What to do in Puerto Corinto? Live the Traditions of Nicaragua!

My only visit to Nicaragua was notable for two reasons.  First, Puerto Corinto (one of the two cruise ports in Nicaragua – San Juan del Sur is the other) was part of my longest ever cruise, onboard the Norwegian Pearl beginning in New Orleans, traveling through the Panama Canal and ending in my home city of Seattle.  The new number of cruise days to beat: 21!

Second, our visit to Nicaragua came at a height of political turmoil in the country that has, sadly, resulted in a dramatic drop in tourism, devastating economic consequences, and the deaths of hundreds of protestors at the hands of government forces and allied civilian groups.   

Is it Safe to Leave the Ship in Nicaragua?

Are you booked on a cruise scheduled to call in Nicaragua and wondering if it’s safe to leave the ship?  We grappled with that same question.  And while I’m often one to play the odds and throw caution to the wind in favor of an adventure – especially at a less common port like Puerto Corinto that I may not get to visit again – we considered the travel advisories and decided to compromise by booking an excursion through the ship. 

The most popular excursions visited León, an 80 minute bus ride away. Because our group included a 5 year-old and my father-in-law who was still recovering from a liver transplant, we took my standard issue professor’s red pen to León and settled on: Live the Traditions of Nicaragua.  We booked this excursion through NCL, but a similar tour is available through most of the other lines that stop in Corinto. 

And while I can’t speak to current or future conditions in Corinto or Chinandega and suggest you review the current State Department travel warning here, we never felt unsafe on the drive or at any of the locations we visited.

What’s Causing the Turmoil in Nicaragua?

On our 30-minute bus ride from the cruise terminal to the city of Chinandega, we got a feel for the local area as our guide briefed us on the current turmoil in his country, including protests that were taking place on that very day. 

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While Nicaragua has long been a poor country, until 2017 it was considered a safe and stable tourist destination with a growing economy.  While the president, Daniel Ortega, and his wife Rosario Murillo, whom he made his vice-president, have engaged in widespread political corruption and nepotism, they remained popular due to their support of social programs to benefit the poor subsidized by funds from Venezuela. 

But in 2017 the economy of Venezuela collapsed and funds to Nicaragua dried up, prompting President Ortega to propose sharp cuts to social security benefits.  This led to widespread public protests and triggered a violent crackdown by the Ortega government and its supporters that resulted in the deaths of more than 300 citizens.

Better in Color: The Churches of Chinandega

Once we arrived in Chinandega, we drove by some city highlights, including three colorful churches. In 2004, M&M’s introduced a new tagline: chocolate is better in color.   Well in an attempt to lure back tourists, the tagline, churches are better in color, seems suitable for the city of Chinandega.  And since my inner dialogue frequently includes candy analogies, as we drove by the first of three churches, Our Lady of Guadalupe, I thought “that paint color looks like a blueberry Jelly Belly.”  Then as we drove by the second church, Saint Anthony’s: “that one looks like an orange Smartie.”  And finally, when we arrived at the third church, Parroquia Santa Ana, I was really hungry and licked an exterior wall hoping it would taste like a yellow Skittle. Surprise, it didn’t.

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe was originally built in 1855, during a cholera outbreak, as an offering to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Sadly, it was destroyed 30 years later in an earthquake. It was rebuilt and was the first church in Central America to achieve the rank of sanctuary by Pope Pius IX.

Saint Anthony Church (Iglesia San Antonio)

This church is known for extravagant weddings among members of the aristocracy. It was also damaged in the 1885 earthquake and rebuilt in 1923.

Parroquia Santa Ana and Parque Central

At the center of Chinandega is Parque Central, a park and public square lined with vendors selling food and knickknacks surrounding a playground and many areas to sit and people watch. We had 15 minutes to explore this area on our own. While our fellow nervous American cruise tourists clung to the bus like barnacles, we took full advantage of a see saw and survived to write this boring blog post about it.

But prior to the park, we were offered a tour of the interior of Our Lady Santa Ana Parish. Now while the park didn’t phase me, I was a little nervous about stepping inside a church with my travel/teaching assistant “H.” Why, you ask? Because he’s been known to do this in churches:

Sometimes he does that in the MDR too, which is even worse when he’s one of only five kids on board. When you’re looking around for another innocent child to blame and every scowl staring back at you has a Facebook album titled “retirement is great!” and clearly chose this itinerary to avoid ill mannered children, you know it’s time to lift all restrictions on unhealthy food and screen time. And: “yes, I’ll buy you a horse when we get home, just keep it together.”

