Just three days in Managua was enough

Managua is crazy because its a big city, but just like in the rest of Nicaragua they don't have addresses or house numbers or street names. Just directions from landmarks, if you can believe it. The buses in Nicaragua are old US school busses, but pimped out with cool paint jobs and luggage racks on top. I took taxis. Managua is pretty safe if you don't go to the bad parts of town. There are three nice hotels. I stayed one night in one of them, which was really nice as it was my first night in the country. Then I moved to the hostel type place: Hotel Los Felipe. Managua also has two, or maybe even three now, malls. Metrocentro has a bunch of stores and looks more or less like home. Plaza Inter is cheaper and you are more likely to get robbed there, from what I heard.

One of the harsh realities of life in Nicaragua is the rolling blackouts. Because the country isn't that rich and owes a lot of money to the Costa Rican electric companies they don't have enough juice to supply everyone. So for about 2 to 4 hours during the day there is no power in several parts of town. It's important to bring a flashlight.

Plaza Inter is cheaper and you are more likely to get robbed there, from what I heard.

When traveling to Nica, I think most people try not to spend too much time in Managua, but I had to be there for three days to see different people and go to the embassy. When I tell people now that I was there that long they usually sigh in condolence.