Some Parting Thoughts

Unfortunately, Nicaragua seems to be a land of extremes. Some of its people (a very small percentage) are extremely wealthy; an unfortunately very high percentage are extremely poor. The country has a four century tradition of exploitation. It's been exploited by Spain, the U.S., and corrupt politicians. Sometimes by more than one at the same time.
This atmosphere of exploitation carries over into every segment of society. Vendors will try to take advantage of customers at every opportunity. Nicaraguans working outside the country (20% of the people) are frequently exploited by their employers. Employers inside Nicaragua are shameless in their exploitation of the workers who work for them. Sexual harassment is not only not recognized as a violation, it's practiced widely and frequently.
Exploitation even seems to take place in personal relations. There's a disproportionately high number of aging male gringos in the country willing to offer their relatively "rich" status to some attractive female 40 years younger.
Nicaragua is not suffering from a lack of foreign assistance. There are "projects" sponsored by first world countries at every turn in the road. Although these are pursued with the best of intentions, the results are tenuous at best.
Throughout my stay in Nicaragua, I kept finding myself comparing the Nicaraguans to the people of Mexico. Both have similar problems: high unemployment, a large percentage of the population working outside the country, and corrupt governments. But there's a distinct difference between the two. In Mexico, one can feel the sense of optimism the people have for the future. Small business owners have plans to expand; a homeowner has plans to re-model, or paint, or re-roof, or whatever. In Nicaragua, it's my belief that people don't plan beyond the next meal. Everyone has good intentions, but so often they don't work out. As a result, the people come to expect failure. When failure is the norm, even modest hopes appear unrealistic.
On that rather low note, I prepared to leave Nicaragua. I made 3 trips over two days to the office of the shuttle service to reserve a seat on a shuttle to the airport. Each time, the one and only employee was away from the counter, despite the fact that the office was supposed to be open at that time. On the fourth try, she was eating lunch at the counter in the middle of the afternoon and told me to come back in half an hour after she'd finished lunch. I returned and purchased my ticket for 6 p.m. the following day. The next morning at 6 a.m., the shuttle driver knocked at my door.
Oh well. One of these days, Nicaragua will get it right........maybe.