Bird's Eye Views of Nicaragua

Contributor Ryanscotthoag created this amazing drone video of one of the world's top windsurfers on the largest lake in Central America.  Lake Nicaragua is situated on the western side of the country of the same name.  The lake is massive - over 8.2k square km (about 3.2k square mi.), making it one of the 20 largest lakes in the world.  With its size and strong steady winds, it's become something of a mecca for kitesurfers around the world.  Watch him tackle the waves and wind, captured from above! 

In this video, top contributor Wrenee, aka the Queen of the Dronie, takes her act to the massive Lake Nicaragua in the country of the same name in Central America.  Shooting from a kayak in the massive body of water, she uses her trademark pullout shot to film the lake (which is the 19th largest lake in the world by surface area) and the massive volcano behind it. Scenes like this are causing Nicaragua to follow the path originally set by Costa Rica to become a top travel destination.  

What, exactly, is underwear volcano boarding?  Find out in this episode of Ryan's Ridiculous.  Ryan takes his show to a volcano in the Central American country of Nicaragua.  A lava field on the slope of the volcano resembles a snow covered mountain, and if you can snowboard down a mountain in your underwear, well, why not a lava field?  See all this and more, and mostly filmed (how else?) with a drone.

Contributor Kenneth Espinoza used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to aerially film Nicaragua's third largest city, Estelí.  With a population of about 120,000, Estelí is the largest city in the northwestern part of this Central American country.  The area, which saw heavy fighting during the period leading to the overthrow of the Somoza regime in 1979.  It is known in part for its cigar making industry, having become a haven for Cuban cigar manufacturers after the overthrow of Cuba's Batista regime in 1959.  

Nicaragua has been greatly impacted by goings-on in Cuba; for example, long-term dictator Somoza was overthrown in the late 1970's largely due to the efforts of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.  Another way in which the countries are intertwined is in the making of cigars; when Castro assumed power in Cuba, many of the country's cigar makers decamped for Honduras.  In this drone video by Kenneth Espinoza, you'll get a bird's eye view of a cigar factory in Esteli, now the center of the Nicaraguan cigar industry.

Content creator Kenneth Espinoza is one of the top commercial drone pilots in the Central American country of Nicaragua.  His work covers a range of projects, including large events and other action-oriented settings. This reel, shot with a DJI Mavic Pro drone, features the highlights of his work throughout this fascinating nation.  Among the highlights is an amazing shot around the 1:00 mark of the Christ of the Mercy statue in San Juan del Sur, perhaps the most recognizable landmark in the country.

Contributor Kenneth Espinoza created this beautiful drone video of the area around Granada in western Nicaragua.  Granada lies on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, the largest freshwater body in Central America and the 19th largest lake in the world measured by surface area.  Granada is very much tied to the great lake; it's the sixth largest city in this Central American country.  It also has a rich history; it's believed by some to be the first true Spanish-founded city in the Western Hemisphere.

San Juan del Sur is one of the main beach towns on the Pacific Ocean (western) side of the Central American nation of Nicaragua.  Once driven by fishing, it's been one of the prime beneficiaries of the increase in tourist traffic to Nicaragua in recent years (a phenomenon which has, often as not, been driven by surfers).  San Juan del Sur is also the home of what is perhaps the country's most well known landmark (the giant Christ of the Mercy statue) and has hosted the Survivor reality TV series.

Check out this epic aerial view of the famous Masaya volcano in the Central American republic of Nicaragua, compliments of contributor ryanscotthoag.  It's actually a caldera (a system of volcanoes) and it's located a short distance south of the country's capital in Managua.  It's a highly complex system that has many vents and craters.  Continually emitting sulfur gas, the volcano has a peak altitude of about 635 meters (around 2.1k ft.).  Check it out from a unique perspective in this drone video by katie.j11.