Thankfully, a quick sanctioned outdoor yell and a promised trip to the playground (see above) resulted in a rare parenting win and these spectacular sights:

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This Romanesque style church was built in the 1700’s and has been fully and beautifully restored. Interior highlights included a high alter featuring Santa Ana – the mother of Mary and the patron saint of Chinandega – cradling a robed and crowned Mary and the simple, elegant white planked ceiling painted in a dark, contrasting hue.

Chinandega: A Study in Contrast and Two Faces I’ll Never Forget

As I was dizzying myself trying not to miss a single detail in Santa Ana’s, two bitty girls walked in, one about 8 and one about 4. Both had deep brown eyes and hair swept back into polytails by someone who cared for them. The younger one wore an apron with a pocket in front and shadowed the older one as she approached each member of our group and asked in English for: “one dollar, please?”

We were discouraged from giving them any money, but my father-in-law, with his dear heart so finely tuned to the suffering of others, offered them some candy. As for me, I paid a nod to the contrast. That my biggest worry on that day was how my privileged child, on his costly three week family cruise, would behave on our excursion as we skirted the uglier parts of life in Nicaragua. That for those two little girls, “live the traditions of Nicaragua” meant begging to survive. And that for the grown ups who loved them, it meant sending them out there. Because they’re that desperate.

Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America and it’s getting worse with the recent unrest. As our group exited the church with an uncomfortable sense of guilt and shame and awkward attempts at reassurance or deflection, we shook it off and headed onto our next destination. One portraying the best of this country full of rich traditions, but completely sheltered from what life is really like for most in Nicaragua.

Nacatamal: Nicaraguan Style Tamale

On our way out of the bustling center of Chinandega, we stopped at a stand known for its nacatamal, Nicaraguan style tamales. Nacatamal include a hint of bitter orange added to the masa and a filling of meat, rice, tomatoes, potatoes, and usually some combination of prunes, green olives, capers or raisins. Our driver ordered several and passed them around the bus for everyone to try.

Live the Traditions of Nicaragua through dance, pottery, coffee, and food

As our bus headed further out into the agricultural lands surrounding Chinandega, we appreciated the unique beauty of the place and caught a few glimpses of the nearby San Cristóbal Volcano, the tallest volcano in Nicaragua.

When we arrived at our hacienda, we were seated at nicely set circular tables and treated to a snack of homemade tortillas with various optional toppings, smoothies made with fresh local fruit, and coffee.

We enjoyed a short folkloric dance show, representing the indigenous cultures of Nicaragua.

Then we were ushered along to another area as another bus pulled up full of more cruise passengers to take our place in the dining area.

In another area of the vast, landscaped grounds of the hacienda, we watched a pottery demonstration:

And were able to shop for a piece of handmade local pottery.

My mother-in-law purchased a small turtle whistle for “H.” I’m starting to think she hates me.

And then, just in time, “can we PLEASE get H something else to put in his mouth,” we were directed toward a table of dough where we could learn how to prepare and cook tortillas.

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Let’s just say that ours wouldn’t have made it past quality control, but they tasted delicious.

After exploring around the grounds on our own for a few minutes and visiting some animals confined in their stalls, we re-boarded our bus and headed for our final destination, Cortijo El Rosario.

Cortijo El Rosario

Cortijo El Rosario is an equine stud farm famous for breeding and showing Spanish and Lusitano purebreds. The grounds are immense and meticulously maintained and almost like they were carbon copied from my brain onto the landscape: “now this is what I pictured when I thought of Nicaragua.”

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We were given time on our own to explore the grounds and gift shop and watch some horses being trained through the gift ship windows. Despite this being a horse farm, I didn’t take a single photo of a horse because I was hoping a hand-me-down stuffed “My Little Pony” would satisfy my promise to buy “H” one of those horses if he was good for the bus ride back to the cruise terminal.

Final Thoughts on “Live the Traditions of Nicaragua”

Cruise travel is sometimes criticized for offering a too brief and sanitized experience of a place compared to more immersive land-based travel. Some may even venture so far as to claim that you haven’t really been somewhere if you’ve only cruised there.

In many ways it’s a fair critique. However, in defense of cruising, I postulate that no one on our tour, including myself and my family, would have visited Nicaragua during this troubled time in the country’s history were it not for the opportunity to do so on this cruise.

We pumped a little money into an economy desperate for tourist dollars and I returned home with an appreciation for some of the cultural traditions of Nicaragua. But more importantly, with a hunger to learn more about the struggles going on there. And with two little images in my head that will never again allow me to casually dismiss news from Nicaragua because I have no connection to the place.

Ships Scheduled to Berth at Puerto Corinto, Nicaragua in 2019 and 2020

While cruise schedules can change, these are the ships currently schedule to visit Puerto Corinto in 2019 and 2020. May you be lucky enough to find yourself on one!

Class Dismissed.

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