Journey to the Center of the e arth 86 Outside destinations special postCarDs from Central ameriCa niCaragua: CloCkwise from far left, puerto momotombo; the beaCh at hotel punta teonoste; the CatheDral of león; the ferry to ometepe; san Juan Del sur; street fooD; león; surfer rex CalDeron DreaDing winter’s Chill? it’s always summer in Central ameriCa, where you Can still Journey to the of the earth surf untou CheD breaks, summit a Ctive volCanoes, an D s Cuba-Dive pristine reefs from Center guatemala all the way south to panama. book n ow an D thank us later. photographs by João Canziani Outside 87 Central ameriCa The contra-Sandinista war ended more than 20 Nicaraguayears ago. It’s time to go see the country’s beautiful future for yourself. by stephanIe pearSon the winD is howling, the when it’s your time to die, it’s bats are flying, andi ’m on the your time to die. not only do i wrong side of the zona de respect mendoza’s savant-like peligro—no pase sign, peer- knowledge of nicaragua—from ing into what 16th-century bird species to batty politi- spanish priests considered to cians—but after a week traveling be the burning maw of hell. it’s together, i’m also starting to get after-hours at masaya volcano his latin pícaro sense of humor. national park, nicaragua’s it’s dark, spicy, and not at all pC. first, where a 36-square-mile it also matches the mood of caldera gracefully rises 2,095 masaya, which i’ve deemed the feet above the dry tropical forest Dark park because of the near halfway between the capital, perfect metaphor it creates for managua, and the colonial city nicaragua’s surreal and violent of granada. the crater i’m peer- history. hundreds of years ago, ing into, ­Santi ag o, is one of the masaya was used as a sacrificial most active in Central america, altar by the Chorotega ­Indians, spewing as much as 1,200 who threw maidens and small CloCkwise from top left: JiCaro islanD eColoDge; las peñitas ru Co; leaving tons of sulfur dioxide per day. children into the crater to granaDa; Cemeterio general De granaDa the pulsing thump of glowing appease the goddess of fire.i n magma 1,246 feet below sounds the 1970s, dictator anastasio the 1986 scandal in which the the second-largest intact rain- like crashing waves. it’s so mes- somoza Debayle’s hit men reagan administration illegally forest in the western hemi- merizing that i take a step closer. dumped their tortured prison- sold arms to iran in order to sphere. it has 25 volcanoes if this park were in the u.s., ers’ bodies here to disappear the fund the contras, the nicara- (seven of which are active); more there would be a six-foot chain- evidence. “beauty, in nicara- guan soldiers trained by the u.s. than 750 bird species; empty, link fence topped by razor wire gua, often contained the beast,” to overthrow the sandinistas. world-class surf beaches on the circling the crater rim. but nica- wrote salman rushdie in his add a string of corrupt politi- pacific; unexplored jungles on raguans have a large appetite for 1987 book The Jaguar Smile. cians and the 2006 resurgence the Caribbean; and a popula- risk and a practically nonexis- most americans know more of president Daniel ortega, tion that is pulling itself up by tent national-park budget. this about its beast than its beauty. a populist sandinista whose its bootstraps through tourism. no-barriers connection to what our collective knowledge administration is heavily backed with a growing number of colo- lies beneath, as well as night- of Central america’s largest by oil subsidies from venezuelan nial hotels and designer eco- time tours of massive bat caves, country—slightly bigger than president hugo Chavez, and it’s lodges, the allure of nicaragua are what make the park so sen- the state of new york, with a clear that while nicaragua is is no longer a secret. more than sational. my guide, Juan Carlos population of nearly six million no longer a dictatorship, it isn’t a million foreigners—210,479 mendoza, was here at masaya in people, and the second-poorest exactly a democracy, either. from the united states—visited 2001 with 150 american tourists nation in the western hemi- but even questionably ethical in 2010. like Costa rica 20 years when it erupted. sphere—centers on two events. leadership can’t keep nicaragua ago, nicaragua is on the cusp of “i heard a boom and thought the first was the five-year civil from finally, fully taking advan- going mainstream. it was dynamite,” mendoza says. war that killed an estimated tage of its assets: it may come it’s impossible to see the that’s when a volcanic rock 50,000 nicaraguans and ended as a surprise to most americans entire country in ten days, so bombed his bus, making evacu- with the socialist sandinistas’ that the country is on par with we’ve started in managua and ation difficult.s ince everyone overthrow of somoza in 1979. panama as the second safest are making a figure-eight loop came out alive, mendoza, a the second was the contra- in Central america, behind northwest to the city of león 50-year-old former sandinista, sandinista war, a poorly masked Costa rica, according to united and the beaches of the pacific; remained calm. he’d seen worse. u.s.