and bad of travel changes

Tourism

Tourists Discover Peaceful Nicaragua

The historic colonial city of Granada is a well preserved cultural oasis

Silvana Saccomani, Canwest News Service

If Granada invokes the heady smell of orange blossoms, the lavish Moorish-styled Alhambra or the rhythms of flamenco guitar, you've traveled too far. On this side of the Atlantic Ocean, the Nicaraguan city of Granada is squeezed between the hulking Mombacho volcano and Lago Cocibolca, 20th largest lake in the world. Craig Baskett and Eva Logan have just returned from there.

As Nicaragua celebrates its second decade of peace, tourists are discovering Granada as one of the most attractive historic centres in Central America.

"Over the years we've spent a fair bit of time in Mexico and Guatemala, and have always enjoyed the culture and food of this region," says Baskett, who adds they became curious about Nicaragua after hearing and reading about the country's safety record, charming architecture and great value.

Must see, must do

According to Logan, when it comes to Nicaraguan culture, new and old, nothing compares to Granada, which is an easy one-hour drive or cab ride from the country's capital of Managua.

Founded in 1524, Granada is today one of the oldest colonial cities in the Americas. Baskett says despite the frequent assaults from pirates and ambitious imperialists over the years, a good portion of the city's colonial architecture remains intact. Add the narrow, cobblestone streets and courtyards cafes, and it's no wonder this Calgary couple enjoyed the city so much.

Like many towns, life in Granada unfolds in the tree-lined Parque Central.

A vast square flanked by colonial mansions and an imposing bright yellow cathedral, here local artisans sell bracelets, rings and other jewelry, as well as other handmade items.

Baskett says keep your eyes open for the Sultan Cigar shop. Like elsewhere in the country, these are made from 100 per cent Cuban tobacco and sell for as little as $1 apiece.

After a day in the sweltering sun, Baskett and Logan retreat to their comfortable, air-conditioned room. Like the other nine rooms in Casa de San Francisco, this one overlooks a traditional colonial garden courtyard. (Casa San Francisco: 207 Calle Corral; 505-552-8235; casasanfrancisco.com; $60 a night for double occupancy and with breakfast.)

By mid-afternoon, other hotel guests, also looking to cool down, join them poolside. Happy hour is well underway offering the second best bargain of the day: four bottles of Toña, the local lager, for $3.

It's here from this vantage point that Baskett comes to realize his imaginings of a dangerous Nicaragua, land of Contras and Sandinistas were clearly outdated.

"At Cafe Deliet, which is on the spacious front porch of Hotel Alhambra overlooking the parque, you can feast on tender beef and tasty chicken dishes," says Logan.

"Grilled fish straight from the lake is also on the menu, and all meals come with the delicious fries made from tiny, locally grown potatoes."

After dinner she says, "It's a good idea to pop into the Internet cafe in back of the hotel where they sell Eskimo ice cream treats, then head over to watch the teenage boys play soccer on the cobbles in front of the Cathedral." (Cafe Deliet: Costado Oeste, Hotel Alhambra; 505-552-

Another way to avoid the heat that begins to build toward noon is to head into the surrounding naturaleza.

A number of eco-excursion companies have sprung up, each one prepared to take you to the upper reaches of the Mombacho volcano cloud forest.

Mombacho hasn't erupted in centuries, which has allowed the crater to evolve into a huge sunken hole of vegetation. It's a nature preserve inhabited by howler monkeys, and some say, small jungle cats.

Higher still, you are granted views of Lago Cocibolca (also known as Lake Nicaragua).

Las Isletas -- a cluster of 350 volcanic islands -- were formed by a Mombacho lava flows eons ago.

Baskett describes them as looking like "pearls scattered over the water's surface."

Today the islands are easily accessible by taxi boat or kayak. Most are no larger than a big rock. Some have been snapped up by wealthy Nicaraguans (including the country's president, Daniel Ortega) and foreigners for vacation homes. But hardworking fisherman and painters (whose works are on display in the local churches and elsewhere in town) make up the largest populations, and one island has a fast-breeding colony of spider monkeys.

Tours, arranged through the hotel, run about $30 per person.

According to this Calgary couple, some of the best aspects of Central America are packed into the area in and around Granada.

There are huge tracts of forests like in Costa Rica, the kind of well-preserved colonial cities you'd find in Guatemala and unsullied beaches as good as those in El Salvador.

