Sports Events in Nicaragua

Nicaragua's best football team Real Estelí (also referred to as "El Tren del Norte") comes from Estelí. They are the current champions. Football games take place 3 p.m. on Sundays. The view of the surrounding mountain range is fantastic from the stadium. If you want to see local fans in action you should ask where the "Barra Brava" is.

In the Island of Ometepe there are two volcanoes: Concepción and Maderas. We climbed up the Volcan Maderas admiring the beautiful cloud forest and then down to Laguna de Maderas, where we swam. This trip took us about 6 hours and at the end we were very tired and muddy and could not take it any more... My calves were aching for 5 days after the climb.

Climbing up to Concepción takes more time (about 8h) and tears but it must be fantastic.

It is recommendable to go and climb up the volcanoes during the dry season when it is not so muddy.

Equipment: Rubber boots, long trousers, swimming suit, water and light snack + lots of humour for the muddy path.

Hook up with the folks at Casa Iguana... and for 45.00 (for 2 people) they guarantee you'll reel one in. The trip is approx. 2 hours and should be booked one day in advance.

Please note that when you catch a fish, it becomes their property. They then have the nerve to charge you to cook/eat it and also serve it to all of their guests (charging them $7.50 a plate as well). I certainly enjoy the sharing part but I think they've taken good old American capitalism to the limit here. To their credit, we did recieve a large portion and two free beer.

My recommendation... hire a local and catch em' the old fashioned way. It will be much cheaper, a better cultural experience and.... then when you're done, take it over to Bridgette's (a lovely woman and great cook) on the other side of the island and she'll cook it up for you for free... as long as you share :-)

Equipment: Don't bring anything that you need to stay dry. You'll get absolutely soaked.