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Ocotal-Nicaragua
Illustration of
the Outstanding Beauty of Nueva Segovia
The heart of the department of Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua is the town
of Ocotal, marvelously surrounded by mountains, enclosed by them as
within a sanctuary. The town is situated at an altitude of over 600
meters above the sea level, which places it among the typical
locations sheltered by the mountainous regions.
Situated very near to the Nicaraguan frontier
with Honduras, Ocotal is renowned for the development of its coffee
processing industry and for the number of lumber businesses it has
undertaken. For the tourist however, Ocotal if primarily noteworthy
due to one colorful aspect: the entertaining, festive popular
meetings, with that specific local flavor only names like piñatas,
resos, fiestas and quinceaños can evoke.
Moreover, for the traveler who is interested in spending some
agreeable time dancing in a local discotheque, Ocotal is the place
to search for one. In fact, there are three great such clubs here,
in Ocotal, one of which offers the opportunity to actually listen to
live music while enjoying a cocktail, while talking with friends or
while dancing.
Dancing is highly appreciated in Ocotal. The so called Casa de
Cultura in Ocotal, besides allowing the visitor the chance to see a
display of pictures concerning the overpowering of the American
soldiers occupying the town during the 1930s, is a center where
dance lessons (both the traditional forms and the more contemporary,
modern ones) are among the preferred activities in the city.
Situated to the west of the town’s center, the Casa de Cultura
shelters, however, other cultural activities as well. Among them,
the most popular are acting lessons, courses of painting, drawing,
singing, even guitar learning and woodwork sessions.
Nonetheless, the visitor who is interested in something different
than just partying and examining local practices has great
possibilities of sightseeing. A must-see is the church facing the
central square in Ocotal, namely Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. The
same as the central square, the church is situated right in the
center of Ocotal. The peculiar thing about this construction is that
its walls are made from adobe. The even more peculiar aspect is that
the inhabitants of Ocotal did not shy away from marking their names
into the spongy, yielding earth& straw outside of the church.
Despite this aspect, or maybe precisely due to it, the iglesia
remains one reference point on every visitor’s agenda when it comes
to Ocotal.
To what concerns swimming opportunities in Ocotal, there are four
main rivers crossing the town, namely Rio Coco, Rio Macuelizo, Rio
Dipilto and Rio Mozonte. Swimming is allowed, however there exist
local legends warning everybody, not just the visitor, that waters
are rather dangerous because a magic spell surrounds and pervades
them. Rio Dipilto is the town’s main fresh, potable water source.
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