Nicaragua has emerged from a long history of colonization by both the Spanish and English and obtained independence from Spain in 1821. This long history of diverse peoples has resulted in a unique cultural diversity with distinct food, music and art. Nicaragua possesses a huge variety of landscapes from lakes and archipelagos to volcanoes and jungles all of which are easily accessible from Masaya, and in a lot of cases only a few minutes bus ride away.

You can find the Wikipedia article on Nicaragua here and the CIA World Factbook entry here

Climate There are two seasons in Nicaragua, the dry season and the rainy season. The dry season runs from November to May. There is very little rain and the temperature is a little warmer, generally around 30C /84F during the day. The rainy season runs from June to October and it rains almost every day. The rain is mostly limited to short heavy downpours that last around an hour. The temperature is generally several degrees cooler.

Cost of Living Nicaragua is a very affordable country to visit. In fact it is the least expensive country in Central America so it will cost you very little to enjoy everything you want to during your stay.While you are in Masaya you should budget between $10-15USD per day. This will buy you three meals, local travel and incidental items. The cost of a few everyday items are as follows:

• Restaurant Meal - $4
• Pizza (slice) - $0.75
• Steak (1Lb) - $2.50
• Bread (loaf) - $1.50 
• Vegetables (1Lb) - $1-2 
• Bus to Managua - $0.75
• Local Taxi Ride - $0.75
• Coke-cola (1L) - $1
• Beer (1L) - $1.50
• Cigarettes - $2

Masaya