The Nicaraguans call it "the Sweet Sea". In fact, it has everything it needs to be a sea except that the water is not salt: from one shore one cannot see the other, it has waves and archipelagos of islands, and the only fresh-water sharks in the world. Like any other sea, it has powerful storms and is dangerous to cross during such a storm.
The lake is connected with the Caribbean Sea by the San Juan River[?]. Plans have been made to take advantage of Lake Nicaragua to build an interoceanic canal. The project was cancelled in favor of the Panama Canal, but interest in the idea periodically revives.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump