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Nicaragua's Atlantic coast is low-lying, soaked with mangrove swamps behind which loom near-impenetrable jungles - a vast region comprising about half of Nicaragua's total landmass. This area was never destined to appeal to the Spanish conquistadors' desire for fertile agricultural land and gold. Further repelled by disease, inaccessible and endless jungle, dangerous snakes and persistent biting insects, the Spanish quickly made tracks for the more hospitable Pacific zone. As a result, Spanish influence has never been great along Central America's Atlantic seaboard, and it was left to other nations to fill that gap. English, French and Dutch buccaneers had been plying the coast since the late 1500s, and it was they who first made contact with the Miskito, Sumu and Rama peoples who populated the area, trading goods for fish and turtle meat. In return, the indigenous peoples gave the pirates safe harbour and welcomed them into their settlements. Nicaragua's fierce Miskito tribe (now thought to number about 70,000) came particularly under the influence of the English, and from 1687 to 1894 the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua and Mosquitia as a whole was a British Protectorate known as the Miskito Kingdom . The declaration of this state in the midst of Spanish territory was the result of a strategic alliance between the English and the Miskito, who had a common interest in keeping the Spanish from gaining influence in the area. Armed by the British, the Miskito became the terror of the Sumu and Rama, who were finally subjugated by the larger group. In turn, from the late 1500s until 1894, when Britain unceremoniously ceded Mosquitia to Managua, the British navy, merchants and privateers gained unlimited rights to fishing and other local products, and enjoyed safe conduct along the coast and through the waterways of Mosquitia. The ethnicity of the region today is complex. The Miskito, Sumu and Rama mixed with the slaves brought from Africa and Jamaica to work in the region's fruit plantations, and while many inhabitants are Afro-American in appearance, others have Amerindian features, and some combine both with European traits. For the most part black people from the Atlantic coast call themselves Creoles; if they acknowledge having Spanish blood, or Spanish is their first language, they may call themselves mestizos. English is widely spoken on the Atlantic coast, and English travellers may be surprised to be on the receiving end of a very warm welcome and some time-warp nostalgia for Britain. During the years of the Revolution and the Sandinista government, the FSLN were met with suspicion on the Atlantic coast. In part this was due to the area's traditional mistrust of the government in Managua, and also to a lack of sympathy with the Sandinista's revolutionary values. A number of their socialist-revolutionary programmes conflicted with the region's traditional values, and Daniel Ortega's administration succeeded in driving many of the region's inhabitants - particularly Miskitos - over to the Contras. Nearly half the Miskito population went into exile in Honduras, while in the south a much smaller number made their way to Costa Rica. In 1985 the Sandinistas tried to repair relations by granting the region political and administrative autonomy, creating the self-governing territories RAAN (Region Autonomista Atlantico Norte) and RAAS (Region Autonomista Atlantico Sur). In fact this controversial move served only to stir up further discontent in the region, being widely seen as an attempt to split the Atlantic Coast as a political force and make the north of the region compete with the south. The only places in the area that attract visitors in any numbers are Bluefields , a raffish and charming Caribbean port town, and the Corn Islands , two small islands off Nicaragua's coast with sandy beaches, swaying palm trees, and a distinctly Caribbean cuisine and atmosphere. As for the rest of the coast, it remains a largely unknown and impenetrable tangle of waterways and rainforests, to be approached with caution and negotiated only by experienced locals. In the northern half of the region, Puerto Cabezas is the only town of any size. The region's main industries are mining and logging in the vast, dense forests of the RAAN. Although you can fly to Puerto Cabezas, few travellers make this long trip on a whim, since there's nothing really to interest tourists in or around the town itself. The possibilities for eco-tourism in this vast region are obvious, though a scarcity of resources and a lack of cooperation between central and local government have so far stymied all progress, while the long-discussed road linking Managua and Bluefields have similarly failed to leave the drawing board. The Atlantic coast's extreme isolation and distance from the market economy mean that you can't count on getting food, water and consumer goods in most places outside of Puerto Cabezas and Bluefields. If you're intending to travel outside these areas, or to spend any length of time in the region, it's a good idea to stock up on consumer goods - both for yourself and for trade - in one of Managua's markets.
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