Danger in Nicaragua - Is Legit

Just got back from Nica and thought I'd chime in. First ooff, I wasn't there at Green Surf I'som not commenting on the alleged Thing that allegedly Went Down but on security in Nica. I spent time on beaches and traveling other parts of the country, at ground level, backpack strapped on and riding the chicken bus on dirt roads.
the vibe at Popoyo/Guascate and Playa Gigante is chill, safe, welcoming (as it is atRancho Esperanza & Las Penitas breaks up north)

First of all Nicaraguans are very solid, honest people; they love their kids and raise 'em right. The Nicas want you there and look out for tourists. they earn good scratch from tourism so they're in it for the long haul: those on the outside of the tourist game might feel resentment and want to steal something, but locals in the surf destinations all know each other and protect what they have. End result? any known thieves are pegged as such. Cops in Nica are heavy and low-level scrubs don't usually have money to buy off the cops so it's jail time. So aside from the occasional huele-pega walking off with your expensive stuff that you left on the beach, it's really safe. And fijate boludo, you ain't in Carslbad anymore you're in the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (and if you don't know what a huele-pega is then you didn't really do much research about that third-world country you were traveling to, didja now?) so don't leave your stuff on the beach.

At Popoyo there's a few hotels with surf-racks in the lobby, and I saw dudes just leave their boards unguarded while they ate in the resto, chilled on the beach. Nice, new boards they brought from home. Seems like a generally safe move, but I could have walked off with one no questions asked. The smart, obvious move is to stash all your gear in your room at night. You don't need me to tell you that.

I never heard of any strong-arm stuff, and I asked a lot of people both in the tourism industry and not in the game.(I speak near-fluent spanish and am more likely to hang with locals than sit in the hostel with other surfers. Sorry, I don't need to hear about that 360 you almost-coulda pulled and how you once saw Kelly Slater in the airport blahblahblah). Kuta Beach felt way more sketchy than any beach in Nica, and though I didn't hit San Juan del Sur/ Playa Madeira, it seems about as "edgy" as Costa Rica.

Plus it's crowded down there-some Canadians told me there were 80-plus people in the line-up at Madera (schools, kooks, local rippers and surf-tourists like you) Skip that **** and work your way north from Playa Gigante. Helps if you speak spanish, and have a 4x4 truck (or a ****box two-wheel drive rental that you want to destroy one dirt road at a time). With that set-up you are golden.

As a surfer you ar win the vanguard of tourism in many places up north. so maybe some assholes will take a run at your shiny, expensive, re-sellable gear. But rich Managuans who own/run the beach-tourism infrastructure ain't gonnna let a good thing go sour. Not likely to become some kind of crime wave, 'cause cops will crack down on local thieves and things will be safer for the next bunch of surfers rolling through.

As for the rest of Nicaragua it's very safe: I spent a lot of time in Matagalpa, Granada, Masaya, Olmetepe, and Managua. Climbing volcanos and hiking through coffee plantations, sitting in the square at night hangin with locals, trying to meet fine Nica jainas. Couldn't have felt safer, though you got sketch-ball druggies and meat-head drunks looking to **** with somebody, anybody, after a night of getting' shut down by nice wholesome Nica women (Same as the assholes in The Elephant Bar, BJ's, or whatever chain-resto suburban bar scene you roll with back home).

The one warning I would offer is to stay the **** out of Managua- unless you like the smoke from burning plastic in your eyes and lungs, brutal traffic, and people staring at you with desperate eyes. There's nothing much to see, and people glared at me in the marginal areas like I was a skewer of meat grilled to a nice, rob-able medium-rare. Never, never, never take a local bus. You will get jacked, maybe at knifepoint (why not?) and all your gear will disappear, even your shoes, and especially your good time. I offer this as a seasoned traveller (Nica is country #33) who speaks spanish and who has surveyed some ****ed up places (Lima, Sao Paulo, Jakarta, Manila, Mexico D.F. and of course, Los Angeles CA)

Warning #2: If you want bedbugs, go to the cheap hostels. You don't want bedbugs, then stay the **** out of the cheap hostels. This is seriously some effed up **** to have happen. Lucky for me, the nasty welts showed up on my last day, so all i had to do was ditch my stuff before I to home. Small price to pay for not having to go Defcon-4 on the whole house.

Go to Nica, it's rad, uncrowded breaks are easy to find, and you're so not likely to get jacked at gunpoint, or machete point, or whatever thing went down.


DiaCachimba!

 

Lots of generalizations in your post, josh; generalizations will kill your cred every time.

Not all Nicas are like you say they are. Sure, plenty are pleasant peaceful folks. Like anywhere else, the place has major issues that manifest themselves in crime aspects. And that includes the beach, the surf, et. al.

