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 […]
Wildlife of the Finca Esperanza Verde Read More »
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
Finca Esperanza Verde Read More »
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
Typical playlist of a Nicaraguan bus driver Read More »
If you do not enjoy: unbelievable heat stifling humidity drowning in your own sweat steep inclines using your arms/hands as much as your legs/feet when you hike getting muddy hiking Volcán Maderas on the Island of Ometepe is not for you! Started out at 8am (much later than I would have wanted, but that was the
Hiking Volcán Maderas – Ometepe Read More »
There’s something about horse riding that is really special. If there is an opportunity to go horse riding I usually take it, so this morning I headed out with Ayssar (guide) and Rosita (my horse) for a few hours near San Ramón on the southern end of Ometepe. Specifically we went to check out some of the
Horse riding Ometepe Read More »
My last night on the Río San Juan was spent in luxury in San Carlos – I had air-conditioning! Lapped that up for as long as I could (11:30am the next morning) and then headed out to San Carlos airport to catch my La Costeña flight to Ometepe. The airport building was quite literally a
From San Carlos to Ometepe Read More »
Stayed at the Hotel Sábalos for 2 nights on my way back up the river to San Carlos. I highly recommend it if you are going to stay at Boca de Sábalos – Maricela is wonderful and friendly, first warm shower I’ve had in 2 weeks, the fried fish and the pancakes are amazing and
Cacao Tour – Boca de Sábalos Read More »
The Bartola Refugio is located right where the Río Bartola meets the Río San Juan and the Costa Rican border and is right on the boundary of the Indio-Maíz Reserve. They have lots of hiking trails and a couple of canoes for guests to use, so I headed out onto the river both mornings I was there
Canoeing the Río Bartola Read More »
Although I couldn’t get all the way down the Río San Juan, I wanted to go as far as possible. So from El Castillo I headed down to the Refugio Bartola (about 8 km further on) where there is a rustic hotel, plenty of hiking trails and the Río Bartola to explore. It is right on the boundary
Hiking the Bartola Reserve Read More »
My original plan in coming to the Río San Juan was to travel the whole length of the river from San Carlos to San Juan del Norte (alternatively known as San Juan de Nicaragua or Greytown). What I didn’t count on was that after 3 years of drought, and at the end of summer, both
Travelling the Río San Juan Read More »
