Midway between the cities of Managua and Granada lies Masaya. Located beside a large, deep lagoon or crater lake, it could well be called the “souvenir” city, as it is the center for small articles manufactured for tourists​—articles made from seashells, turtle shells, various woods, straws, bamboo, cotton and leather.

WORK ON THE EAST COAST

Jungles and forests laced with rivers blanket the eastern section of Nicaragua. Zelaya, one of the sixteen departments of Nicaragua, extends from near the Costa Rican border on the south almost to the border of Honduras on the north, and not only is the largest but is equal in area to the other fifteen departments combined. In this vast region, sprinkled with a few gold and silver mines, only 6 percent of the population of Nicaragua live, the majority on the Caribbean coast.

Many of the small settlements bear strange-sounding names, due to the influence of the Miskito Indians that inhabit this part of the country. They are not fierce and the majority profess to be Christians due to the work of Moravian missionaries who located in this area more than a hundred years ago. So the religion here is predominantly Moravian. Later, the Roman Catholic and other religions established themselves.

The two principal towns are Bluefields and Puerto Cabezas, at one time called Bragman’s Bluff. This section of the coast between the two cities, under British control since 1655, is sometimes referred to as the “Mosquito Coast.” In 1860 a treaty was signed by which England relinquished all its claims in Nicaragua, but it was not until 1893 that Nicaragua took over complete control. The name Bragman’s Bluff was then changed to Puerto Cabezas. The Bluefields area has become famous for its heavy tropical rains; in fact, it is not uncommon for 200 inches of rain to fall during a year.

Most of the people here are dark-skinned, many having originally migrated from the West Indies, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Barbados to work in the banana plantations. Lumber mills were also constructed to cut and export the abundant mahogany, pine and cedar that grew in the forests. But gradually the forests became depleted or too distant from the coastal areas for profitable exploitation. The banana plantations were struck with plagues and blights, so much so that today no bananas are exported from the east coast. Attention was next turned to growing rice and beans and also to the riches of the sea. A large fleet of shrimp and lobster boats now operates out of Bluefields and this has become the principal industry, tons of seafood being shipped out annually.