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Nicaragua Travel |
Bluefields NicaraguaBluefields is the name of the capital city of the RAAS department and is a major Nicaraguan port for the export of sea food and hardwood to the rest of the world. Bluefields and its surroundings do have a history since the entire eastern half of Nicaragua once was a British protectorate, meaning that the area is fluent in English but is also frowned upon by the rest of Latin America. Underdevelopment is a huge problem in the area and therefore there is close to nothing of interest for tourists. The landscapes are grand but so are they in the rest of Nicaragua and being kind of hard to reach Bluefields is often overlooked by normal tourists and even backpackers. Keep on reading to learn more about Bluefields and the surrounding area. Bluefields Nicaragua – Some infoThe department RAAS, Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur, is one out of two English speaking autonomous regions in the eastern half of Nicaragua. It covers 27.407 km² and has a population of around 390.000. Bluefields is the capital city of the department and is situated in a bay in the mouth of the Escondido River. Bluefields is Nicaragua’s main port towards the Caribbean Ocean, exporting seafood and hardwood. The city has around 60.000 inhabitants and most of them support themselves as fishermen, lumberjacks and dockworkers. Some of the areas in the department have suffered from violent deforestation and officially there are so far no plans to counter this. Bluefields Nicaragua – HistoryThe city was founded by Portuguese travellers in 1602 and was named after a Dutch pirate that hid in the area in the early 1600s. The city was a rendezvous for British and Dutch buccaneers but that ended when it became the capital of a British protectorate in 1678. In 1859 the British government delegated this task to Honduras which a year later gave the area to Nicaragua. The area remained autonomous until 1894 though. Bluefields became an important strategic city in Central America during the Cold War and have both had US Marines stationed there and its harbour mined on several occasions. With the end of the Cold War Bluefields fell off the map and although it suffered a catastrophical destruction due to the hurricane Joan in 1988 little was done to help rebuild the city. Bluefields Nicaragua – Tourist attractionsFor a tourist there is very little to do in Bluefields, mostly because it is a harbour city and not much else. The surrounding area does offer some hostels and restaurants but most of them are very underdeveloped and one should be glad to even have electricity to the rooms. Most of the historical sights and archaeological findings were swept away when hurricane Joan hit the area in 1988. The area around Bluefields do offer some nice beaches on the east coast though and the nature is as spectacualar as everywhere else in Nicaragua. For tourist that wishes to speak English and wants to experience a more honest Nicaraguan city Bluefields is a good choice but do not expect to much of it. Bluefields Nicaragua – Getting thereGetting to Bluefields is an adventure within itself since there is no way to get there solely on land, there are no roads that goes all the way. Planes leave Managua every other day or so and most of them take passengers, but do not expect a jetliner as bush planes is the more common choice of Nicaraguan pilots. It is also possible to follow the roads as far east as possible, hike to the Escondido River and get on one of the boats heading east. It is tricky but can be well worth the effort for those looking for an adventure.
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