Managua, Nicaragua in 2 hours...

Holaaaa...
Cómo estas?



Well, excuse my extremely limited Spanish but I can't help to listen and try to pick up some of those melodious expressions. During my stay in Managua, I certainly picked up some and hopefully I can learn more later on. It's such a beautiful language :).

Soooo...back to my traveling note to Nicaragua now. As I have shared my oh-so-full-of-drama trip before here, now let me share some interesting spots I managed to visit in Managua. In 2 hours ...just before the meeting started.

Biasanya kalau melakukan perjalanan ke satu tempat karena pertemuan resmi memang begini nih. Well, we're here to work but if you can, you can definitely squeeze in some visits to nearby place. Kalau tidak pandai-pandai mengatasinya jadwal, memang agak sulit untuk bisa melihat kota yang kita datangi di sela-sela pertemuan.

Untungnya, karena pengaruh cuaca di Nikaragua yang memang panas, kegiatan banyak dilakukan sejak jam 6 pagi dan selesai jam 2 siang karena panas. jadi, di hari ketiga saya di Managua, saya memutuskan untuk mencoba melihat-liat kota. Setelah mengecek di Google dan tanya teman-teman lokal, saya disarankan untuk naik taksi dari hotel untuk melihat-lihat. Selain karena faktor keamanan dan bahasa spanyol saya yang minim, juga karena pertimbangan waktu yang terbatas.

So, jam 7 pagi saya turun ke lobby, tanya-tanya dan akhirnya memutuskan untuk me nyewa satu taksi. Tujuan saya memang tidak banyak, hanya ingin melihat Antigua Catedral alias the old church di Nicaragua yang sekarang tinggal puing akibat gempa dahsyat tahun 1972 dan sekitar Avenue de Simon Bolivar yang memang menjadi semacam pusat kota. Alhamdulilaaah. ..saya mendapat supir Denis yang bisa berbahaya inggris dan keliling kota selama hampir 2 jam hanya biaya USD 15 alias kurang dari Rp200.000 saja! Murah kan untuk tur keliling kota :).

So, I came to the receptionist and she got me a taxi with English-speaking driver named Denis. Lucky me indeed... and Denis was also very friendly. I explained to him that I only had around 2 hours before the meeting and at least I saw the old Chatedral and walked around Avenue de Simon Bolivar, as we have seen this area the night before.

To my surprise, Denis took me to several beautiful spots beyond that. 

Wanna know what I saw in 2 hours?

Stick around... I'll share some pictures first here :) and will get back with more information.

1. Parque Historico Nacional






It was not on my original list, but I surely enjoyed my visit here.
Up on the hill, we could see the shillouette statue of Sandino, one of the national heroes of the country, standing grandeurly by the tree of life, or amarillo. 


Here we can see the Old Managua and the New Managua as well.

2. Laguna de Tiscapa

From the National Park, we can see the Lake celarly. Too bad Laguna de Tiscapa, or Tiscapa Lake, is heavily poluted now. It looks okay from afar. Denis said there was 


3. Antigua Catedral de Managua



Frankly speaking, this is the reason why I got up early and went out browsing the city :).
It looks abandoned though now, since the tremendous earthquake in 1972 shattered the city, took its toll on the lives of the peoples, including this beautiful church. It was such a beauty...but I learnt that they have build the new church instead of restoring this one.

I have shared some of the pics before and I still have some more. Perhaps I will need to make a special post on it :).

4. Palacio de la Cultural



Standing next to the Old Chatedral of Managua, this lovely building serves as a national museum as well. I love to explore inside but when I was there it was still closed :(. Too bad... But as always, museum is one of the best resources to see and to learn more about one country and its cultures.

4. Casa de los pueblos

Literally it means the House of the peoples. It is located on the other side of the Antigua Catedral. I didn't get in either...I didn't think I was allowed :). But it's good to take picture in front of it with huge statues of Sandino and Rubio.



5. Avenue de Simon Bolivar

For sure you will see many interesting objects around this area, along this main street to be exact. 

Look at all those revolusionarists..

Those include Rotonda Hugo Chavez, statues, the trees of life or amarillos, and more. We have seen how festive this roundabout at night as we arrived in Managua. And seeing it in the middle of the day still give you the same grand feeling around this area that has been specially designed elaboratively. 




Not bad for a 2-hour ride, I guess. And even as we finished the mini tour before 9 AM, it was already scorching hot at that day. By the time I got to the hotel, I managed to get a cool shower, quick breakfast and get ready for the meeting.

Will definitely get back with more stories on my Managua and Granada, Nicaragua trip, including to Volcano de Masaya. So see you all around :)

visiting an active volcano? Why not...

