San Juan river is the only water
communication between the Nicaragua Lake ( one of the biggest lake in the world ) and the
Caribbean sea ...
Many Indians were living there in the
Pre-Columbian times, Archeological sites
can be visit specifically in Solentinames Archipelago..
Many people here talk
of a mysterious pre-Columbian big city lost somewhere in the
Jungles..
In the rapids of El Toro, Saballo and El Castillo
at Dry
season since ever Indians were Harpooning Tarpons...
During the Colonial time Spanish People were using San Juan
River to carry the gold from Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, then
Spain..
Famous Pirates came ( Morgan and Co. )
attract by all this Gold
so , Spanish built Castles on the river banks.. in Order to prevent
attacks from Pirates to so rich Granada...then French and English took interest
on the area.... Admiral Nelson went there took San Juan Del Norte but had been
defeated in El Castillo ..
Nowadays the Fortress of El Castillo is a famous historical
destination ...( A visit to The fort in perfect condition and built on a hill
in the jungle and of its Museum is almost a "Must" in my
trips )
In the second part of 19th Century San Juan River was
very active due to the famous GOLD RUSH , The river was use by the
pioneers to cross the Central America Isthmus... Much easier in these days than
to cross all the USA They were going from New York to San Juan Del Norte
in large " steamer'' then Up San Juan River aboard smaller boats , then
across the Nicaragua Lake to San Jorge, then San Juan Del Sur or Corinto on
the Pacific coast, a big steamer again and then California...
What is amazing and almost unbelievable
when you are in the
area now is than more than a 100 000 Pioneers past there...aboard the boats of
Mr. Vanderbilt...among them Mark Twain , he wrote a description of the area:
Dark grottos, fairy festoons, tunnels, temples, columns,
pillars, towers, pilasters, terraces, pyramids, mounds, domes, walls, in
endless confusion of vine-work -- no shape known to architecture unimitated --
and all so webbed together that short distances within are only gained by
glimpses. Monkeys here and there; birds warbling; gorgeous plumaged birds on
the wing, Paradise itself, the imperial realm of beauty -- nothing to wish for
to make it perfect. Mark
Twain 1866...
During all these times there have been a lot of conflict in
the area , to take control of it ...Walker and its Flibustiers is one of the
example...
At the end of 19th Century several project of Transoceanic
canal had been establish. Even a mile has been built from San Juan Del
Norte....there is still some heavy machinery around...Then Decision had been
taken to stop and to built the transoceanic canal in Northern part of Colombia
who became Panama...
The first part of 20th century is
characterized by a very
agitated political history in Nicaragua, in witch USA has been involved,
Sandino did take over , then came the Somosa Family who has been
in power for long..... Then came the Sandinista revolution, ( see
Arts
in Solentiname, Ernesto Cardenal ) the Contra
....
Nowadays the country is quiet ,
four presidential
Elections has been held in respect from All parts of
Democratic rules.. Nicaraguans people who have been suffering so much now want
peace....
Since ever fishing has been great in the area
Exist a lot of specificities: We are fishing world record size
Saltwater fish such as Tarpon, Snook, Bull Shark, Saw Fish in freshwater
!!?? at 120 miles from sea...Well these Fish did perfectly acclimate here. The
Condition seems to be optimum as they are getting udge some migrate, some stay
there
We also like to go fishing For rainbow Bass in the Close
solentiname Archipelagon in the lake , fishing is really great and the islands
so beautiful...
Since all days Indians have been
harpooning tarpons
from the rocks of Saballo ( Still possible but fortunately strictly forbidden nowadays
) , in the sixties and seventies the destination became famous for
Sport fishing.. there were 3 Fishing camp built on the river ....a lot of study
has been done concerning the Famous fresh water Shark ( Bull Shark ) and also
Sword fish by Worldwide Scientific authorities , among them Thomas Thornson of
the University of Nebraska... I have been told than Commandant Jacques Yves
Cousteau also came here...Some people mentioning me than he was coming in an
Hydrofoil.. and fishing in front San Carlos...( I could not found any pictures
or proof of that...)
As mention before In
the eighties civil war came in Nicaragua this prime Sport fishing
destination has been forgotten ..
Nowadays
Nicaragua is a quiet country , Tourism is more than
welcome, people Authorities or simple Citizen are really very friendly and
helpful.
Sport
fishing is starting again in an almost virgin
area...
In close Rio Frio and Cano Negro in Costa Rica fishing is also
great
Following are some texts I found on the Net concerning history in
the area...
Nicaragua
The discovery of gold in California drew additional attention
from American and European powers who wanted to establish and control routes
across Panama and Nicaragua. Americans, French and British were among the
contenders, and in a move to control a route from the sultry, swampy Mosquito
Coast of Nicaragua, the British occupied the Eastern seaboard port of San Juan
del Norte between 1848 and 1850, renaming it Greytown.
In spite of an extraordinary rainfall (236 inches a year),
Cornelius Vanderbilt established a highly profitable route across Nicaragua by
waterway and carriage road. In 1851, he developed the route in competition with
the Pacific Mail Line, which had joined the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via the
overland Panama route. The Panama route was laborious until the railroad was
completed across the Isthmus in 1855
Vanderbilt’s route was easier in that once passengers reached San Juan del
Norte, on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, most of the journey between the
oceans was covered in small boats (bungoes) and steamers. The bungoes
ferried passengers and cargo up the San Juan River through 125 miles of jungles
filled with howling monkeys and exotic birds, to Lake Nicaragua, then across
Lake Nicaragua via steamer to La Virgen (Virgin Bay) near Rivas. Granada
on the lake’s northwest shore.
http://www.maritimeheritage.org/ports/centralamerica/nicara.html
Daily Alta California, July 1, 1853
FROM CENTRAL AMERICA
Guatemala, January 1, 1853
Everything which tends to the development of commerce and new trade on the
Pacific coast, must always be interesting to your California readers. There are
few countries so little known to Americans as this; and in fact there is not one
in a thousand that has an idea of the immense advantages Central America
possesses for traffic and trade with California.
http://www.maritimeheritage.org/newtale/goods.htm#trade
Gold Rush History Links
http://malakoff.com/goldcountry/history.htm
WILLIAM WALKER
William Walker (1824-1860), aventurero estadounidense,
presidente de Nicaragua (1856-1857). Nació en Nashville (Tennessee) y estudió
en la universidad de esta ciudad. Se licenció en medicina en 1843, después de
lo cual estudió derecho, y se dedicó a ejercer la abogacía en Nueva Orleans (Luisiana).
