Nicaragua II: Bigger and Better

After two great nights in Granada, we left on the "chicken bus", which is nothing more than an old but brightly painted American schoolbus like the one below. They can be green, orange, red, yellow, purple, or any combination of colors. Two assistants to the driver ride the bus and one hangs out the open door calling to pedestrians to get on the bus in the same way a vendor might sell hot dogs at a baseball game. The 30-minute ride to the next city cost 10 córdobas, or about 50 cents.






We got off the chicken bus at Masaya, a city famed as a market center and as the cultural capital of Nicaragua. We debarked in a dusty unpaved lot and walked through a seemingly endless collection of wares, everything from "Monopolio" to melons, from haircuts to horchata, and from bananas to "ball-in-a-cup". The best part: everything was cheap. And I mean CHEAP. I got a guayabera (a typical Latin American collared shirt with four pockets), a handmade hammock, and a t-shirt all for less than $20. We got a bit lost outside the artisan market and wandered through the area probably intended only for locals. This is where the "third world" state of Nicaragua hit me. The heat and crowds were oppressive, toothless salesman sold fruit off rickety stands and carts, and the trash lining the dirt roads made the smell and atmosphere unbearable. Walking through that haunting part of the market made a deep impression on me and has been a source for reflection ever since.

We asked some socks salesmen for directions out of the market, located the bus stop and quickly jumped on board a departing bus for the capital Managua. As we were leaving though, one could make out the strains of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" over the crowds (hint: foreshadowing).