Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This quiet, 16th-century Spanish-colonial village is the birthplace of General Augusto
César Sandino, who did indeed appreciate the fact that the name is Náhuatl for 'Valley of
the Warriors.' The church is lovely and there's all sorts of attractive architecture all over
town, but you're probably here to see the man's birthplace, now
Augusto C Sandino Library
( 9am-noon & 1:30am-5pm Mon-Sat)
, a very basic museum with some simple exhibits.
If you've worked up an appetite after all that sightseeing, drop into
Estancia El Bosque-
cillo
(frente parque central; meals US$2-6)
for some good, honest, home-style Nica eating.
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Nandasmo
POP 3300
On a spur road, the small village of Nandasmo is best known for its tiny arts and crafts -
itsy-bitsy wooden furniture and tableware, dollhouse scale. Unlike in the other towns in
the region, adorable shops aren't really in evidence - the best place to shop is at the road-
side stalls out on the highway at the entrance to town.
There's also an undeveloped
overlook of Laguna de Masaya
several kilometers north of
town along a rough dirt road.
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Masatepe
POP 15,500
Photogenic and fabulous, this growing colonial town has a wonderfully well-kept down-
town, great food, better views of the volcano than Masaya and one truly marvelous guest-
house in the countryside.
There's not a whole lot to do, although Masatepe's old train station has been reincarn-
ated as one of the better
artisan markets
( 9am-6pm)
in the country. While it probably
won't make it home in your backpack, the town's hallmark cane-woven rocking chairs
and brightly colored cabinets are worth checking out.
Towering over Masatepe's attractive central plaza,
Iglesia San Juan Bautista
is home to
El Cristo Negro de La Santísima Trinidad, whose feast days mean a month of parties
between mid-May and mid-June, and features nationally famous folkloric dances like La
Nueva Milpa, Racimo de Sacuanjoche and Masatepetl. The sweeping adobe makes a fine
