Skip to navigation

Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

Nicaragua: Matagalpa

The main plaza in Matagalpa, complete with statues of FSLN founders Tomas Borge and Carlos Fonseca Matagalpa
The main plaza in Matagalpa, complete with statues of FSLN founders Tomas Borge and Carlos Fonseca Matagalpa

Matagalpa is a pleasant spot. Green mountains rise around the edge of town, hiding their tops in low clouds and making the town feel as if it's being cuddled by the landscape, and the main square is leafy, open and, as per usual, dominated by a huge white cathedral. There's a coffee museum, there are loads of cafés selling the local brew, and there are even some really good restaurants; indeed, the Italian restaurant in a small side-road just behind our hotel serves up a genuinely delicious pizza, cooked properly in the Italian style rather than the more common and more depressing (failed) attempts at American pizza that we've had to get used to throughout Central America. This is a first; thank you, La Vita é Bella.

A mural in Matagalpa
A mural in Matagalpa
Iglesia Catedral San Pedro
Iglesia Catedral San Pedro
Air plants growing on the telegraph lines in town
Air plants growing on the telegraph lines in town
A hummingbird in the garden of La Buena Onda hotel; the hotel also had a friendlt pet rabbit who roamed the grounds
A hummingbird in the garden of La Buena Onda hotel; the hotel also had a friendlt pet rabbit who roamed the grounds