Kayak or Bust in Nicaragua
After years of travel in Central America, I finally stumbled upon the Pacific Northwest Coast of Nicaragua - the fishing community of Padre Ramos and the vibrant city of Leon. This good fortune has already changed the course of my life forever, and you just can’t say that every day of your life, so I had to write and tell you more about my new-found home and adventures.
In Nicaragua, I fell in love with the warmth of the people, the beauty of the protected nature reserves, and the splendor of the shoreline as it calmly embraces the belching and sputtering chain of volcanoes. The city of Leon is overflowing with museums, artists, poets, architecture, and history. I mean, who doesn’t crave authentic, cultural experiences? But after venturing to Chiapas, Baja, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, I have learned to search for places that provide comforts, including safety and hospitality, yet stretch my perspectives in a challenging way. Welcome to Nicaragua!
Come with me, while I describe the reasons I have fallen in love.
Let’s begin with the Estero Padre Ramos Nature Reserve. It’s the largest contiguous mangrove estuary left in Central America, and it is full of life. The locals call it “la cuna” or “the cradle” because of its importance in providing habitat for baby fish, shrimp, sharks, sea turtles, birds, and crocodiles. More than 175 bird species including white ibis, roseate spoonbills, tricolored heron, magnificent frigatebirds, and orange-chinned parakeets, as well as three species of endangered sea turtles - hawksbill, leatherback, and olive ridley - rely on the estuary and the Pacific Ocean for their survival. I think my survival has also become deeply intertwined with this body of water, as I come to rely upon its fish for my food and its tranquility for my mind.
By sea kayak, the Estero has become my sanctuary and my social conduit into the community. The fisherman in their dugout canoes and pangas can not help but approach a single white female in a closed-deck Necky kayak.
When I need to restock on groceries or the energy of the city, there is no better way to spend the day but in an open-air market in Chinandega or Leon. Blocks and blocks of outdoors booths and tables display every sort of smell, color, and sensation you could ever imagine. In one section, there are giant sacks of spices – row upon row of pinks, oranges, purples, and reds for cooking and dying fabrics. In another area, fresh fish, pieces of pork, beef, chicken, lizards, and snakes. People are shouting out prices and pounds, slicing through flesh, wrapping it up, and throwing it towards the new owner. Hammocks, baskets, and leather shoes. Pinatas of Strawberry Shortcake, Winnie the Pooh, clowns, and donkeys. Men are working on industrial machines, creating and repairing shoes. They are playing cards, waiting for customers, and urinating on the walls. Clothes, toothbrushes, soap, Jesus totems, stuffed rabbits, jewelry, mattresses, towels. The Latin music is blaring in competition with the radio, which is screaming testimonials for the next political candidate. Peppers, tomatoes, scallions. Stuffed dolls, shaving cream, maxi pads. It is sensory candy, and I gobble it all up.
Tomorrow, I will return to the tranquil life of Padre Ramos and my kayak on the sea. The small homes and inhabitants will welcome me in their unassuming way. Slats of wood haphazard with scraps of metal, rope, and cardboard will present a home reception fit for royalty, due to the kindness and generosity of the people. Hammocks slung for beds with leaky roofs and sandy floors will burst with the most beautiful children armed with hugs and giggles. Barefoot and dirty, riding bikes, carrying wood, selling water, running free. Somehow they look older than the children in the US, but they also look exceedingly happy.
I am reminded that Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and just under 10% of the population live on less than $1/day. That’s 82% of the population living below the poverty line. But I am constantly impressed by the resilience and generosity of the Nicaraguan people. I am humbled by the faces of the children whose smiles turn my heart into the softest muscle. I know that spending my money here will hugely and directly benefit the local people and communities.
And so, I can only offer you this invitation on behalf of the people in my new community. Welcome to Nicaragua!
Author: Jennifer Shulzitski is an avid traveler, adventurer, sea kayaking guide and instructor in California and Nicaragua. She has launched a sea kayaking tour company with the local community in Padre Ramos to explore the Estero on Day Tours, Camping Expeditions, and all-inclusive Pacific Coast Excursions into Leon, Padre Ramos, and the neighboring Juan Venado Nature Reserve. For more information about travel in Nicaragua or sea kayaking on the Estero, you can contact Jennifer via email (Ibis.Exchange@yahoo.com), cell phone (011-505-621-2778) or visit her website, www.PointReyesOutdoors.com/Nicaragua.html.
Congratulations, Jennifer! If you'd like to win a WA tee, stop by and tell us your story!
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