Did you know that you can see the Southern Cross and Pointers from Nicaragua? I was really very, very surprised to discover this the other night! Very, very low on the horizon – but there they were, peeking out from between the tree branches at the Albergue Celentiname where we spent the night on […]
The Southern Cross from Nicaragua Read More »
Apart from kayaking around the Solentiname islands, the other thing I was keen to do was visit the artisans who are renowned for their balsa carvings and primitivist paintings. The main population of artisans is found on the largest island – Isla Marrancón – so we visited the first afternoon we spent in the Archipelago.
Visiting the artisans in the Solentiname Islands Read More »
The Solentiname Archipelago (36 volcanic islands in the south-eastern part of Lake Nicaragua) is a little off the beaten track. As the Lonely Planet puts it – you need either time (there are only a couple of public boats/week) or money (private boats are expensive) to explore them. Instead, we arranged with Philippe
Kayaking the Islas Solentiname Read More »
Another of our adventures at La Esquina del Lago Jungle River Lodge was to head up the Río Frio to the border with Costa Rica spotting birds and other animals. We left very early in the morning (Jackson was again our guide) with a beautiful mist over the river. The following are just a selection of the
Río Frio birdwatching Read More »
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!
Flor de Sacuanjoche Read More »
One of the things Caite and I did at La Esquina del Lago Jungle River Lodge was the Caiman (reptile similar to an alligator) night tour. We headed out in a boat with no running lights (nobody has running lights down here yet they all move around at night) with Jackson on the front with the
First port of call on the Río San Juan was the La Esquina del Lago Jungle River Lodge for a few days. It’s located in the Los Guatuzos Nature Reserve and although it is one of the key fishing lodges in the area, it also offers some other interesting options as well. The Lodge is just across the river
La Esquina del Lago Jungle River Lodge Read More »
Still got a few blog posts coming from my time at La Mariposa Spanish School and EcoHotel 🙂 I mentioned previously that one of the wonderful things about the school is the sense of community it fosters amongst its students. For example, there were two families studying at the school over Easter, so the kids
Community at La Mariposa Spanish School Read More »
Getting around in Nicaragua is both easy and difficult. What is easy: there is public transport to pretty much everywhere and it is really cheap What is difficult: said public transport is slow as a wet week crowded as sardines in a tin without aircon (Nicaragua is a hot country, especially in April) without a bathroom (or bathroom
From La Mariposa to San Carlos Read More »
Big day when I finally headed out of La Mariposa Spanish School and EcoHotel to start my travel adventures! The great news is that my formal spanish-learning journey is over – I am at the highest level of advanced spanish in both writing and speaking … almost bilingual 🙂 The rest is really
Farewell to La Mariposa Read More »
