by Mike Sabine 

Attention North American bass fisherman - want to meet a fish that strikes twice as hard and fights twice as fiercely as the largemouth? And you fish for them with the same tackle, same lures, and same strategies? Think bass fishing, and you’ll catch the guapote of Lake Nicaragua.

Commonly called the Rainbow bass by English speakers, the guapote is the largest and most aggressive member of the chiclid family. There are a number of subspecies identified, the one unique to Lake Nicaragua being the largest known according to researchers, growing to a length of 75 cm and a weight of 15 lbs. 

The many species of smaller chiclids are most commonly known as brightly-hued aquarium pets. But while the North American bass are kept in fish tanks with success, attempts to contain the guapote frequently meet with disaster. They will ram unsecured objects such as decorative rocks against the sides hard enough to break the glass, filtration and aeration systems are attacked and ripped out by mouth. Conventional glass lids are sent flying when the guapote decides to jump. It’s body shape and mouth type make it analogous to the largemouth, but this one is an attitude case on steroids

by Kathleen Peddicord

Nicaragua is an awfully nice place to call home, full-time or part of the year. And more and more people who come to visit decide they’d like to be able to return regularly and with their friends and families. They buy building lots…and then reality settles in. They’re faced with the proposition of erecting a house.

 Building in a foreign country can be a daunting proposition, especially if you’re operating long-distance in a place where you don’t speak the language.

My husband and I are in this position ourselves, making plans to begin construction of a house on Nicaragua’s glorious south Pacific coast at Los Perros. We have been traveling in the country for nearly a decade and have friends and business partners ready to lend a hand any way they can. Still, we’re nervous.

by Mike Sabine

This could stir international controversy, but it is apparently provable that Cuba has imported Nicaraguan tobacco to make its internationally famous cigars. Cuba’s reputation as the cigar capital of the planet is being challenged by its neighbor to the west and it all started with the most famous of Latin stogie chompers, Fidel Castro.

When the Spanish first arrived in Nicaragua, the native people were already puffing away on rolled tobacco leaves, the potent wild chilcagria plant. But the birth of the fine Nicaraguan cigar would originate with the exodus of Cubans during the revolution of the early 1960’s. Men such as Sixto Plasencia and Jose Orlando Padron came to Nicaragua with tobacco seeds in their pocket seeking fertile volcanic soil and ideal climatic conditions.

by Lisa Ball

Most of us at the table are bent on an orgy of casual yet acrobatic sex. The rest of us are trying to partake in a civilized meal but remain spellbound by the activities.

Of course the more unruly amongst us have six legs and compound eyes. The first downpours of the rainy season at the Domitila Wildlife Reserve mean it’s insect party time and everyone’s rocked up for the ride.

I can understand why the insects come. Apart from the obvious seductions of our moonlike lanterns in the darkness, Silvio and Maria Jose Mejia work hard to welcome everyone, from the indigenous boneless frog to me, the spineless extranjera who’s slightly overcome with insects. Indeed it’s not an easy task to combine the needs of the wildlife with the desires of the domesticated tourist. In fact some would go as far as to say that ecotourism is an oxymoron, that columns of tourists tramping through the forest like trash-wielding leaf cutter ants simply cannot be good for a delicate ecosystem. The Mejia’s however are working hard to prove the pessimists wrong.

For as many foreigners as you meet in San Juan del Sur, you’ll find as many stories and lifestyles. Five years ago, Jean Brugger made San Juan del Sur her home, along with setting the goal of promoting education and employment. Formerly a nurse from St. Louis, Missouri, Brugger toured Central America twice before deciding on Nicaragua.

Brugger had developed great admiration and affection for the people of the region and wanted to find a way to assist them in solving some of the serious problems they live with daily. The longer she stayed, the clearer it became that jobs and education would be the areas of most importance for helping. Brugger created the Fundación A. Jean Brugger, also known as The A. Jean Brugger Education Project, with Chris Berry in 1999.

by Mike Sabine 

You see them everywhere, hawked in plastic bags in the town square, consumed by the glass at restaurantes corrientes, ladled out of buckets by street vendors. The ubiquitous refresco naturale. Since before Columbus, Central Americans have been craftily converting seemingly every fruit, vegetable and seed that grows into tasty drinks, and no visit to the region is complete without sampling the amazing variety of these libations. 

Not only do they quench the thirst and satisfy the sweet tooth, and depending on whose old family recipe it’s made from, they have curative properties as well. Had one too many at the bar last night? The nectar of the sweet/tart red pitaya fruit will set that de goma (hangover - literally means ‘gummed- up’) situation straight. And you may as well get your kidneys back in shape, so knock back a tall glass of linaza. And according to local folk experts, tamarindo will ease the sore throat, help digestion and benefit seemingly every organ. 

by Nick Marlin

When is the last time you paid US$100 for a pair of work pants? Maybe that’s what you would pay if they were made in the US. Most of us choose a pair of work pants based on price; the majority of our purchasing decisions must be based on price. Otherwise there would be thousands of retail outlets called Expenso-Mart, Elega-Mart, SociallyawareMart or EnviroMart but instead we have Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and PriceSmart.

 Between the Waves interviews a North American apparel company operating in Nicaragua called ROCEDES. They supply working pants at a cost acceptable to US consumers and provide much needed employment in a country that has little.