Rio Blanco

[Guamguy]

Has anyone spent much time in  Rio Blanco?  there 's not much info on this town in the Moon Handbook, but it sounds interesting.  Hows the hiking in Cerro Musun N.P.?  Any suggestions would be much appreciated

[Joshua Berman]

WAY off the beaten path. You can get info and/or guide at Matagalpa Tours.

[Papatara]

Rio Blanco is the entryway into the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region. I just got off the Siuna-Managua expreso bus there two days ago in the middle of the night because I couldn't handle another five hours to Managua after sharing a seat on top of the rear wheel well for seven hours without a pit stop! This small city never seems to sleep! I still found people on the street at three A.M. And, I quickly found a room in a 24 hour hotel where I could relieve myself, shower off the dust, and get some sleep before completing my trip the following morning on a local bus.

The area around Rio Blanco does scare me, though. In the years since the Contra War ended and until today, the highway just northeast of Rio Blanco - usually at or near a rocky pass called La Piedrera - has been the site of many assaults on buses, trucks and unwary private vehicles. The assaults usually happen at night with an entire bus (sometimes three in a row) being stopped and all passengers robbed at gunpoint. After the assault, the gunmen simply disappear into the countryside to wait six months to a year or more before striking again. This is the only site on the whole route to Puerto Cabezas where such assaults have historically occurred with some consistency.

If you do decide to spend time around Rio Blanco, I suggest that you discuss the areas you plan to visit with the local police and solicit their recommendations. I do suggest that you be accompanied by people known in the area and make your itinerary known to the authorities.

[erik nelson]

Thanks for this information, Mupitara.  I'm glad I went to Río Blanco BEFORE reading your post.  The entire area, if not high priority for the tourist, is rewarding.  Río Blanco itself is much like many other towns in the interior of Nicaragua.  I loved Waslala and Siuna in particular.  I traveled from Matagalpa to Puerto Cabezas by bus, and returned by an alternate route, taking buses by day and stopping overnight in small towns.  I felt safe enough, though evenings in towns can feel creepy, with extremely poor street lighting.  I felt safe enough--or was I just blissfully ignorant, and lucky?

[Papatara]

Thanks for this information, Mupitara.  I'm glad I went to Río Blanco BEFORE reading your post.  ...  I felt safe enough--or was I just blissfully ignorant, and lucky?

Erik,

I really didn´t intend to make this post to discourage visiting the area. My intention was to inform relative to a specific security problem in the region. In general, I consider the atlantic coast region as safe - if not safer - than the rest of Nicaragua. And, I think that the atlantic coast has been unfairly victimized regarding safety warnings to foreigners in the area.

The more you know about the region, its cultures, and its history the better off you are. And, the more you are likely to enjoy your trip. I think that you were safe enough in all of the locations that you mentioned. You obviously took precausions to protect yourself. As a traveller and outsider, however, it is important for you to identify the potential danger spots and potentially dangerous situations so that you can avoid them.