Raleigh International

British actress Hayley Atwell, soon to be seen in Hollywood blockbuster Captain America, has visited Raleigh expedition country Nicaragua to see how charity work has changed the lives of thousands of people.

The actress went to the Central American country to see first-hand how coffee farmers and workers have been helped by charity work.

The world’s first carbon-neutral airline, Nature Air, has added a new scheduled route between San Jose, Costa Rica and Managua, Nicaragua.

For those wishing to travel on after or before their expedition, the new flight opens up some environmentally friendly flight options between the two Raleigh countries.

Nature Air is working directly with Nicaragua’s Tourism Board INTUR to offer additional services to visitors including ground transportation and vacation packages to the popular cultural and historic centres of Granada and Leon, as well as natural destinations like Masaya, the islands of Ometepe, and the beach and surf town of San Juan del Sur.

“Costa Rica has been one of the most popular holiday destinations in recent years, and neighbouring countries like Nicaragua have seen a significant amount of visitors travelling over the border to visit nearby tourist destinations,” Nature Air’s Claire Saylor said.

“With increasingly shorter vacations and greater expectations from travellers, Nature Air recognises the need to offer more flights in Central America,” she added.

Raleigh expedition country Nicaragua has set itself the ambitious target of using renewable sources of energy to generate 94% of its energy by 2017, according to the country's Minister of Energy and Mines, Emilio Rappaccioli.

Rappaccioli also said that renewables will contribute to ensuring 85% of the country has access to electricity by 2014.

Raleigh expedition country Nicaragua has been declared land mine free after a 21-year defusing programme has ended.

The Central American country implemented the National Mine Clean Up Programme in 1989 after the civil war, when thousands of mines were planted by Nicaragua and the US-backed counter revoluntaries.

Gap year students and their parents will be pleased to know that Raleigh expedition countries Costa Rica and Nicaragua have been named as the safest in Central America according to a report from international business analysts, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The study showed that international rankings put Costa Rica at the top of the travel safety list, followed by Nicaragua. Nicaragua was also named as the fastest country in which to start a business and the country that best protects its investors.

If volcanoes have sparked off a geological interest due to the ash cloud currently causing chaos for gap year travellers in Europe, Nicaragua is a great place to learn more about these natural wonders, once the dust settles in the UK.

The Raleigh expedition country is often referred to as ‘the country of lakes and volcanoes' due to an impressive line of them running from the north to the south of the country. And as Central America's largest country, that's a lot to explore.