"Managua"

"24/06/2010"

The hostel, which we booked into in Managua was really lovely. The kind of interior I envisage in my house one day.

Managua is so so so hot! I think we figured this on arrival at border control, but the fan in our room was a massive relief in the 40oC heat.
Last night there was a massive thunderstorm, which yet again we managed to just about miss. The rain absolutely pelted it down, yet by the time we awoke in the morning (ready for a day of sightseeing in Managua) it had all dried up!

We set off to explore the capital around 10 and it was already boiling hot. We stumbled across the Plaza, a modern shopping centre - the aircon was very welcome, as was the food break.
Managua was destroyed about 30 years ago in a massive earthquake and the majority of the city has never been rebuilt. The old cathedral hangs in ruins and looters have attacked what was once a stunning building. Various other iconic figures in Managua's monumental path include tributes to war heroes and dictators of the past. One also cannot forget the bitter civil war to which the "Arms Monument" pays homage to this. All arms were burned in what now stands as a derelict mass of land - even graffiti fails to etch on this area, a conflict where so many died.

We visited the museum of history and were fortunate to be given a guided tour by an English speaker. The tour helped piece together the Nicaraguan political, historical that my ignorant mind was in, as well as inform me on other fascinating details. The main discovery was on the differences between Mayan and Inca cultures. I now have a hypothesis on the musics and the spread of the Nueva Cancion movement as this would be relevant to the two groups.