As most of you know, I am currently stationed in Managua for 5 months completing an internship with MEDA. There are a few things you should know about Managua to understand what living here is like. I was a bit aprehensive coming here as it had been described to me before I left as, "The ugliest capital city on earth". Even then I considered it a bit harsh... But I can see how the city might be lost on someone who doesn't spend a lot of time here. I have compiled a list of all the things that seperate Managua from other more logical major cities.
1.The streets have no names. I mean at all. An example of an address would be "That old tree in San Judas, 2 blocks south, 1 block east" or "Where the Pepsi building used to be, 3 blocks towards the lake". Since this is a decent size city (over 1.5 million) I find it pretty impressive that everyone knows where that big old tree is in the neighborhood of San Judas.
2. The city is built on the shore of Lake Managua. This lake is so polluted that the Japanese offered to buy it because it would actually be profitable to sift out the heavy metals from the sludge at the bottom.
3. There are cattle and all forms of vehicles on the roads at all times.
4. There is no downtown. In 1972 a major earthquake hit and pretty much leveled the city. Instead of rebuilding it they built in semi circles around the old town so all the roads run in a crescent moon shape heading from east-west.
5. The cathedral also got destroyed in the earthquake in the 70s. When they did rebuild it they chose the cheapest architectural model they could find. This was actually the model of a mosque. It was actually mostly financed by the guy who owns Domino's pizza. The best part is that as soon as the structure was completed, a Pizza Hut opened up accross the street. Sometimes, you just can't catch a break.
6. There are 'sandanista' (or socialist revolution) colors everywhere around the city. On all the telephone poles and walls, traffic lights and posts.
7. You can buy anything you want at an intersection. You name it; cell phone chargers, cashews, water, newspapers, sunglasses. You could potentially never get out of your car for everyday needs.
I'm sure this list will continue to grow as I continue to live here. Getting used to the city has been difficult since you have to change how your brain normally references things. Instead of remembering street names you remember statues, big ads and funny looking glass buildings to get an idea of where you are. Managua really is not that bad of a city if you spend any significant amount of time here. There are also a lot of comforting places to go to, like really nice nicaragua coffee shops that have wireless. There is even a cafe run by a Luxemburgian-Indian that makes curry occasionally. While most backpackers come here and promptly leave, it is worth the visit. I'm actually enjoying it more than I did Panama City, so that's definitely a start.
1.The streets have no names. I mean at all. An example of an address would be "That old tree in San Judas, 2 blocks south, 1 block east" or "Where the Pepsi building used to be, 3 blocks towards the lake". Since this is a decent size city (over 1.5 million) I find it pretty impressive that everyone knows where that big old tree is in the neighborhood of San Judas.
2. The city is built on the shore of Lake Managua. This lake is so polluted that the Japanese offered to buy it because it would actually be profitable to sift out the heavy metals from the sludge at the bottom.
3. There are cattle and all forms of vehicles on the roads at all times.
4. There is no downtown. In 1972 a major earthquake hit and pretty much leveled the city. Instead of rebuilding it they built in semi circles around the old town so all the roads run in a crescent moon shape heading from east-west.
5. The cathedral also got destroyed in the earthquake in the 70s. When they did rebuild it they chose the cheapest architectural model they could find. This was actually the model of a mosque. It was actually mostly financed by the guy who owns Domino's pizza. The best part is that as soon as the structure was completed, a Pizza Hut opened up accross the street. Sometimes, you just can't catch a break.
6. There are 'sandanista' (or socialist revolution) colors everywhere around the city. On all the telephone poles and walls, traffic lights and posts.
7. You can buy anything you want at an intersection. You name it; cell phone chargers, cashews, water, newspapers, sunglasses. You could potentially never get out of your car for everyday needs.
I'm sure this list will continue to grow as I continue to live here. Getting used to the city has been difficult since you have to change how your brain normally references things. Instead of remembering street names you remember statues, big ads and funny looking glass buildings to get an idea of where you are. Managua really is not that bad of a city if you spend any significant amount of time here. There are also a lot of comforting places to go to, like really nice nicaragua coffee shops that have wireless. There is even a cafe run by a Luxemburgian-Indian that makes curry occasionally. While most backpackers come here and promptly leave, it is worth the visit. I'm actually enjoying it more than I did Panama City, so that's definitely a start.
This is a picture of the map of the city and the cathedral:
1 comment:
Number 2 and number 7 are messed up. Number 2 especially. It's funny and ironic but when you think about it, it really makes you sick to your stomache.
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