Solentiname - Start of an Adventure

Life in Nicaragua is very busy -- so much to see and do -- but when my daughter Lilia came for a visit, we played hookey and went for a great 3 day trip to the island archipelago of Solentiname! This is an incredibly lush, rainbow-colored fantasy land, as the "Moon GuideBook" describes it. The archipelago is made up of 36 volcanic islands in the southern part of Lake Nicaragua (Lago Cocibolca). The name comes from Celentinametl, Nahuatl for Place of Many Guests, and has been inhabited for millennia, as the petroglyphs, cave paintings and artifacts attest.

This trip was really a exploration and buying trip for Lilia and me -- to find my way around in preparation for exporting the beautiful art to galleries in the US and to give recognition to the artists through this NicaArt site. We left from the domestic terminal at Managua International Airport, on a Costena Airlines flight. After a short hour long flight, we arrived in San Carlos, a port town of about 10,000 located at the merging of Rio San Juan and Rio Frio into Lago Cocibolca.

The green is glorious and deep, and while the Moon GuideBook describes Solentiname as somewhat isolated, it was really more primitive than we had expected. But, not to worry! We had a great time -- the artists were warm and welcoming and their work was exquisite!

At left, the curve of the world over one of the greenest parts of the planet. Leaving Managua on the commence- ment of our adventure.







Upper Right: Coming into the San Carlos area.





Lower Right: Our plane after landing on the grass strip at San Carlos at the mouth of the Rio San Juan at the south end of Lago Cocibolca.










Left: Gate Number One and Only at San Carlos!









Left: Our adventure begins -- looking out over the water at the dock at San Carlos.