BOACO, CHONTALES, AND THE ROAD TO EL RAMA

As you fork east out of Managua at the roadside community of San Benito and rumble into Nicaragua’s interior, a world very much unlike Nicaragua’s other regions unfolds before you. Less volcanic than León, drier than the south, and more open and accessible than the deep mountains of Jinotega and Matagalpa, the cattle-dominated landscape of Boaco and Chontales has a flavor all its own.

  That flavor is cheese. More than 60 percent of Nicaragua’s dairy products, including dozens of varieties of cheese and millions of gallons of fresh milk, originate along the east side of Lake Cocibolca. East of the lake, towns are smaller and set farther apart, separated by broad cattle farms—ranches of sometimes thousands of hectares of land. In spite of the extended lakeshore, Boaco and Chontales’s fishing communities are few: Here, the emphasis is on the land.

  The cattle ranchers of the east are often well-to-do by Nicaraguan standards, and their wealth is apparent in towns like the clean and well-laid-out city of Juigalpa. Juigalpa’s patron saint celebrations are among the best in Nicaragua, involving elaborate bull-riding competitions, horsemanship contests, and festivals. But in true Nicaraguan spirit, even the disadvantaged communities haven’t lost their sense of humor. The Boaco town of La Calamidad (The Calamity) retains its name in spite of two government attempts to rename it something less frightful. The locals insist that with poor land, little fresh water, and few opportunities for productive farming, their little town is a calamity and should be named accordingly.

The Hot Springs of Aguas Claras: Nicaragua’s premier jacuzzi is powered by the volcanic energy of a land on fire. Soak away your troubles in a pleasant and casual environment. (read more)

San José de los Remates: The newest endeavor in the least-traveled part of the country, this provides a great opportunity to hike, ride horses, see petroglyphs, and cool your heels in a waterfall. (read more)

Santa Lucía: The most charming and picturesque of Boaco’s mountain villages, Santa Lucía is rife with gorgeous mountains, river valleys, and opportunities to hike. (read more)

Museo Arqueológico Gregorio Aguilar Barea: This warehouse of statuary burgeons with treasures the Chontales carved long before Columbus. (read more)

Juigalpa Fiestas Patronales: Juigalpa throws a cowboy party unsurpassed in the nation. Join Juigalpans for rodeo, mechanical bull–riding contests, and down-on-the-farm good times. (read more)