-soviet proxy conflict nations statistics. it’s also one then to granada; then turning “Su turno es su turno,” he tells to control this resource-rich of the most biologically diverse. south to the expat surfing hot photographer João Canziani and banana republic. the war lasted more than 18 percent of nica- spot san Juan del sur. from there me as, on cue, a deep boom ema- through most of the 1980s and ragua is protected in 77 parks we’ll visit the newly anointed nates from the crater and i leap killed 30,000 people, but for and reserves, which include the world biosphere ­Reserve of toward the “safe” side of the fis- americans the screaming head- more than five- million-acre ometepe island in lake nicara- sure on the rim. in other words, line was the iran-contra affair, bosawás biosphere reserve, gua—the largest freshwater body 88 Outside destinations special Central ameriCa CloCkwise from top left: an olD as we speed toward managua hospital in grana Da; ­jiCaro; fresh tortillas; a view from hotel punta in a white SUV. we’ve been teonoste; the author on Cerro negro; poking around the ruins of Cashews; león; punta teonoste’s bea Ch in Central america—and finish león viejo, the second-oldest impec cable english, wears a back in managua. nicaraguan city, founded in military buzz cut, has a massive army. mendoza went off to the tonight we’ve diverted from 1524 and destroyed by a severe jaguar tooth dangling around jungle without complaint. the gringo trail altogether. the earthquake in 1610. this former his neck, and never takes off his “i thought it was correct to park is deserted, and we have gold-trading center is nicara- name tag. he’s the country’s defend my country,” he says. the glow of the masaya volcano gua’s firstw orld heritage site. conduit to the world—from after two years, mendoza was and the distant view of moonlit “our history is very heroic,” everyday people on up. when allowed to return to his tourism lake nicaragua to ourselves. mendoza continues. “this pope John paul ii was scheduled job; he was assigned vips like from this vantage point, it feels country has so much potential, to visit in 1996, mendoza was kuwaiti princes and a Central like nicaragua’s moment is now. but i don’t think i’m going to live the man assigned to show him american president. he’s been long enough to see its future.” around. unfortunately, the plans at it ever since, guiding for “ i ConsiDer myself to be mendoza is the future of were changed at the last minute. Careli tours, a company owned very nationalistic. i love my nicaragua. five foot eleven “i could have ridden in the by the melchiors, the family country,” mendoza tells me and barrel-chested, he speaks popemobile!” he says dejectedly. that pioneered Costa rican mendoza was also, as they environmental tourism. say, “en la lucha”—in the fight. it’s impossible to fully under- ACCESS AND RESOURCES Customize a trip through Careli after graduating from John stand a country as conflicted Tours; www.carelitours.com. hoW To GeT There: Fly direct to f. kennedy high school in and convoluted as nicaragua. Managua on Continental from houston or on a number of air- fremont, California (his family while it helps to study the past, lines from Miami. When To Go: Late november through May for sent him to the u.s. after an it doesn’t do any good to dwell the pacific oast;c avoid the Caribbean side—hurricane season— earthquake demolished mana- on it. within an hour’s radius in october and november. Where To STay: Strand yourself at gua), in 1980, he was selected of león, there are plenty of ways Jicaro Island ecolodge; doubles, $480; jicarolodge.com. on the by the ministry of tourism to to ditch the beast and connect pacific oast,c hotel punta Teonoste’s thatch-roofed bungalows undergo a yearlong intensive with the beauty. we hiked 2,395- sit on an empty mile-long beach near stellar surf breaks; $100 training program, studying the foot Cerro negro volcano, a per night per person, including breakfast; puntateonoste.com.