DIVING AND SNORKELING
Snorkeling is best off the Corn Islands and various cays. Diving is a relatively new pastime, with only three shops in the whole country: one in San Juan del Sur and one on each of the Corn Islands. The latter two share a combined 12 kilometers of reef. The shop on Little Corn (www.divelittlecorn.com) has newer equipment, and the reef there was less affected by recent hurricanes. Both islands’ reef systems feature a stunning diversity of wildlife, including rays, eels, angels, groupers, sharks, and enormous pools of African pompano. Both shops offer PADI certifications for about $250, plus a range of packages for all skill levels. Although the diving off the Corn Islands is impressive, the most spectacular and undoubtedly world-class site is found nearly 25 difficult kilometers farther out to sea around a sea mount called Blowing Rock.

  Nicaragua’s Pacific side offers diving too, particularly in the south near San Juan del Sur, but conditions are predictably unpredictable (visibility can change from 1 to 20 meters from day to day). There are rock reefs here (no coral formations) inhabited by large fish, including colorful wrasses, parrotfish, snappers, and huge surgeonfish. Once abundant, shark populations have thinned severely due to overfishing. The best Pacific diving in Nicaragua is between December and April during periods of clear, cold water upwelling associated with the strong offshore winds. Visibility is significantly poorer during the rainy season (June–November) due to sediment from the rivers, which enrich coastal water and provoke algal blooms.

  For freshwater diving, Nicaragua offers the volcanic crater lakes of Apoyo (near Masaya) and Xiloá (near Managua). The diving in both lakes is part of ongoing biological research of the endemic cichlid fish species, and experienced divers can rent tanks from the folks at the Proyecto Ecólogico in Laguna de Apoyo. Apoyo has better visibility, but Xiloá has more colorful fish, and is especially interesting during the peak breeding season in November and December. There are still at least 10 undescribed fish species in the freshwater crater lakes, but hurry, as they are being decimated by the tilapia.

SURFING
The year-round offshore breezes generated by the vast, blustery surface of Lago Cocibolca collide with incoming Pacific swells to create ideal conditions. Surfer-type characters have been prowling the southwest coast for nearly a decade now, and there’s still plenty of gaps in the lineup for a skilled rider like yourself. Check the San Juan del Sur chapter for more information on exclusive surf charters and how to go it on your own.

KAYAKING AND CANOEING
So much water, so few boats. Some of the country’s most incredible paddle-accessible attractions are serviced by few and small fleets of open, non-motorized free craft. That’s because the demand to glide through Granada’s maze of isletas, Ometepe’s Río Istian, or the mangrove estuary at Padre Ramos is still surprisingly low, considering the extraordinary outdoor opportunities offered by these, and other, places in Nicaragua. In many cases, you’ll have to be creative to find ways to float the endless lakes, rivers, estuaries, archipelagos, and coastlines of Nicaragua that gave the country its name. Any water-bordering community will likely have small boats the owners use for fishing or transport. Ask for a canoa, panga, or botecita, and see what shows up. Dugout canoes are common throughout the country, and you can ask to rent one along the Río San Juan and other areas.

  For the glory-seeking paddler, Nicaragua is the place to make the cover of an extreme sports rag: the 700-kilometer stretch of the Río Coco from Wiwilí to the Caribbean at Cabo Gracias a Dios has (as far as we know) only been navigated end to end by pirates, guerilla soldiers, and indigenous boaters. There may be some hairy portages around some of the legendary waterfalls, and rumor has it that no one has ever even published a photograph of the falls between Raiti and San Carlos.

SPORT FISHING
Sportfishing trips are available out of San Juan del Sur, the Corn Islands, an increasing number of Pacific beach towns, and along the Río San Juan. Saltwater sportfishing on the Pacific coast is focused primarily on hurel (jacks), pargo (snapper), and pez gallo (roosterfish) inshore and bonito, pez vela (sailfish), and dorado (mahimahi) offshore. All commonly reach sizes in excess of 50 pounds.

  In addition to casting for kingfish, amber jack, red snapper, and barracuda off the Corn Islands, bonefishing in the flats around Little Corn Island is exciting, but you’ll have to have some idea of what you are doing, as experienced guides are limited.

  There are freshwater fish to be caught in Lake Apanás and El Dorado in Jinotega, and of course, in Lake Cocibolca and down the Río San Juan. The giant freshwater bull sharks and sawfish are all but gone, but mammoth sábalos (tarpon), bigger than your mother and carrying up to 50 pounds of meat, are still abundant, as are robalos, guapote, and the basin’s newest resident, tilapia. The introduction of the tilapia has had a disastrous effect: One study shows that diseases introduced by tilapia have resulted in a 50-percent decline in Lake Cocibolca’s total biomass and another reports that the foreign fish have eliminated all aquatic vegetation in the Laguna de Apoyo.