These pictures are of the Nicaraguan portion of my May 2007 trip to Central America.

To see additional photos, hit "Older Posts" when you get down to the end of the page.

This is a view of our hotel, Hotel Finca Santo Domingo, on Ometepe Island along the shore of Lake Nicaragua. Volcano Concepcion is covered with clouds in the background.

The ferry boat across Lake Nicaragua to Ometepe Island. Volcano Concepcion is in the background. Our ferry was fully loaded, and the trip to the Island took about 45 minutes.

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.

A washing station along Lake Nicaragua. People use the Lake for all their water needs - drinking, bathing and washing. People also bring herds of cattle and horses to the lake to drink both in the morning and evening. The Lake is the second largest fresh water body in Latin America (Lake Titicaca is the biggest).

Many foreigners are buying up lakefront property - currently priced at about $8000 US for an acre or more along the lake. It is much less for local people. The minimum wage in Nicaragua is $1.50 US/day, and over 60% of men are unemployed. Most survive by subsistence farming. Tourism is becoming more important, especially for young people - many of whom are highly motivated to learn English and work as tour guides to earn cash.

Hiking through ranch lands, then dry forest to reach a San Ramon Falls on the side of Volcano Madera. At the falls we saw huge Blue Morpho butterflies. It has not rained here for 5 months, since January, and while on our hike we saw a large stream of army ants carrying eggs. Our guide said that this is a sign that it will rain today. Since it was 105 degrees while we hiked that prediction was was hard to believe, however, later that night during dinner the rain came pouring down.

A beautiful Crested Jay that frequented our outdoor dining area on the shore of Lake Nicaragua.

Mangroves within the Reserva Natural Isla Juan Venado. Travel through the Reserve is by boat only. You can see black, red (shown here, note termite mound - the large black lump), and white mangroves. Great birding in the Reserve - Boat-billed, Bare-throated, Great, Little Blue, Tricolor and Green Herons, Cattle, Great and Snowy Egrets, Wood Stork, Solitary Sandpiper, Mangrove Swallow, Grackle, Yellow Warbler, White Ibis, White-winged Dove, Mangrove Hawk, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Kisskadee, Whistling Duck, Stilt, Cormorant, Whimbrel, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Royal Terns, Laughing Gulls and Frigatebird. Also saw a small crocodile.