31 comments:

  1. Betul, sayang banget kalau sudah keliling dunia tp lihatnya cuma meeting room. Itu taxi kok murah banget. Gedung2 lama begini selalu bikin khayalan melayang ke jaman kejayaannya dulu ya.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. bangeeet mba..makanya kakinya langsung gateeel pengen jalan ajaaa hehehe

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  2. Mbak Indaaaah...
    Itu foto2nya sangat menakjubkan saking indahnyaaa...
    Beruntung sekali dirimu bisa ketemu Denis yg jago basa Inggris dan membawa mbak Indah ke tempat2 asyik ini cuma dalam 2 jam saja :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. iya nih Erry..memang negara ini jarang dikunjungi turis sepertinya...walaupun ada satu-dua yang aku liat. Embeeer..hoki bangeet ketemu Denis hehehe

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  3. itu foto lagunaaaa.... moto sendiri atau ambil di tempat lain? bagussss bangetttttt

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    Replies
    1. moto sendiri semuaaa mbaaa hehehe....mumpung ada kesempatan :)

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  4. Hanya mendengar namanya, belum pernah ke sana.
    Terima kasih reportasenya
    Salam hangat dari Jombang

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sungguh tempat indah, patut di masukkan ke dalam referensi tujuan untuk berlibur.

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  6. You got a lot in over a 2 hour time period! Sounds like the taxi driver knows how to show the tourists the best spots!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was surprised as well that I got to see a lot in 2 hours :)

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  7. Asiknya mba indah bisa lihat banyak tempat dalam waktu dua jaam...

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  8. museum nasional di mana-mana kayaknya megah ya Mbak, tiang-tiang itu lhoh..

    Seru sekali bisa sampai Nicaragua. :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. betul mba...typical ya...kalau ngg megah ngg seru :)

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  9. 2 jam bisa keliling ke banyak tempat itu mba? jaraknya berdekatan semua ya, atau jangan2 si denis ngebut nyopirnya. nice place mbaa, hope someday I could visit this place too :)

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  10. You know way more with different languages then I do. In the US they don't push learning a different language enough. Spanish is probably the one to learn though.

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    1. I'd love to learn more of the languages that I;ve been exposed too...hope I have the time :)

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  11. indah banget mak...kapan ya aku bisa kesana...hiks....

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  12. Keliling kota dua jam bisa lihat banyak tempat itu udah lumayan banget ya mbak Indah :D

    Ditunggu cerita tentang Volcano de Masaya-nya mbak.. Pasti banyak cerita seru :)

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  13. Waaa cakep bangettt *ngencess
    Btw mak Indah, kalo sempet potonya diresize width 600px, biar bisa full width qiqiqi *penggemar photo yang maksa *kaboorr

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  14. Sayang banget danaunya terpolusi ya, Mbak :|

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  15. koleksi foto saat kerja ke negara lain ya mbak

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  16. Mak, ini keren banget haha. Seru ya Nicaragua. Blom pernah ke sana. Btw itu taksi murah bener. Emang taksi di sana bisa dicarter apa ini karena special request tourist aja? Kalo di Jakarta 2 jam belom kemana-mana deh... macet hehe.

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  17. Saya ikutan giveaway #BlessfulAugust dan pilih komen di sini hehehehe. Saya pengen ke amerika latin juga, mba. pengen ke Peru, pengen ke Machu Picchu. pengeeeeeeeen banget! Mba indah udah pernah ke Peru belum? *ini postingan nikaragua kok saya tanya peru yah, pardon me heuheuheuheu* Nikaragua yang kenal baru sebatas negara di dalam buku pelajaran Geografi. Eh tapi di acara OSCAR 2015 kemarin, ada orang Nikaragua yang masuk nominasi best short movie gitu, judulnya La Parka! si orang nikaraguanya adalah sutradara filmnya! wah selamat-selamat! *keseringan nonton E-News ini :D*

    ReplyDelete
  18. Saya ikutan giveaway #BlessfulAugust dan pilih komen di sini hehehehe. Saya pengen ke amerika latin juga, mba. pengen ke Peru, pengen ke Machu Picchu. pengeeeeeeeen banget! Mba indah udah pernah ke Peru belum? *ini postingan nikaragua kok saya tanya peru yah, pardon me heuheuheuheu* Nikaragua yang kenal baru sebatas negara di dalam buku pelajaran Geografi. Eh tapi di acara OSCAR 2015 kemarin, ada orang Nikaragua yang masuk nominasi best short movie gitu, judulnya La Parka! si orang nikaraguanya adalah sutradara filmnya! wah selamat-selamat! *keseringan nonton E-News ini :D*

    ReplyDelete

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