Travel to Central America

Lake Managua

Lake Managua is also known as Lake Xolotlán and it is located in the the city of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It´s name comes from the Spanish conquerors from "Mangue", which was their name for the Mánkeme tribes, and agua, wich means water. The lake has been severely polluted, in part by Kodak dumping mercury into the lake in the 1950s. Despite the pollution, some of the people of Managua still live along the lake's banks and eat the fish. It is also joined by the Tipitapa River to another lake, Lake Nicaragua; however, due to the extreme pollution, the bull sharks of Lake Nicaragua can't join Lake Managua.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a developing nation. There are two faces of such a developing nation, and it is your choice how to view the experience. A blessing of its not being fully “developed” as an economy is the largely untouched natural splendor that first attracted Christopher Columbus to the region 500 years ago. There is also much less evidence of wealth as most North Americans and Europeans are accustomed to seeing in their own parts of the world. Viewed as an opportunity to learn about differences, we believe that the developing nation status of Nicaragua is a plus.

Nonetheless, if evidence of poverty makes you uncomfortable, you may need to think further about whether this is the place for you. One assurance we can make is that the poverty is not as ugly as you first might see it. Nicaraguans, who have less in their personal possession on average than other people in the Western Hemisphere, are somehow the most generous. People who appear to have nothing in this country will still find a way to offer you something. That is an experience we can all learn from