"After my 3 easy days in San Jose, it was back to the bus station again for an early morning bus on to Managua. It turned out to be a much more scenic ride than on the previous section from Panama, with a particularly attractive stretch where the road ran along the edge of Lake Nicaragua, and one could view an impressive string of volcanoes in the distance. I also had the good fortune to sit next to an interesting American who was living in Honduras. Talking with him and hearing what he had to say about Central America gave me a lot more confidence for my planned route, as well as making for an enjoyable ride. On reaching Managua in the early evening, I managed to get myself booked into one of a number of rooms provided at the bus station for passengers making a through journey, even though I was stopping two nights. Although, the building the rooms were in was more like a prison, at least it was clean, safe and convenient, and only cost me £1.25 a night.
 
Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was a depressing sight, having been almost destroyed by a devastating earthquake the Christmas-eve of 1972. In the disaster over 6,000 people had been killed and 300,000 left homeless. Of the old central area all that remained to be seen was the old damaged Cathedral and one of the nearby large government buildings. Though nearly 4 years had passed snce the quake little seemed to be done to rebuild, and I found the sight of cattle grazing on the grass and weeds that had sprung up between the rubble all a bit eerie. The capital moved to Managua from Granada in 1857 under the control of the USA. The Spanish arrived in this, the largest of the Central American Counties, in 1502. At the time of this visit Nicaragua was virtually owned and controlled by 4 very powerful families, leaving little for the rest of the population." - MH