Managua, Nicaragua- The City Without a Centre. First Impressions

Homeless guys live all around what was once a lovely park in the centre. They keep their spare clothes under their 'beds' - the benches you see around

Managua, capital of Nicaragua, has that feeling like I imagine is the case in some of these war torn West African Child Soldier countries. After an enormous earthquake in !972, over 250 city blocks were destroyed, which basically comprised the whole central part of the city.

Ruined Church and Totally Deserted Square. Sometime after World War 3

I don't know what it is though (maybe the abject poverty everywhere) I've travelled a lot and been in some really dodgy places, but it hasn't been often that i've felt that 'danger' vibe during the day in the centre of a city. Anything could happen here when you're the only gringo (apart from a handful of Bible thumping volunteers) in town and a potential source of income for years in a country like Nicaragua. So i've sadly taken to taking taxi's everywhere at night, even 200 yards, and if i have my laptop or camera, or bankcards,  during the daytime too. Except thats not really true. I should have done though. Hopefully my mum stopped reading by now.

You don't really want to be here at night. 

It's the kind of city where every kid in the ghetto parts (where you shouldn't be wandering anyway, even in the day) everyone's whistling and following you. Maybe they're just being friendly but no, its not a place to pull out the old Pentax digital and start snapping away.

So after the earthquake, a series of US inspired civil wars (world peace...madonna...I couldn't help smiling at the irony at the superbowl last night as the warmongers of the world bring newspeak and mass-hypnosis to new levels - read a few Noam Chomsky books like 'what uncle sam really wants', 'world orders, old and new' and one that will make you see the USA! USA! machine really for what it is
Propaganda and Control of the Public Mind and then switch on your TV set ;o)

Why is a mutated Estonian flag flying over a shady bar at Managuas lakeside?

...so...after the earthquake, there basically wasn't a city centre. And since they had to spend all the money arming themselves to defend the country from the USA funded Contra rebels, the city, to this day has no centre, its just a jumble of random impoverished suburbs and slums, with a bunch of empty space in the middle. And a hell of a lot of private security guards. Like Guatamala. Every business, shop, office, and even some houses, have a little fat guy in uniform and a gun sitting outside them.

Celebrating Toy Soldiers round the world (and tinpot dictatorships)

The 'centre' down by the lakeside consists of a whole bunch of litter strewn empty spaces, stray dogs, and sketchy hustlers. Like some kind of dystopian post apocalyptical ruin, people eke out a living selling pieces of corn and watermelons. and robbing Scottish idiots who walk off the main road. A row of ramshakle huts/bars line the lake and blare out some kind of nasty regathon/mexican combo music, and fat chicas sit around, sometimes serving beer and greasy food that you don't really want to check the ingredients too closely. I was only there in the daytime so far and it was seriously sketchy.

Watermelon Anyone? Lakeside bars/shacks to the left are all thats left in what was once Managuas Downtown

The sad truth is i'll probably go round there for a beer tonight with a mate, to check it out, which I know, I know its asking for trouble but I wont be wearing anything I cant afford to lose. I heard about a guy who got robbed down there recently and they left him naked and penniless except his underpants. I mean  comeon, it's not the end of the world, and you have to check these weird places when you're down here in the third world. And the beer is 2 for a Dollar.

The star system is maybe used more loosely in Nicaragua 

VENEZUELA DIARY PART 4

I gulped. How much do i love her? i thought to myself. Maybe she is happy? No i couldnt. There wasnt anything else for it. My life would be over without X by my side. i supposed at the time i thought i couldnt replace her in all the world. 'Markus, i must go there and find her. Will you at least help me prepare? do i need some men? should i go alone? Where can i buy a gun? knives? rope? Where is their hideout? My mind was conjuring up some big Goblinlike caves and torches and Indiana jones style skulls everywhere...if only i knew then what i know now....

