Nicaragua has a reputation for being one of the safer countries in Central America and thus has a more developed tourism industry, greatly increasing the risk of experiencing opportunistic bamboozlement by touts and thieves.
Within our first week, we got ripped off in the following ways:
A cab driver in cahoots with a guy at the bus station in Managua "confirmed" for us that the bus running to the beach town of El Transito was no longer in operation (false) and gave us a "discounted" ride for $50. Net loss = $45
Tim's iPhone was stolen. Net loss ~$425
Some rando on the bus from Managua to Rivas posing as the driver sold us tickets, i.e. paper on which he wrote our destination, for 600 córdobas. Much confusion ensued when the actual driver came around to collect our fare. Net loss: $17
(Editor's note: Lest you think we're a couple of rubes, I assure you that their techniques, the details of which are too lengthy to describe here, were wily and sophisticated.)
As is often the way of the world, we also had a number of lovely experiences with the good people of Nicaragua that counterbalance the few negative experiences:
We stayed at one of the nicest Couchsurfing locations (in Managua) either of us have ever encountered and took a much needed rest day to do laundry and teach 14-year-old Johnny the meaning of various Obie Trice lyrics. Net gain: a more nuanced appreciation of Obie Trice's musicality, and ~$40 saved on two nights hostel in Managua.
At the beach, we relocated from a rundown hostel owned by a gringo from Ocean City, NJ (!) to a gorgeous hostel run by two Nicaraguan brothers who lived in Philly for twenty years (!) that cost half the price. They were very friendly and gave us a parting gift of a bottle of honey from one of the brother's own hives. Net gain: good conversation, good sleep, $60 price difference, and honey.
We hitchhiked a 15 minute stretch of busy PanAmerican highway with an older Nicaraguan gentleman named Mario who invited us to stay at his coffee farm (we had to pass, unfortunately). Net gain: conversation plus saved $15 on cab ride.
A friendly guy on the bus named Marlo - the bus on which we bought fake tickets - helped us get the local rate for a cab from the bus station in Rivas to the Ometepe Island port town of San Jorge by pretending he was going on vacation to the island with us. It was unclear until the very end of the ruse if he was actually going to try to come with us or maybe rob us. Net gain: good conversation on the bus with Marlo plus $3 saved on the 'local' cab rate vs the Gringo rate.
After a fun time last night in Altagracia, a town on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua, celebrating the feast day of San Diego, we were awoken at roughly 3am and every hour thereafter by a neighbor's radio playing the worst kind of 90s alt rock and a series of roosters literally outside our door. Both of us have added learning how to kill chickens with our bare hands to our list of desired WWOOFing experiences. Despite our lack of sleep, we were able to put our newfound discernment skills to good use this morning when a guy - carrying a beetle the size of his hand, as one does - told us the buses aren't running today (false) and offered us a $26 cab ride to our next destination (Eco-lodge/farm called Jardin de la Vida) on the other side of the island. We told him we'd think about it, then found the bus, as scheduled, 30 minutes later. Net gain: $24
While it's infuriating in the moment to be tricked, ultimately we're talking about differences of a few dollars here and there. Being Americans, Tim and I have the freedom and resources to see parts of these countries that their own citizens may never visit. An iPhone is an embarrassingly expensive belonging when its value is converted to córdobas for a police report ($C 22,500). Furthermore, as we've been conversing with locals and reading more about the countries we're visiting, we've gained a much better understanding of the sad history of the United States' influence in the region, including training and arming the militaries of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to massacre their own people throughout the 80s and 90s. As Andy Staub would say "perspective is a bitch," and we've decided to view our losses as reparations on behalf of the Reagan (and probably Trump) administration.
Within our first week, we got ripped off in the following ways:
A cab driver in cahoots with a guy at the bus station in Managua "confirmed" for us that the bus running to the beach town of El Transito was no longer in operation (false) and gave us a "discounted" ride for $50. Net loss = $45
Tim's iPhone was stolen. Net loss ~$425
Some rando on the bus from Managua to Rivas posing as the driver sold us tickets, i.e. paper on which he wrote our destination, for 600 córdobas. Much confusion ensued when the actual driver came around to collect our fare. Net loss: $17
(Editor's note: Lest you think we're a couple of rubes, I assure you that their techniques, the details of which are too lengthy to describe here, were wily and sophisticated.)
As is often the way of the world, we also had a number of lovely experiences with the good people of Nicaragua that counterbalance the few negative experiences:
We stayed at one of the nicest Couchsurfing locations (in Managua) either of us have ever encountered and took a much needed rest day to do laundry and teach 14-year-old Johnny the meaning of various Obie Trice lyrics. Net gain: a more nuanced appreciation of Obie Trice's musicality, and ~$40 saved on two nights hostel in Managua.
At the beach, we relocated from a rundown hostel owned by a gringo from Ocean City, NJ (!) to a gorgeous hostel run by two Nicaraguan brothers who lived in Philly for twenty years (!) that cost half the price. They were very friendly and gave us a parting gift of a bottle of honey from one of the brother's own hives. Net gain: good conversation, good sleep, $60 price difference, and honey.
We hitchhiked a 15 minute stretch of busy PanAmerican highway with an older Nicaraguan gentleman named Mario who invited us to stay at his coffee farm (we had to pass, unfortunately). Net gain: conversation plus saved $15 on cab ride.
A friendly guy on the bus named Marlo - the bus on which we bought fake tickets - helped us get the local rate for a cab from the bus station in Rivas to the Ometepe Island port town of San Jorge by pretending he was going on vacation to the island with us. It was unclear until the very end of the ruse if he was actually going to try to come with us or maybe rob us. Net gain: good conversation on the bus with Marlo plus $3 saved on the 'local' cab rate vs the Gringo rate.
After a fun time last night in Altagracia, a town on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua, celebrating the feast day of San Diego, we were awoken at roughly 3am and every hour thereafter by a neighbor's radio playing the worst kind of 90s alt rock and a series of roosters literally outside our door. Both of us have added learning how to kill chickens with our bare hands to our list of desired WWOOFing experiences. Despite our lack of sleep, we were able to put our newfound discernment skills to good use this morning when a guy - carrying a beetle the size of his hand, as one does - told us the buses aren't running today (false) and offered us a $26 cab ride to our next destination (Eco-lodge/farm called Jardin de la Vida) on the other side of the island. We told him we'd think about it, then found the bus, as scheduled, 30 minutes later. Net gain: $24
While it's infuriating in the moment to be tricked, ultimately we're talking about differences of a few dollars here and there. Being Americans, Tim and I have the freedom and resources to see parts of these countries that their own citizens may never visit. An iPhone is an embarrassingly expensive belonging when its value is converted to córdobas for a police report ($C 22,500). Furthermore, as we've been conversing with locals and reading more about the countries we're visiting, we've gained a much better understanding of the sad history of the United States' influence in the region, including training and arming the militaries of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to massacre their own people throughout the 80s and 90s. As Andy Staub would say "perspective is a bitch," and we've decided to view our losses as reparations on behalf of the Reagan (and probably Trump) administration.
