Throughout Nicaragua you see people using horses, with handmade carts and saddles, as their primary form of transportation. The contrast between Nicaragua and Costa Rica is striking - Nicaragua is the poorest of the Central American counties, while Costa Ricans enjoy the highest standard of living. In many towns we saw roads made out of bricks - these are the results of government programs to employ locals to made bricks and build roads.

Houses were often made of scrap lumber, metal and even plastic tarps and branches. Some schools only offer classes on Saturday and Sunday to allow students to work during the week. Elementary age kids go to school in the morning, with secondary school in the afternoon - this is for cost reasons - a single school can be used to address the educational needs of children of all ages.

It is easy to understand why people would want to illegally cross into the US to work - you can earn the average annual Nicaraguan salary working just 3 weeks at minimum wage in the US.