Jewish Kid's Coin Collection Became Nicaragua's Political History Museum

As a boy, Moises Ghitis Rivera began collecting coins and then paper currency spanning the history of his country, Nicaragua. He has more than 800 items, continuing up through all of the denominations of today's money.  The collection is now its own museum, on display at his family's property on the farm, or Finca Tel Aviv. The Finca and its museum are open to the public.

The museum is organized by government administrations, showing the sequence of currencies printed by each president. Apparently, each administration designed and printed a new currency, much like the occupants of the American White House redecorate it. One president included his sister's likeness on one of his denominations.

Currency rubberstamped to increase during rampant inflation.  See upper right for denomination of 20, increased to 20,000 

Portraits of Nicaraguan Presidents

The hitch is that it is not easy to get to. The museum, called El Ceibo museum is situated on dual-volcanoed Ometepe Island, which is a one and a quarter hour ferry ride on Lake Nicaragua. The lake is the largest lake in Central America and the 19th largest fresh water lake in the world. Once you get out on it, you may as well be on an ocean because you can't see the other side. The winds whip up and the ferry ride can get pretty rocky. (No bathrooms and not enough life preservers, either).

Sandinistas Make their Mark Everywhere in Nicaragua

The Sandinistas' iconic red and black bands encircle trees and poles all along the roads of Nicaragua.  The party, known as #2, for its position on the ballot, is currently Nicaragua's ruling party while President Daniel Ortega remains in office.  When riding along any road in the country, the red and black Sandinista stripes pop along constantly.  

The party was founded in the early 1960s, as a Marxist-Leninist alternative to the long reign of the Samoza family. The Sandinistas presented themselves as a revolutionary alternative to what they characterized as oppression by the Samoza regime. 

As I wandered with two of my sons through Nicaragua's cemetery in Granada, passing long rows of graves of so many young men and teenaged boys who died in forced military service for the Sandinistas' cause in a fight in the 1980s between Granada and Leon, it's hard not to wonder about what kind of mark the Sandinistas really make.

Nicaragua Sold its Railway System for Scrap

What remains of Nicaragua's railroad system is a sorry sight. There are a few corroded skeletons of rail cars and the short stump of track they sit on. In 2006, the country's President sold the railroad cars, ripped up the tracks and peddled the metal for scrap.  As a reminder of what trains looked like, the government keeps a couple of souvenirs from the system that traveled across the terrain from 1882 until 2006.  Having suffered from economic distress, earthquakes and competition by trucks, autos, roads, and some blame accusing meddlesome outside countries, rail ultimately failed.

The shell of the train station in Granada has been partially restored and now operates as a technical school. On one side of the building is a rusting steam engine penned in behind a chain link fence. 

On the other side is the faded luxury of the President's passenger car, with its wooden louvers misaligned and missing slats.