We just got back from Nicaragua and feel we need to write this to warn those who may travel to that country. We have traveled to most of Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala to name a few but our experience with Nicaraguans made us very wary on how they treat those who are non whites. We found it outrageous and we think it is only fair that you are warned before you go there. We personally saw people at the hotel (a big fat hotel in Granada) be downright rude to a person of Asian descent and serve whites with a smile and avoid the Asians, a black family sit in a restaurant and get bypassed by the owner who then went on to take orders from whites (this was specially disgusting as we saw the father there with 3 young teens and they were not served at all and they finally just got up and left), security at the airport only checking non whites/giving them the complete run down and going over their personal belongings one by one, our cab driver telling us that they do not want Chinese there at all..the list goes on. At the airport you will be singled out for checks -the lame excuse is "random" but there is nothing random about it. We observed them pulling people who were non white and checking them thoroughly (Managua). When we mentioned this to the tour operators they denied it (their business depends on tourism). I am going to continue to post this on forums because people have the right to know before they spend money to visit a country where they will not be welcomed. Hopefully your experience will be better, good luck!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8318 posts
I used to do business with some Nicaraguan bankers out of Miami. When the Sandinistas took over the county, they thought their national bank vaults would be full of gold and cash. The bankers had long since sent all the assets of the country to Miami--to their bank. And all the high level wealthy of the country had long since sent their families up there to live--where they're living like kings.
And the have nots remained in the country. It's a tough banana republic, unfortunately.
Posted by
San Francisco, California, USA
199 posts
Hi funtraveller,
Thank you very much for taking the time to give all travellers a heads up. I feel sorry for those who received such rude treatment and that you had to witness it during your trip. It's a shame that people save and plan for trips and something nasty like this happens.
But it is true that "what goes around, comes around." Fortunately there are plenty of places in the world that provide wonderful experiences and we all can travel there instead. And of course, spend our tourism dollars there. Thanks again for sharing.
Posted by
Central Valley, California
293 posts
Thanks. I read every word of your post, and then I read it again. Appreciate you taking the time to let us know.