Nica Info

This section of the site contains information about Nicaragua and its regions. The information is organized with Nicaragua information first, followed by its departments (states). Within each department there are separate entries for cities and areas. Note that it is common in Spanish countries for the capital city of a department takes the name of the region.

This map will help you figure out where the regions are. Another "almost free" map, the best I have seen, is here. [Thanks Julie.] Finally, the Perry-Castenada map collection at the University of Texas has some really nice maps.

The Nicaraguan government has quite a few maps available INETER . The only downside is that they are not PDFs so they don't scale. But there are maps there I have not seen available on-line elsewhere.

Carl just pointed out another map of Nicaragua as a PDF (meaning you can zoom in). It was done by the UN and, as far as I know, is free to use. It is uploaded here .

This part of the site is under construction. If there is an entry you would like to be responsible for, let me know.

Nicaragua for the Majority

While the distinction between the "tourist face" and how the majority lives exists in most countries, it is more significant in Nicaragua than many other countries. As this site is primarily for people that live or are considering living in Nicaragua, I felt it important that this distinction be pointed out.

The majority of Nicaraguans are poor. If you live in the first world, you will probably say "dirt poor". This doesn't make them unhappy and that is important to realize. It does, however, help explain why theft is generally considered "exercising an opportunity" rather than "a crime".

The rural poor live off what they can grow and trade with their neighbors. Excesses are sold in public markets to buy what they need but can't grow. Typically that means cooking oil, clothing and supplies such as barbed wire. Families tend to work together with children quickly evolving from a family responsibility to a work unit.

City poor don't have the option of growing their own crops. Thus, they work wherever they can. That may mean domestic work in other's houses, making tortillas or nacatamales (a nacatamale is a filled tamale--that is, what is called a tamale in many other places) for sale or being in the "recycling business" meaning scrounging through discards to find anything useful.

While this may sound like a depressing picture, it is the reality. The plus side is that you can make a difference. For example, while $1 may not seem like much to you, it is more than enough to feed an entire family for a day. Think about that. It doesn't have to mean "welfare". Buying food from a street vendor or fritanga instead of a trip to McDonalds can make a big difference.

Even if you elect to live in "upper class" areas, be aware that the poor are there and are who help make your lifestyle possible. For example, if you live in a gated community in SW Nicaragua, it is probably the poor that clean your house and grow the food that you eat.