not the nicaragua you thought it was?

January 17, 2005 4:11 PM

you may think of nicaragua as war torn and third world, but the reality is that it is quietly becoming a beautiful and agreeable granada especially is becoming an artist's and tourist's mecca. check it out. which other countries have you visited that seem to have a bad repuation but in fact are very worth your while?
posted by degan (44 comments total)

Unleash the Power of SHIFT
posted by SkelPaff at 4:17 PM on January 17, 2005

Kuwait, in mid/late fall and early/mid spring is actually quite nice. While I've never been there for the winter, and the summer temperatures can reach 140+ degrees, during those times of the year, the temperatures are hospitable enough for anyone from the states, or anywhere else with a similar climate, to deal with. I mean, yes, there is bit of sand, but the people are nice (not to mention a good fraction of them are very wealthy!) and the country is really something else to see.
posted by butt_floss at 4:20 PM on January 17, 2005

You wouldnt't happen to be the same 'degan' who wrote the article in the second link, would you?
posted by vacapinta at 4:26 PM on January 17, 2005

"You wouldnt't happen to be the same 'degan' who wrote the article in the second link, would you?"

Interesting thesis.

"Degan regularly takes time out from her job to write short fiction and travel articles, and she is now at work on a novel. She lives in Vancouver, BC."

Hmm.

"i'm a girl.

i'm a writer.

i live in vancouver."

Busted.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:29 PM on January 17, 2005

looks like a match. too bad.
posted by felix betachat at 4:30 PM on January 17, 2005

I was going to give her the benefit of the doubt but...

Thanks guys, for checking out my story at marginalia! it is apparently judged by how many people click on it, and has been in the number 1 spot for about a week now. if there's one thing i'm good at, it's obsessively clicking on sites over and over again throughout the day, but i'm sure my friends had a hand in it as well. good job guys. you rock.

Ouch!
posted by vacapinta at 4:33 PM on January 17, 2005

Alas, poor Degan, we hardly knew ye.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 4:40 PM on January 17, 2005

member since: September 11, 2001

Talk about tragedy.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 4:42 PM on January 17, 2005 [1 favorite]

Too bad too, 'cause I'm interested in the topic. Anybody got some stories about Nicaragua to share before this topic gets dropped or bad-capitalization-self-link-girl gets the banhammer?
posted by maniactown at 4:48 PM on January 17, 2005

this rules
posted by docpops at 4:51 PM on January 17, 2005

which other countries have you visited that seem to have a bad repuation but in fact are very worth your while?

Hawaii was nice, despite my reservations about the country it is located in.
posted by The God Complex at 4:54 PM on January 17, 2005

From Style & Charm in Granada, Nicaragua:

These are the quotients of any city but in Granada they meld and complement and come up with something completely different.

...stoic, pillared homes...

The sun was so hot and it was obvious that the city was built around that fact.

Lots of new ideas and art is emerging from here in the visual arts, theatre and music...

You can run, but you can't hide.
posted by QuietDesperation at 4:56 PM on January 17, 2005

Quick -- someone start a MT thread about this. I'll go get my pitchfork and meet you at town square.

No, really.
posted by The God Complex at 5:00 PM on January 17, 2005

She waits over three years to post on the front page and then does this??? Wow.
posted by billsaysthis at 5:08 PM on January 17, 2005

Quick -- someone start a MT thread about this. I'll go get my pitchfork and meet you at town square.

No, really.

Aren't we kind of not allowed to do that anymore? *Sigh*
posted by interrobang at 5:08 PM on January 17, 2005

I'll wear a cloak. Just meet me in town square and bring a torch.
posted by The God Complex at 5:09 PM on January 17, 2005

I moved to La Paz, Mexico about a month ago and have been blogging about it (link in my profile, but there's tons of other stuff on my site too, so it's a little noisy, sorry)...

The thing that I love the most about living in these expat centres is that I'm CONSTANTLY running into interesting people -- I've met old punk rock icons (Johnny Strike), globe circumnavigators, escaping US activists, and today I bumped into Normal White's brother (the robot artist, sumo robot wrestling, etc). Moving down here is the best decision I've made in a long time, plus I'm saving a TON of money being here.

Good highspeed internet, incredibly safe, great weather, etc...
posted by glider at 5:12 PM on January 17, 2005

I heard Chernobyl is really nice in spring. It's kinda quite there, very few tourists. Just little birdies flying from limb to limb..
posted by c13 at 5:16 PM on January 17, 2005

I only clicked on this discussion because I wondered how a Nicaragua travelogue could possibly warrant so many comments. Now I know.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:17 PM on January 17, 2005

Thanks guys, for checking out my story at marginalia! it is apparently judged by how many people click on it, and has been in the number 1 spot for about a week now. if there's one thing i'm good at, it's obsessively clicking on sites over and over again throughout the day, but i'm sure my friends had a hand in it as well. good job guys. you rock.

Does anyone else here feel like a fucking dupe? I don't think it's heavy handed to suggest banishment. This seems pretty transparent. Maybe we could at least find out what all those clicks get her.

Matt?
posted by docpops at 5:20 PM on January 17, 2005

I only clicked on this discussion because I wondered how a Nicaragua travelogue could possibly warrant so many comments. Now I know.

Ditto.
posted by rooftop secrets at 5:22 PM on January 17, 2005

I hear Hell is kinda hot this time of year, degan. The food's not so hot, though. Be sure to stock up on Grandville Island Lager and Terra bread before you catch the down elevator.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 5:34 PM on January 17, 2005

Bad idea, bad idea. It's always better to ask people for favors even if they're unlikely to respond positively ; I hope keeping the story on top was worth being exposed.
posted by elpapacito at 5:36 PM on January 17, 2005

Surf Nicaragua
posted by Eamon at 5:39 PM on January 17, 2005

"As the camel begins to fall, more knives are drawn"
posted by mlis at 5:46 PM on January 17, 2005

Well, i actually feel like answering the question rather than being narky about this alleged mefaux-pas.

