De-bugging the Nicaragua Myth

Myth #1: Nicaragua is dangerous.
Myth #2: Nicaragua is extremely poor (second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere according to official statistics).

Debugging Myth #1: The bad security reputation that Nicaragua seems to be condemned to stems from the years of Civil War against the CIA sponsored Contras), which finished about 15 years ago. Today Nicaragua is very peaceful country, much more so that most Central American countries.
1) “Official“ crime and violence statistics suggest that Nicaragua is the safest country in the region.
2) My personal anecdotal evidence confirms this. Nowhere have people told me so frequently that their town is completely safe (day and night) and nowhere have I had such a feeling of safety (even late at night). One (very late) night a hot dog lady and taxi driver insisted on walking me home (after a long philosophical discussion), paradoxically despite their assurances of the town being completely safe. Of course nothing happened and I reached my hammock safely.
3) No Civil War is ever pleasant but Nicaragua’s was shorter and less bloody than other countries´ (e.g. Guatemala) and largely confined to the north so it seems unfair that Nicaragua tends to be the country in the region most associated with crime and violence.

De-bugging Myth #2: After speaking with several educated Nicaraguans about the subject of poverty and keeping my yes open during 3 weeks of travels through Nicaragua I have to conclude that, yes it is a poor country but by no means as poor as official statistics suggest (e.g. 40% of the population allegedly do not have enough to eat). This is simply not true and Nicaragua is certainly not poorer than other Latin American Countries. But these statistics are issued by the government, so why would it make itself look poorer than it really is? I have been asking myself and others the same question and (sadly) have come to the conclusion that Nicaragua makes itself look poorer than it really is to attract international aid (successfully so since is comprises 25% of national expenditures).

In summary, Nicaragua is both safer than and at worst as poor as the average Central American country. The people are absolutely amazing and will make your trip unforgettable. In hopes of ridding Nicaragua from its bad prejudices, please come and see for yourself.