Travel to Nicaragua in 1991 and 1992

In 1991, I was serving in the Peace Corps in Honduras. Because of the Sandanista/Contra conflict in Nicaragua, Peace Corps Volunteers were not permitted to enter Nicaragua. That changed when Violeta Chumorra was elected President in 1991. Peace Corps Volunteers were allowed to travel to Nicaragua. The Peace Corps was also able to re-establish its program in Nicaragua. On July 11, 1991 a total eclipse of the sun occurred and was visible in parts of Central America. I traveled to Nicaragua with another Peace Corps Volunteer, Frank Iannone, to watch the eclipse from the coastal town of Corinto. The partial eclipse leading up to the total eclipse was visible, but just before totality clouds moved in to block the view. We were able to catch one brief view of the total eclipse in a short break in the clouds.

My second trip to Nicaragua occurred in 1992. I was attending Rutgers University and my advisor, Mike Carr, went to Nicaragua to collect volcanic samples for chemical and isotope analysis. We spent a week in the northwestern portion of the country collecting samples from the many volcanoes and lava flows located there.

Below are a few of the photos I took during both of these visits.

Click on the link to view the image.

• Typical houses in the Nicaraguan countryside
• Volcan Momotombo - an active volcano at the north end of Lake Managua
• A tour bus in the city of Leon
• A small cinder cone next to the larger cone of Cerro Negro
• The west end of Cerro Negro's crater
• The actively steaming crater atop Cerro Negro
• Lava flows at the base of Cerro Negro
• The train from Leon to Chinandega
• One of the many churches in Leon
• Large catheral in the center of Leon
• Anti-American Sandanista mural in Leon
• Partial solar eclipse - taken prior to the total solar eclipse
• Partial solar eclipse - taken prior to the total solar eclipse