One thing I realized I had not mentioned earlier was that there are no street names or street signs or house numbers. To get around Managua, you need to know landmarks and directions are given by landmarks rather than street names. The earthquake in 1972 devastated Managua, at which time the city lost a majority of its infrastructure and redevelopment has been very slow, including street signs. City officials suggested implementing street names during President Aleman administration, but he was not supportive of the initiative so it did not move, primarily because the public seems indifferent to it.
Another interesting thing that did not come up in the other posts was that there were some building we met in that did not have running water. It was surprising to all of us that some people showed up to the office every day to work wearing business suits but did not have running water in their buildings. To flush toilets, a bucket of water had to be scooped out of a huge water container and dumped into the tank. We were also advised not to flush the toilet paper but rather throw it in the wastebasket. (And no, I did not take photos of this, but others on our trip did ff you are really interested.)
On the way to the Managua airport we saw a bus crash into a truck, it looked to be an intense situation, lots of kids on the bus, all seemed ok.
We also saw two cattle cross six lanes of traffic, in the middle of the city, it still amazes me, especially since they walked by a horse tied to a tree with a rope in the median (wish I would have gotten a better picture).
I was not allowed to drive in Nicaragua, but I pretended to.
Gas was also expensive approximately $1.35 per liter or $5.10 per gallon (1 gallon = 3.785 liters).
When we left the airport in Managua, there was a plane, with a red carpet runner on the tarmac to a stage and a podium. We assumed it was for the arrival of Hugo Chevez to Managua to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution with Ortega. I cannot believe I just spent a week in Managua, meeting with political and business officials people (like the mayor of Leon) just one day before he was meeting with Ortega.
