Welcome to the Port of Corinto, Nicaragua
Welcome to the first of the Central and South America blog posts! I want to start off by saying that I’ll be covering numerous destinations that my parents visited on their South America cruise last fall. I was fortunate to receive all the photos from their trip to share with you on Sidetracked. First up, Corinto, Nicaragua!
I'm starting off the blog posts with Corinto because I want to give you some perspective on how lucky most of us are to live in developed countries. The following facts are not meant to make anyone feel depressed or bad about the state of this beautiful country, but perhaps to be a little eye opener about the world we live in.
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Central America after Haiti. According to the UN, 48% of the population live below the poverty line, 79% of the population live on less than $2 a day, and 80% of indigenous peoples (5% of the population) live on less than $1 a day. Poverty, unemployment, and violence against women are huge ongoing issues. Amnesty International reports that police recorded 14,377 cases of rape. More than two thirds of these cases were girls under 17 years of age. Abortion remains illegal in the country.
Many of the issues that Nicaragua struggles with today could be linked back to the revolution that the country went through from the 1960s-1990s and the subsequent Contra War during the 1980s.
Corinto is Nicaragua’s only seaport that is able to handle tankers and shipments. Nicaragua mainly exports coffee, gold, sugar, textiles and apparel.
The local tour guide that showed my parents around Corinto explained that when horse owners can't afford to take care of their horses anymore they tie them up at the side of the road. Anyone that wants the abandoned animals can take them, but usually the horses starve.
Despite Nicaragua’s economic troubles the country is slowly getting back on its feet due to the growing tourism industry of the past 20 years. The country features many natural attractions such as rain forests, volcanoes, lakes and beaches that attract more international visitors each year.
Many kinds of fruit and vegetables grow in Nicaragua's tropical climate. Some of the produce grown includes avocados, guava, peppers, bananas, mangoes, cantaloupe, coconuts, lemons, limes, oranges, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit and many, many more!
My dad, a retired barber, with a Nicaraguan barber and his family.
Until next time Corinto!
