My trip through El Salvador was timed to ensure that I would be in Juayúa (one of the towns along the Ruta de Flores) on the weekend so I could explore the Food Festival that they hold there every week. The other key attraction of Juayúa is a 5 hour hike called the “Siete Cascadas” or…
The main reason most travelers come to Santa Ana in El Salvador (apart from staying at the best hostel ever – Casa Verde) is to visit Cerro Verde National Park, the starting point for hikes up Volcán Santa Ana and Volcán Izalco. If you don’t have your own car and/or if you don’t want to pay for…
While in La Palma, Andre and I decided to head up to El Pital – the highest point in El Salvador, on the border with Honduras. We started out at 6:20am taking the 119 chicken bus to San Ignacio. From there we switched to the 509 bus that headed up the mountain. It’s an impressive…
One of the most advertised things to do in Suchitoto is visit a local waterfall called Los Tercios, 2km from town. I wasn’t going to bother (there wouldn’t be any water) but decided to join André when he said he was going to do it. The tourist office organises a free, accompanied trip to Los Tercios…
After another week in León (how I love that place!) I started heading towards El Salvador. Although I’m not a beach person, I decided to spend a couple of nights at Rancho Esperanza in Jiquilillo. It is basically a surf spot and a gateway to the Padre Ramos Reserve – one of the most important…
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…
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…
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…
One of the regulars on the activities schedule for La Mariposa Spanish School and EcoHotel is a trip to a nearby nature reserve: El Chocoyero – El Brujo. The reserve is the main source of Managua’s water supply and has several hiking trails and good wildlife watching opportunities. The highlight of the afternoon trip with…
In both of my visits to La Mariposa Spanish School and EcoHotel I’ve managed to luck out with a night hike 🙂 They are not part of the usual activity timetable and are scheduled when there is enough interest and willing guides available. 2 years ago we hiked through the pineapple farms to a…