Along with going to the cinema, another of the things I love to do when travelling is to experience different massages. Last time I was in Nicaragua, I had one of the weirdest massages ever. The pummeling that usually heralds the end of a massage – well that was the entire massage. For an…
One of the really cool things to do in Matagalpa is visit the local chocolate factory (“El Castillo del Cacao” – “The Castle of Cacao”) on the outskirts of town. I actually did this independently (ie not on an organised tour) when I was here in 2013 (hence why this post is a little vaguer than…
I am so thoroughly addicted to “Club Social” biscuits here in Nicaragua (a fairly plain cracker) and turns out they make an excellent substitute to bread when one needs a very early breakfast (ham, cheese and tomato “sandwich”) before heading out for the day’s activities. The early start was to catch the bus from Estelí…
Another thing I love to do while travelling is try the local dishes of the country I’m visiting. Nicaragua has quite a few of these (and I’ve tried almost all of them) but the specialty of Matagalpa in the northern highlands is the Güirila. There are several places to buy Güirilas, including some restaurants, but most people simply…
One of the new activities offered by the Finca Esperanza Verde since I was there last time was the opportunity to do a jewelry making workshop with Las Mujeres del Plomo – a women’s collective in the nearby community of El Plomo. Those of you who know me know that I love jewelry, and my…
The Finca Esperanza Verde is actually a working organic coffee farm and this time around I arrived right at the end of the flowering season. Each of those little green nodules that are left once the flower has finished will turn into a coffee bean. The last time I was here, I did the coffee processing…
One of the many fabulous things about the Finca Esperanza Verde is the opportunity to spot a wide variety of wildlife. For example, if you want to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with hummingbirds – this is a wonderful spot! But hummingbirds (colibri) are not the only birds here – not by a long…
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…
I mentioned in my post about surviving a chicken bus trip that Nicaraguan bus drivers have a soft spot for either latin romantica or 80’s power ballads. To give you an indication of what I’m talking about, here’s the actual playlist for the 2 hour bus trip from Rivas to Managua (yes, I sat…
Just a quick post to thank Caite for being a wonderful travelling companion down the Rio San Juan! Had an awesome time with you and wish you all the very best for the rest of your travels and beyond. And thank you again for the crystals! They are secreted away in my packs for safety…