"But rich Managuans who own/run the beach-tourism infrastructure"
This is just a stupid statement. Stupid because it's completely inaccurate.

Most of the development on the coast has been performed by non-Nica entities & corporations. The wealthier folks in Managua have bought properties in many coastal developments but they don't run anything. Most are merely property owners. Dutch, Brazilian, Italian developers run the table there.

Having said that, if you really had aclue you would know that some ex-Sandanistas & pals of Ortega are hugely invested in said developments. Nothing, and I mean nada, gets done on the coast without tacit approval from the guys who used to tote the AK's in the 1980's & who are now capitalist czars. Jaime Wheelock is the muscle behind Iguana. Google him & do the body count, kid.

Madera is always crowded, no news there. Too close to SJDS, too many Brazilians.

Nice to hear how you describe how fluent you are in Spanish, and how you only hang with locals on your annual trip to the country, which in your mind makes you the shizzzz, but which actually makes you about as credible as the next ding-a-ling with a RT ticket on AA & big-whoopty boards from CI or Lost.

You failed to mention that gringos will get turned out at nearly every opportunity on the highway from MGA to the coast by the corrupt cops. Which just means that you paid the toll, too, hot rod. And sure, stuff vanishes off the beaches, just like anywhere these days. You fail to mention the rapes on the beaches, or the fact that gringo women can't walk alone on most Nica beaches at sunset without harassment - - and that's the least of it.

I dunno, sport......sounds like you went in-country for a sojourn & then posted like you are the world authority. Which, you aren't, and your words reflect that.

Be real, bud. Live there, own property there, deal with the govt there, maybe you'll kinda understand there. Until then? STFU.

 

Let me be the second to extend a warm welcome to the SI forum! Howdy neighbor!

 

Never been to Nica, and, chances are, never will be. Manisses you just made me laugh out loud at work. Very nice, was thinking the same thing.

 

Original Bandits thread:

http://www.swellinfo.com/forum/showthread.php?18037-Danger-In-Nicaragua&highlight=bandits

 

Nothing like a good ole rehash

 

He wants that cold clear filtered Israel water.

 

I can't believe our own Swellies got catfished by some guy claiming to have D cups. I would've trolled that dude so hard. Looks like Clemmie had the right idea lol.

nah brah...Reverse Osmosis.

 

Okay.. For those of you who post more than 2 paragraphs stop that $hit.. I am a mildly retarded man with a very low I.Q and I cant focus that long. Please stop I get headaches from tryin to over achieve.
Thanks

 

I know this is old but FWIW this did in fact happen. We went to the other surf camp in the area about a year after this event and we talked about it with the guy running the other camp. He confirmed the story in these threads.

Our camp had night security and the whole place was locked up. We never felt unsafe and would definitely go back.

 

I would of asked for a selfy!

 

here's a video then. no reading necessary.

The Dumbest People Ever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI7xxhp0rk8

 

Rumor was that other camp in the area, where you stayed, made up the story... So saying they confirmed the story doesn't really confirm anything

 

Whether this incident happend or not is not the point. What makes me realize that these things do happen is the attitudes that some, take out of this country and weeld it around like all's good and it can't and won't happen to me.
I have surfed outside of the USA for many years and fortunately have never had any problems. Probably due to the fact that I can humble myself to other cultures and the unseen dangers that go with world travel. Anyone that goes on a trip and thinks they can take the world by the balls, is asking for it. Misfortune is not deserved, but when one goes to other countries for whatever reasons and flaunts thier shiney toys and expects everything to be barrels of fun.... well. Being disrespectful and blind to other culture and to others who are less fortunate, can make a simple surfing trip go bad quickly. Hopefully we can all stay safe in our travels and experience the trips of our dreams,if we just humble ourselves and expect nothing in return.
Otherwise these things do and will happen.

 

Learn from your experiences so you won't regret your mistakes.
Surf-on!

 

DANGER OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


please be careful,u might make it to ur car,or u might get robbed by a gang of midgets,or hit by a car,or struck by lightning,or attacked by a wild polar bear we occasionally get.just saying,it is safer inside your house...or is it?

 

What if the midgets are waiting for you in the car?

The backseat midget gang strikes againe

No one is safe

 

Suicide is doing something dangerous and you just don't care. Courage is a calculated risk.

 

This is true for the most part. Sh*t can happen anywhere. I have witnessed some seriously f*cked up Americans on trips and actually would have liked to kick their arses as a gift to the locals. Might want to know a little about a place before you go. If it is impoverished I would suggest not to bring the bling. Most of the time if you treat people with respect you get it back. Learn how to say, or at least attempt, thanks, please, beer, bathroom and sorry in the native language. Don't be a d*ck!