Urgent Alert about Nicaragua Fuel Strike
May 14th, 2008 by Wes
(writing from Nicaragua)
Attention all travelers to Nicaragua. Google Nicargua fuel strike to get the latest update on the transportation situation in Nicaragua. Right now it is very important that you have contacts in this country. The buses and taxis are on strike. The cars and buses are parked. The strike is to protest the rising cost of fuel, nearly $5.00 per gallon. The drivers are on a 30 day strike in hopes to get the fuel prices back to $4.00 per gallon. The drivers park their vehicals as major intersections or bridges on the highway. They band together and hang out on the road side. When a vehical approaches that looks like a taxi carrying paying passengers they will walk into the highway stopping the vehical to make sure the driver is not violating the strike. We left Managua at 9:00 A.M. on Monday. Fortunately we had a friend in San Juan preplan a driver for us. Manuel is a licensed tour guide and not a taxi driver. He was able to show his documentation to the strikers. I do not know Spanish so I can only guess the dialog. They did not seem pleased, yet they let us through without incident. For anyone traveling here this next three weeks it is imperative that you have a driver or a rental car. There are only a handful of taxis drivers violating the strike and they get harrassed. I would not get into a taxi, it could prove to be unsafe. If you do not have any contacts in this country, make sure you are prepared to rent a car. I have been in Nicaragua four times this last year and the streets are empty. The traffic is nearly non’existant. I do know how I would get around if I did not have a car and a driver already preplanned. It is very important be informed of the current situation. I will post more in the next few days…