Iran! - *best*country*ever*

Cheap as all fuck (USD7 a day or so), filled with architectural and historical treasures, and, best of all, the friendliest, most courteous, most erudite people (on the whole) that any country could ever hope to offer. Up to about 50 or so countries visited so far, and cannot praise Iran enough.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:58 PM on January 17, 2005

Up to about 50 or so countries visited so far, and cannot praise Iran enough.

Better praise it quickly. Freedom is on the march.
posted by 327.ca at 6:02 PM on January 17, 2005

mefaux-pas filter.
posted by nile_red at 6:02 PM on January 17, 2005

Jesus Christ. A fpp that consists of three badly written first person accounts of a central american city for three [possibly] different [lousy] travel websites that concludes with a direct query that shouldn't even be on MeTa, and that holds a transparent link to an even shittier self-promotion.

But keep those fascinating travel anecdotes coming...
posted by docpops at 6:04 PM on January 17, 2005

At least that shift link was funny.
posted by euphorb at 6:05 PM on January 17, 2005

I was in Granada for New Years last year and it was amazing! I went to a jungle party and drank a lot of Flor de Cana rum, met the actor that plays Ricky the Intern from "Office" and partied with him and his girlfriend and then met some other british people and we partied. Then we went to a place on a lake in a volcano and we recuperated there. Nicaragua is like a cheaper version of Costa Rica but with FAR less Americans. In fact, when we talked to fellow Americans, later, in Costa Rica they often expressed astonishment over the fact that we came all the way from Mexico, even through those dangers American killing countries of Guat, Honduras, and Nic-ah-rah-gue-ah. Would have liked to be there again this year, but I was stuck washing dishes. But don't pity me, just go for yourself!
posted by hellinskira at 6:06 PM on January 17, 2005

And yet no MT post yet. Lucky you Degan, the natives are have become too weary to hang you in the town square. Alas, there is still time.

I have dibs on the pancake stand!
posted by Juicylicious at 6:13 PM on January 17, 2005

It's there now.
posted by goatdog at 6:27 PM on January 17, 2005

The bitchyness is overwhelming.

I found Guinea lovely, despite the poverty and regular attacks from Sierra Leone and Liberia. The country is divided into a coastal region that looks like Hawaii, a mountainous waterfall region, a savannah region and a rainforest. The people are incredibly hospitable, although the country can be tough to travel through because its so undeveloped.
posted by Amizu at 6:33 PM on January 17, 2005

Kuwait, in mid/late fall and early/mid spring is actually quite nice. While I've never been there for the winter, and the summer temperatures can reach 140+ degrees, during those times of the year, the temperatures are hospitable enough for anyone from the states, or anywhere else with a similar climate, to deal with. I mean, yes, there is bit of sand, but the people are nice (not to mention a good fraction of them are very wealthy!) and the country is really something else to see.

Lived there, and yes, it was interesting. Pretty much the armpit of the cultural world. Just very little there, not that there was anything bad there. But all the same I don't much like your smug watch-me-crack-joke-about-another-part-of-the-world-no-one-knows-anything-about attitude. It's a small world these days. Real people live in Kuwait and put on their pants one leg at a time.
posted by scarabic at 6:43 PM on January 17, 2005

Just so you know what Degan is going for:

$75 for that story would rank with Jack Welch's severance package as obscene overpayment.
posted by QuietDesperation at 6:47 PM on January 17, 2005

Just so you know what Degan is going for:

$75 for that story would rank with Jack Welch's severance package as obscene overpayment.

Just goes to show, maybe she really needed it.
posted by Amizu at 6:52 PM on January 17, 2005

I just came back from the can. It has running water.

(Hey, the thread's going to be deleted, anyway.)
posted by dirigibleman at 6:52 PM on January 17, 2005

dirigibleman -

try jiggleing the handle
posted by docpops at 6:55 PM on January 17, 2005

I'm waiting for mathowie to chime in with a neener or two. I imagine he'll let this slide because, if nothing else, it is an interesting link, if a little sneaky. If it hadn't been a self-link, would you have enjoyed it? I liked it OK.
posted by alumshubby at 7:06 PM on January 17, 2005

hey degan...i just checked monkeyfilter, and they aren't making fun of this(you) yet...maybe you can register real quick over there and try a to pull a fast one on them. and hey, it might be fun to see how long it takes the monkeys to catch on. now where's that shift button run off to???
posted by cloudstastemetallic at 7:08 PM on January 17, 2005

It sucks degan had to ruin an otherwise good FPP idea.

I've traveled around the Balkans and had a great time. Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania are great adventures for Americans.

When I was in Serbia people warned me to not take the train to Romania for fear of getting robbed. But I had no problems until I went to Rome and got mugged by gipsies.

I went back to Montenegro and traveled with friends to Turkey. Besides getting ripped off for $100 by immigration at the border I really enjoyed Turkey.

We stayed in Kusadasi which is a budget travel spot for Europeans. I've never seen some many "Irish" bars. Ephesus and Pamukkale where great.
posted by jsares at 7:10 PM on January 17, 2005

I'll grudgingly admit that the picture of the bell tower in Grenada was nice. This post still strikes me as a very stupid thing to do, though.
posted by sotalia at 7:13 PM on January 17, 2005

If it hadn't been a self-link, would you have enjoyed it?

Ehh. Travel article. Know plenty of places to read those.
posted by argybarg at 7:14 PM on January 17, 2005