'Y' Markus put his hand on my shoulder. Weapons you can buy anywhere here in Merida. We supply the drug lords here, the rebellion in the west, the mining companies, you name it. This is Venezuala, Y. But please reconsider. i will have a think what i can do to help you prepare, and meet you tomorrow at noon at the ice cream shop in the plaza. If you change your mind, which i recommend, please, lets have a beer, call the police, and at least we did our best for her family. If you want to go ahead. I will have some things prepared that will help you.

I still wasnt sure. The odds were crazy. Even if i got to her, maybe shed been brainwashed already. The only thing for it was to rest, have some food and a beer and sleep on it. i hit the local steakhouse, and sank a few Polars. The bar next door was an easy next step, as the demons were already on my shoulder about what to do. It was a pretty bare affair but there were a few people around, mostly rough looking wife beating kinda guys, and the furniture looked like itd seen a few scraps in its time. The barman looked quite normal, unusually for up here, so i ventured to ask him about the 'Roja'

'Meester, you shouldnt come here and ask about thees things' he looked genuinely scared. One weasely face looked hard at me from a few stools along. I realised, like stamp collecting or penis size, talking in public about it was a bad idea. A beer later weasel man came sloping across to my stool. He looked at me like i was a giant tortilla that he wanted to eat and was wondering how to begin. 'your woman is already dead' he licked his lips and walked out.
shaken, not stirred, but resolved, i decided to follow him.

he walked round the corner, his bell bottoms looking slightly silly, and as he turned to go into a street cafe, he saw me. As he walked towards me with the gun pointed straight at me i could see his evil eyes glinting off the artificial light. Quick as a flash it all went off. He was near enough for me to use my crack martial arts training and give him a quick Glasgow kiss - smack on his nose. He was in shock. A quick couple of extra jabs and an uppercut, and he was bent double, the gun on the ground. I kicked it away, then picked it up. I was off....

At least it had made up my mind. No Latino Pussy was going too worship my girl and kill her, they were crap.

Iquitos

Iquitos is a place that has grown on me a bit. Being totally isolated in the middle of the Amazon jungle, 90% of the people are basically trapped here, no matter what happens, and now that times are tough it seems that 90% have no choice but to hustle for a living, selling chewing gum, cigarettes, or their bodies. i noticed that a sign that you are rich here means you can afford shoes or spectacles. If you are super rich, you have a car (very rare).

The population is around 400,000, which makes it the biggest city that cannot be reached by road (and never will) so it makes it a freindly and safe place - the criminals would have nowhere to go exactly, unless the green inferno surrounding them.

Its hot here, and steamy, and there is always one smell or another. I went to a club last night and made the cardinal error of ordering a vodka with red bull - $10 !!! I guess it has to be flown in so any remote luxury is super expensive. fish and turtle and alligator is cheap.

There seems to be a pretty nasty bunch of Gringos living here too, judging by the stuff written around - check this out, sounds like the comments on baltic business news! - http://www.dawnontheamazon.com/blog/2007/04/17/is-gerald-mayeaux-the-iquitos-scoundrel/ seems this american guy is hated! he owns the yellow rose of texas bar and restaurant - i went there today actually as i thought the menu looked ok, but they didnt serve me after 30mins so i went to some local joint for God knows what from the jungle but it was quite tasty.

I noticed i see the same faces all the time here. The gringos are either 1. ponytailed arseholes, here for some psuedo eco reason. 2. 60 year old perverts here for 16yr old prostitutes. or 3. cute nieve little english chicks here as volunteers for some orphanage or another, surrounded by hoards of local guys kissing their arses all the time. or 4. Ayhuasca tourists who could be any/all of the above, or worse. Thats scary, i wonder where i fit in there :o)

Anyway, here are some photos of the city - the city, the slums, where i like to hang out (and which is pretty much the whole city haha)and the river which becomes the Amazon. The main square is quite pretty and normal looking, with a steel building designed by Gustav Eifel of the tower fame, and there are some really beautiful decrepit old colonial mansions, which belonged to the rubber barons (the reason for Iquitos existance) and now are largely dilapidated.