As the sun sank behind the trees last Dec. 21 at La Virgen Beach, a community on the western shore of Lake Nicaragua, residents began emerging from their homes in bathing suits. They approached the water’s edge with portable chairs, beer and other provisions, settling in and curling their toes in the sand. The carefree scene belied the fact that the next day, just 10 kilometers (six miles) to the west, initial groundwork would begin on an ambitious trans-isthmian canal project that, if completed, could forever alter Lake Nicaragua, Central America’s largest source of fresh water and the 19th biggest lake in the world. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 22, workers began building an access road leading to the mouth of the... [Log in to read more]