Flor de Sacuanjoche
The Flor de Sacuanjoche (a frangipani) is the national flower of Nicaragua. The trees flower around May each year and I finally saw my first tree in full bloom on Isla San Fernando in the Solentiname Archipeligo. Love the smell!

The Flor de Sacuanjoche (a frangipani) is the national flower of Nicaragua. The trees flower around May each year and I finally saw my first tree in full bloom on Isla San Fernando in the Solentiname Archipeligo. Love the smell!

Last time I was in Nicaragua, I visited Matagalpa and ended up at the Finca Esperanza Verde – an ecolodge located about 45 minutes away further up in the mountains. At that time, Vivianne and Andrew had just taken over as owners and Max was a very small bundle of puppy fur. I couldn’t wait to…
OK – I know I’ve been here for 2 weeks for very few blog posts, but you won’t believe me if I try to explain how busy I am! A rundown of my day: 5am (ok, so I haven’t quite made it out of bed at 5am yet, but I’m getting closer! Currently 5:30am): wake…
I was on my third cup of tea over breakfast at the Hotel Sisimiut when Jan from Sisimiut Private Boat Safari called. Yes, it was unbelievably foggy outside, but some of the calmest waters occur after a heavy fog lifts he told me – so could I be ready in 15 minutes? Absolutely! We’d been…
If you want to eat well but cheaply in Nicaragua – you should check out a fritanga! They can be found on the footpath in pretty much every small town and generally kick off a bit before dusk (though the setup starts about about 3:30pm). Basically, they are a grill BBQ that usually has beef, chicken…
La Mariposa supports lots of things within the community of La Concepcion and has added a concert by local artists to the program. This is a local family and some of their friends performing Mexican and traditional Nicaraguan music for us. My favourite was Nicaragua Mia – love the line “soy puro pinolero” And…
Another regular visitor to the garden around La Mariposa Escuela de Español is the Blue-crowned motmot. This guy looks a lot like the Turquoise-browed motmot (also called the Guardabarranco – the Nicaraguan national bird) but is distinct. The head colouring is different but the easiest way to tell them apart is through the look of…