Masaya and around

Masaya is another town north of Granada. It has some colonial character and is less touristy, which by all means makes it very local. Some houses are extremely old, and while some of them are falling apart, there are families who live in them. Since it is very hot in this area, people often keep their doors open and some like to take their mesedorasi out and have a chat with family and friends passing by.

The Central Market is huge, very lively, and near an extremely dusty and chaotic bus station. Inside is loud and has small and dark alleys leading apparetely nowhere. One of the two handcraft markets is here too, packed with colorful paintings of villages and women, Gueguense dolls, and all kinds of decorations. The new handcraft market, which is a few blocks away, is interesting as well. They have stuffed iguanas and caimans, and baskets made out of practically an entire han - very creepy.

The churches nearby are small and colorful. I particularly liked San Miguel, a very simple church with a few images of saints and a very large bleeding Jesus. It is painted in yellow inside and outside, and adorned by white fabric falling from the ceiling. The other one I liked is Iglesia de la Merced, a large orange church in front of the the Central Park and surrounded by small cafe stands.

Not too far from Masaya there is Forte de Coyotepe. It is an excellent view point where you can see Lake Apoyo, Mombacho and Masaya volcanos, and of course Masaya. At first it was built as a fort to protect the city of Masaya. Then, during the Somoza regime, it was used as a political prision. Many Sandinistas and anyone opposed to the regime were jailed and turtored for years in this place. At times, 20 to 40 people would be jailed in a tiny space, with no bathroom and no natural light. There are writings on the walls from the prisoners, one of them saying "I want to die". When the Sandinistas won the civil war in the 80's, they did the same to the Somozistas and others agains the new regime. This place gives anyone the creeps, and it is very sad to think what happened here.

It was a very interesting experience for me to be here. I have met lots of Nicaraguans in Costa Rica who come from Masaya. Being here I got a better idea of where they come from, which is a really good thing.


Photo album this week

• Masaya & Coyotepe