Marchó a California (Estados Unidos) en 1850, y en 1853 dirigió la invasión
armada de Baja California (México), y se autoproclamó presidente de una república
independiente, formada por la Baja California y el vecino estado de Sonora. Tras
quedarse sin provisiones y tener que enfrentarse a la resistencia del gobierno
mexicano, se vio obligado a rendirse a las autoridades estadounidenses. Juzgado
por infringir las leyes sobre neutralidad en 1854, fue absuelto.
Durante la Guerra Civil nicaragüense la facción liberal
le pidió ayuda, y en 1855 dirigió la toma de Granada. Fue nombrado presidente
de Nicaragua en 1856, y reconocido como tal por Estados Unidos. Planeó unificar
las repúblicas de América Central bajo su gobierno, pero el industrial
estadounidense Cornelius Vanderbilt, de cuya empresa de transportes se habían
apropiado los partidarios nicaragüenses de Walker, financió las fuerzas que en
1857 le derrotaron en combate.
A pesar de varios intentos por recuperar Nicaragua, Walker
no tuvo éxito. Capturado por los británicos tras desembarcar en Honduras en
1860, fue ejecutado por las autoridades hondureñas. Escribió La guerra en
Nicaragua (1860).
© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. Reservados todos los
derechos.
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT
"I have been insane on the subject of moneymaking all my life."
— Vanderbilt, quoted in the New York Daily Tribune, March 23, 1878.
http://www.stfrancis.edu/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograph/vanderbi.htm
Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), industrial
estadounidense nacido en Staten Island (Nueva York). Se inició en el negocio
de los transportes a los 16 años, creando un servicio de transporte por barco
de mercancías y pasajeros entre Staten Island y Manhattan. Consiguió una
flota de goletas durante la guerra de 1812, para en 1818, iniciarse en el
negocio del transporte fluvial con barcos de vapor, comprando su primer barco
de vapor en 1829. Amplió sus servicios con gran rapidez, y se convirtió en
un importante competidor, pues podía reducir sus tarifas al tiempo que
modernizaba su flota. Pronto consiguió controlar la mayor parte del comercio
fluvial del río Hudson hasta el punto que sus rivales en el sector le pagaron
para que montase su negocio en otro río, por lo que creó nuevas rutas entre
Long Island Sound y Providence, Rhode Island y Boston. En 1851, durante la
fiebre del oro en California, abrió una línea marítima y terrestre que iba
desde el estado de Nueva York hasta la ciudad de San Francisco (California)
permitiendo a los del cuarenta y nueve disponer de un transporte rápido con mínimos
costes. En 1855 inauguró una línea para pasajeros y mercancías entre la
ciudad de Nueva York y El Havre.
Vanderbilt vendió sus barcos de vapor en 1862 para
introducirse en el negocio de los ferrocarriles; en cinco años logró
controlar los ferrocarriles del estado de Nueva York. Continuó con su política
de calidad en los servicios y siguió adquiriendo líneas férreas. Aunque en
1868 fracasó cuando intentó controlar la empresa de ferrocarriles Erie
Railroad, consiguió en 1873 establecer una línea entre Nueva York y Chicago.
Al final de su vida entró en los círculos financieros y
se convirtió en un gran filántropo. Entre sus donaciones destaca la que
otorgó a la Universidad Vanderbilt, de un millón de dólares. Se estima que,
cuando murió, su fortuna superaba los 100 millones de dólares.
© 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. Reservados todos los
derechos.
HORACIO NELSON
In 1779 Nelson was promoted to captain, at the age of 20. He was given
command of a frigate, the Hinchingbrook, and took part in operations
against Spanish settlements in Nicaragua, which became targets once Spain joined
France in alliance with the American Revolutionaries. The attack on San Juan was
militarily successful
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/c-eight/nelson.htm
http://www.aboutnelson.co.uk/chronology.htm
Concerning the Canal
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
Nicaragua, Lake
3,089 sq mi (8,001 sq km), c.100 mi (160 km) long and up to 45
mi (72 km) wide, SW Nicaragua; the largest lake of Central America. It is
drained into the Caribbean Sea by the San Juan River. Lake Nicaragua, along with
Lake Managua (which drains into it from the northwest), occupies part of the
Nicaragua Depression, an extensive lowland region stretching across the isthmus.
Once part of the sea, the lake was formed when the land rose. There are several
islands in the lake (the largest is Isla de Ometepe); and small volcanoes rise
above its surface. The freshwater of Lake Nicaragua contains fish usually
associated with saltwater, including
tuna ( Personal comment ( Philippe
) we have a lot of fish here but
NO TUNA IN THE LAKE !!! ) and sharks, which have adapted to the environmental change.
The lake is a transportation route; Granada is its chief port. Located only 110
ft (34 m) above sea level, the lake reaches a depth of 84 ft (26 m). It was to
be an important link in the proposed Nicaragua Canal.
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ni/NicrguLk.html
