nicaragua
threeperfectdays
exterior onquietCalleCuiscoma, two
blocksfromGranada’scenter.So,feeling
verycaffeinated,Izipthroughthehotel’s
tiled lobbyandheadout into the street,
whichiscrowdedwithhorse-drawncarts
and taxisblasting
ranchera
music.
Located on the northwestern edge
ofLakeNicaragua (or
Cocibolca
,mean-
ing “Sweet Sea”), in the shadowof the
dormantVolcánMombacho,thisnearly
500-year-old city in thewestern part
of the country is aknot of cobblestone
streets and candy-colored buildings.
Two blocks from the hotel,beside the
red-domedCathedral of Granada, is
DAYONE
| The central courtyard at
the
TribalHotel
, in the colonial city of
Granada, is at its best in themorning,
observed from a small balconywith a
cupofstrongcoffee.Onlypartlyawake,
Istand forawhile lookingdownonthis
stylized oasis, with its banana trees,
Turkish rugs and black andwhite tile
pool.Aperfectplacetohavebreakfast,I
decide,soIsnagacushionedbenchand
tuck into a plate of fresh papaya, eggs
and toast, alongwith a cupor three of
richNicaraguan coffee,of course.
TheTribal is an intimate hotel of
just seven roomsbehindawhitewashed
66
MARCH2015
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
T
he view of Nicaragua
from the window of
an airplane is stun-
ning. The slopes of
cloud-frosted volcanoes run
thickwith rainforests. Strips of
golden sand stretch along the
coasts. Impossiblygreen islands
dot mammoth lakes. At ground
level, this Central American
nation offers a more immedi-
ate sense of its natural riches:
a dizzying variety of jumping,
howling, swimming, slithering
and buzzing life that includes
kingfishers, kinkajousandLake
Nicaragua’s famous freshwater
bull sharks.
In recent decades, this
ecological splendor has been
overshadowed by a series
of natural and political mis-
fortunes. A 1972 earthquake
left vast swathes of Managua
in ruins. As if that weren’t
enough, later in the decade,
after the Somoza dictatorship
was ousted, a long andviolent
power struggle ensued. But
Nicaragua’s history runsmuch
deeper than this: In 1874,work-
ers discovered footprints that
dated back more than two
millennia in the volcanic mud
alongside LakeManagua.
In terms of its hospital-
ity industry, the country has
recovered from its troubles in
the ’70s and is currently show-
casing its natural history and
beautywitha slewof neweco-
resorts, in addition to luxury
hotelsandgreat restaurants. So
whenpacking that suitcase, be
sure to include a dinner jacket
alongwithyour hiking boots.