According to Baskett and Logan, the local expression: "Granada is Nicaragua; the rest is just mountains," pretty much sums up their experience.

www.canada.com/vancouversun

Good and bad of travel changes

A smart traveler takes the time to review the big developments in travel, because these larger trends can inform your own vacation decisions. Some are awfully obvious, and yet deserve renewed attention:

1. The dramatic decline of the U.S. dollar. This affects not only a possible trip to Western Europe (whose euro and British pound have risen greatly in worth), but also trips to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, whose currencies also have risen dramatically. Your most obvious course is to substitute a trip to Central or South America, or to Asia (other than Japan), where the U.S. dollar remains relatively strong. Or else you must adopt radically different policies for arranging your lodgings (vacation homes or apartments, rooms in private homes, hostels) in travel to Western Europe.
2. The ever-larger cruise ship. The cruise lines continue to build vessels for up to 4,000 passengers, and the only smaller new ships are those of "premium" lines, costing an arm and a leg. If you are to avoid the cruise-ship crowds, you must learn how to use the Web sites of the various cruise discounters, who occasionally -- very occasionally -- have bargains to offer on the smaller luxury vessels.
3. The emergence of the airfare "aggregators." Such names as Kayak.com, Sidestep.com, Farechase.com, Momondo.com and Mobissimo.com are becoming increasingly popular because they impartially list all the low-cost airfares available to you. They do not sell air tickets, but simply direct you to the relevant airlines.
4. The growth of the vacation-exchange industry. "You stay in their home while they stay in yours." The Hollywood film "The Holiday" has caused a torrent of Americans to pay attention to this most logical, sensible and effective method of reducing your lodging costs.
5. The increasing popularity of free hospitality services. Internet sites like Couchsurfers.com, GlobalFreeloaders.com and USServas.org enable you to enjoy free hospitality.
6. The growing trend toward the rental of vacation homes and apartments. It's a giant movement. More and more Americans have learned that a vacation home or apartment can cost considerably less than an equivalent hotel room or rooms. Try Homeaway.com, among others, for obtaining such lodging.
7. The growing travel popularity of Central America. Costa Rica was the first success story, but now Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras are coming up fast.
8. The increase in bargain-price repositioning cruises. As more and more cruise ships alternate between the Caribbean (winter) and European waters (spring and summer), and need to move between one area and the other ("repositioning"), there's been a tremendous rise in the number of repositioning cruises, costing as little as $60 a day. Go to Vacationstogo.com for the most clearly identified listing of repositioning cruises.
9. The emergence of the European river cruise. Cruises along the Rhine and the Danube, in particular, are soaring in popularity and increasing in frequency. For an unusually relaxing and very different form of vacationing, you might consider one.
10. The emergence of medical and dental tourism. Urged on by a new book, "Patients Beyond Borders," by Josef Woodman, many thousands of medically uninsured Americans are now seeking low-cost medical or dental care abroad, in clinics and hospitals accredited by the same organizations that accredit clinics and hospitals in the U.S.
11. The almost universal need for a passport. As directed by the Department of Homeland Security, it is now necessary to possess a passport if you plan to fly anywhere in the world -- even simply within the Western Hemisphere. Get one.
12. The comeback of Priceline.com. By first using a Web site called BiddingforTravel.com, which tells you how other travelers have succeeded in using the "opaque" Priceline, an increasing number of savvy travelers have had success with Priceline. Some, who regard Priceline as unsuitable for air travel, are making use of it for hotel rooms.
13. The increasing regard for Amtrak. At last, serious efforts are afoot in Congress to place Amtrak on a firm financial footing. Ridership on the national train system is increasing each year.
14. The emergence of hidden hotel fees. To their discredit, hotel executives have greatly increased their use of this improper tactic -- like charging $15-a-day resort fees for beach towels that remained in your room. Never make a booking without demanding to know whether hidden fees will increase your bill.
15. The startling increase in zany Las Vegas weddings. Your minister is dressed as Elvis Presley. Another rises eerily from a coffin. The wedding march is to the melody of "Viva Las Vegas." For a reason I will never understand, increasing numbers of couples are opting to be married in a weird Las Vegas wedding chapel -- and that, too, is a major recent development in travel.

www.kansas.com

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