Managua in two hours or less

 There is ZERO tourism infrastructure in Managua. So how did we manage to take in all the major sites in one crazy afternoon? The car service at the Princess Hilton connected us with a friendly driver named William. I can't say enough to praise this young man who has taught himself English from music videos and Laker games.

First stop: the Acahualinca footprints, fossilized from a group of nomads who passed by 6,000 years ago and left their mark in the volcanic soil, including the tiny steps of children. This amazing sight was hard for even a local driver to find, in a hidden corner of a slum that has grown up over an area destroyed in the 1972 earthquake.
 No signs, no crowds. We were the only visitors.

Next we pulled up in front of what should be the heart of the city, the vast plaza in front of the earthquake damaged cathedral. Again we were the only visitors. 
Post earthquake Managua is a city without a center. It is filled with monuments to the struggle against Somoza. A hillside monument now features the Russian anti-aircraft guns the dictator turned on his own people.
The mirador on the hilltop offered a splendid view of both the old city, which never recovered from the earthquake, and the crazy urban sprawl that is the new city. We said goodbye to William and were assured that it was okay to explore the streets around the Hilton on our own, since this was one of Managua's best neighborhoods.
We found a modern shopping mall with all the popular brands. About a block away was Managua's new cathedral which has been said to look like either a mosque or collection of 63 breast-like domes, representing the countrt's major churches. The most moving sight in this concrete box was a statue from the old cathedral where Pope John Paul II once prayed on a visit to Nicaragua.

There was no shortage of fast food restaurants from McDonald's to Burger King, but we wandered down a side street and found La Terraza, a delightful garden restaurant serving Peruvian food, which we washed down with plenty of Nicaraguan beer.