Nicaragua Real Estate

January 2008

Issue: 2008 - 08

Nicaragua, country with lowest crime rates
Solving Nicaragua's Energy Crisis With Very Sweet Biomass.
Nicoya owner offers a taste of Nicaragua
International Fishing Tournament Held on Pacifica Coast

Tourism and Country News

Nicaragua, country with lowest crime rates

La Prensa, Managua

November 5, 2007.

The country will close 2007 with an average homicide rate of 14 per 100,000 people, a rate much lower than regional indicators that are reported by Interpol, stated the Chief of the National Police, Aminta Granera.

In declarations given yesterday on national televisión, the Chief of Police said that according to the regional indicators in Latin America, the average rate for the región is 30 homicides per 100,000 people.

She added that the homicide index in El Salvador is 58, Guatemala 48, Honduras 44, and Panama 14.

The Chief also said that while there have been 24 bank robberies in Guatemala, and 18 in Honduras, there has only been one assault on a banking institution in Nicaragua; with respect to auto theft, Nicaragua is the country where this type of crime happens the least.

According to the Nicaraguan pólice files, 200 vehicles were robbed here in 2006, while in Puerto Rico there were 8,593 vehicles stolen.

Drugs, the real headache.

Youth gangs are another area where Nicaragua presents good figures; the groups have been reduced to small delinquent clusters found in the major cities.

However, the principal concerns of the authorities are crimes related to drug trafficking, such as the movement of drugs and money. Over the course of this year, there have been several important “busts”, but in some cases the detainees have escaped, especially on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua.

Solving Nicaragua's Energy Crisis With Very Sweet Biomass

by Alternative Energy Retailer Staff

Wednesday 21 November 2007

The government of Nicaragua ceased its national policy of electricity rationing on Dec. 1, thanks to an unlikely biomass resource.

According to a report on the Spanish news service EFE, the Nicaraguan Energy and Mines Ministry announced the Monte Rosa and San Antonio sugar cane refineries in western part of the country will each begin to generate about 30 MW of energy from the residue of the local sugar cane harvests. The addition of 60 MW of sugar cane power will help to alleviate acute electrical shortages - the national electrical demand is 514 MW, but the daily energy deficit varies between 50 and 100 MW.

Nicoya owner offers a taste of Nicaragua

By Keri Kirby
The Herald-Zeitung

Published December 5, 2007

The smells and flavors of Nicaragua that remind Catalina Chavez of her home country are simmering in New Braunfels.

“I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long, long time,” said Chavez of her recently opened restaurant Nicoya at 1528 E. Common St.

Chavez, who moved to the U.S. from Nicaragua in the 1970s, said she’s fostered a desire to share her love of cooking and flavors of her native country with others and New Braunfels seemed like the perfect place.

“This community is growing a lot and I see the different kinds of people here,” she said. “People travel a lot here and they’ve been exposed to my food — Latin American food. They’ve been in Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras and Guatemala. ... When you mention plantains or yucca they know already and they like the food.”

Chavez created the authentic dishes on the menu from recipes her mother and aunt often made when she was a child, she said, adding that she stays true to the country’s flavors by importing many ingredients from Nicaragua.

Diners unfamiliar with Central American cuisine will find a few recognizable items on the menu, such as carne asada, but most of the dishes boast unique flavors.

Chavez said most of the meat used is marinated with sour or bitter orange, which tempts taste buds with a bold, fragrant flavor.

To create the popular dish baho, Chavez says the meat is slowly steamed in banana leaves with sweet plantains and yucca.

Those unsure of what to order shouldn’t look to the menu for explanation. Chavez said she purposely created the menu in Spanish with little explanation of the dishes written in English.

“When I made the menu, I put most of the dishes in Spanish so I can have the attention of people and talk to them and explain it to them,” she said, adding that she wants diners to know more than just her food and country. “That way they can know me,” she said.

If you go

• Nicoya, which means a local or native of Nicaragua, is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

• The restaurant offers coffee and beer imported from Nicaragua and there are a small number of products and items available for sale.

• Call 830-626-0229 to learn more.

International Fishing Tournament Held on Pacifica Coast

An international fishing tournament, sponsored by Maspor Marine of Nicaragua, was held on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, in Chinandega. It was just one of many high profile tournaments of its kind that are put on up and down the coasts of Nicaragua, with all sorts of prizes.