Recommend January 2012 - (Page 82)

NICARAGUA Managua The cone of the Momotombo Volcano serves as a backdrop to Managua, located on the southern shore of Lake Managua and capital of the largest country in Central America. Among the things to see and do are visiting the National Museum with a ﬁne pre-Columbian collection and contemporary art gallery, the New Cathedral—a mosque-like Catholic church with 63 domes to let in light to illuminate the stark interior—and the touristfriendly Mercado Roberto Huembes with its colorful fresh fruits and ﬂowers sections, as well as a good selection of national handicrafts. Don’t miss a concert performance at the Ruben Dario National Theater, named for Nicaragua’s poet laureate and the cultural heart of the city, and in season, take in a baseball game at the National Stadium. If you are staying at the very ﬁne InterContinental Real or the landmark Crowne Plaza, turn the TV to channel 8 to catch Chef Nelson Porta on his morning show, then book for lunch or dinner at the Santa Lucia Culinary Institute where he presides over the restaurant (Santa Lucia Steakhouse) and cooking classes. Day excursions are easy from Managua, but better yet visit and/or stay in Leon, home to the country’s leading university, and where you can see the Catedral de la Asuncion, the largest cathedral in Central America, and the Ortiz-Gurdian Foundation Centro de Arte. Then spend lots of time in Granada, a colonial gem of a town on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, and tour around by horse and carriage, past historic mansions (many now boutique inns) to the museum complex of Convento de San Francisco. From here, explore “las isletas” by boat and go birdwatching and canopy touring in Mombacho Volcano Cloud Forest. Closer to the capital is Masaya Volcano National Park. You can drive right up to or climb up to the lookout over the lava-glowing crater, then later visit the Mercado Artesanias in Masaya. FACTS • BEST TIME TO GO: November to April, best time in December, just after the rainy season • FUN FACT: Nicaragua was the stage setting for both the 21st and 22nd seasons of the TV reality show, “Survivor,” based in the beach town of San Juan del Sur • GETTING THERE: Delta ﬂies from Atlanta to Managua • ENTRY DOCUMENTS: Valid passport • CURRENCY: Cordoba • MUST-TRY LOCAL FOOD: Steaks, the best in Central America • BEST BUYS: Many ﬁne handicrafts including leatherwork and primitive paintings from Solentiname Archipelago; rum and cigars • INFORMATION PLEASE: Nicaragua Tourism Board— visit-nicaragua.com PANAMA FACTS • BEST TIME TO GO: Peak season (a.k.a. dry season) runs mid-December to mid-April; driest months on the Caribbean coast are February, March, September, October • FUN FACT: In 1928, adventurer Richard Halliburton swam the Panama Canal in 10 days • GETTING THERE: Delta ﬂies from Atlanta to Panama City • ENTRY DOCUMENTS: Valid passport • CURRENCY: U.S. dollar • MUST-TRY LOCAL FOOD: Ceviche (sea bass or shell ﬁsh, chopped onion and chili peppers marinated in lemon juice) • BEST BUYS: Wonderful baskets and other straw items, balsa wood crafts, and the famous appliques called molas • INFORMATION PLEASE: Panama Tourism Authority— visitpanama.com D62 january 2012 Panama City Sprawling along beautiful Panama Bay, Panama City welcomes her guests with a handsome proﬁle of glass skyscrapers that catch the sun along the waterfront, as well as a delicious restaurant scene, a lively nightlife and casino action, and the only rainforest in the world within city limits—the 655-acre Metropolitan National Park. The capital also provides a solid core choice of international chain hotels—the Inter Continental Miramar right on Panama Bay is one—and new boutique properties in the Old City, such as the Casa del Horno. Left over from earlier days is the colonial Casco Viejo, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This interesting 17th century district is noted for its wonderful Spanish colonial-, neo-classic-, and Caribbean-style buildings, now being restored and attracting trendy clubs, art galleries, boutique hotels and restaurants such as Manolo Caracol (a ﬁxed-menu parade of a dozen courses). Of course, the must-see attraction is the Panama Canal, now being widened to accommodate larger vessels. The Miraﬂores Locks offer a perfect perch from which to watch ships raised and lowered from lock to lock as they make the 50-mile transit between the Paciﬁc Ocean on the Panama City side and the Caribbean at the port of Colon. Better yet, make a partial crossing aboard a local yacht, and spend time in the canal watershed’s Soberania National Park—it’s the place to listen to howler monkeys, meet a sloth or two, update your bird list, on foot, by kayak or canoe. And by the sea, with some 1,000 miles of coastline, Panama has no shortage of ﬁne beaches. Paciﬁc sands start almost at Panama City at Playa Bonita and Playa Blanca, while after a short ﬂight from the capital, you’re scuba diving and snorkeling off Caribbean beaches that fringe the islands of the Bocas del Toro archipelago. recommend.com http://www.visit-nicaragua.com http://www.visitpanama.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend January 2012

Editor's Note
Hotel Desk: Hard Rock Hotels and Resorts
Tour Talk: Lindblad Expeditions
Holland America's Veendam
Delta Air Lines' 2012 Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America Travel Guide
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
Las Vegas' 2012 Offerings
Hot European Tours for 2012
Hokkaido, Japan
Egypt's Antiquity Attractions are Eternal

Recommend January 2012