Nicaragua Tourist – Studio Laguna Photography

Over the many days we were in Nicaragua for Laura and Victor’s wedding, we tried to explore as much of the country as possible.

We started in Managua, the capital city and second largest city in central America. I highly recommend just reading a basic history of the country (especially how the US manipulated the politics here) to get a grasp of what the people have been through. This is a huge statue of Sandino, a hero of the revolution.

The main Cathedral was made structurally unsound after the big earthquake, and has remained in semi ruins for many decades. I hope soon some money will go into restoring this truly gorgeous building. I may or may not have gone over some barbed wire and caution tape to get this shot while John played lookout 😉

The city is vibrant and full of contrasts…and there can be a lot of traffic.

On our way to Leon, a beautiful colonial city, we saw a smoking volcano. The country is very seismically active and the locals are used to earthquakes and volcanic activity. And we were here during rainy season, so everything was very lush and green.

Leon was gorgeous…our favorite city of the trip.

After the wedding, John and I decided to have a few days to ourselves before heading back to the states. We drove to Granada, the oldest colonial town in Central America. On the way, we stopped for a few minutes in Catarina, a gorgeous little oasis at the top of a volcanic lake with sweeping views and a lovely cool breeze (which was very appreciated in the tropical heat).

A quick ride later and we were at the base of Mombacho Volcano in Granada, Nicaragua.

We stayed at this amazing place, Hotel con Corozon. It is a not for profit hotel started by a Dutch company. They hire their staff at higher than normal wages, and give 100% of their proceeds to local education to help children get off the streets. It attracts a very international collection of tourists, and is very eco friendly. And it is designed to encourage relaxing.