Big day when I finally headed out of La Mariposa Spanish School and EcoHotel to start my travel adventures! 聽 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 馃檪 聽 聽The rest is really […]
Farewell to La Mariposa Read More 禄
La Mariposa Spanish School and EcoHotel is very well known for rescuing dogs (there are now 45 and counting!) but they also rescue other animals as well. Only a few weeks after we arrived, Pedro heard a macaw calling from a house while waiting for a mototaxi. 聽He asked聽to see the bird (which was obviously
Pedro and his Macaw Read More 禄
Wander through聽the Central Park of聽Le贸n on any day and you’ll find brightly painted wooden push carts with several glass bottles lined up聽on top. 聽 These are the Raspado sellers and one of the institutions of聽Le贸n. Inside, the cart is lined with aluminium and contains a large block of ice. 聽The Raspado sellers use an ice
For many tourists, volcano boarding down the active volcano Cerro Negro is the biggest drawcard of Le贸n in north-west Nicaragua. Think snowboarding, but then replace the snowboard with a slightly larger and more rudimentary slab of timber, replace the snow-capped mountain with the black cinder-cone of one of Central America’s newest volcanoes, and replace the cool briskness of
Volcano Boarding Cerro Negro – Le贸n, Nicaragua Read More 禄
Some more pictures of wildlife taken from the patio where we eat our meals at La Mariposa Spanish School and Eco Hotel. 聽 聽Apart from the Blue-Crowned Motmot, we also have the following regular visitors:
Birds of La Mariposa – Nicaragua Fauna Read More 禄
Another very regular inhabitant of the gardens around La Mariposa Escuela de Espa帽ol is the Variegated squirrel. 聽This is a tree squirrel endemic to southern Mexico and Central America. Again taken from where we eat our meals at the school/EcoHotel.
Variegated Squirrel – Fauna of Nicaragua Read More 禄
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
El Chocoyero – El Brujo Nature Reserve Read More 禄
Every Thursday night, the聽Centro Cultural Antiguo Mercado de Masaya聽(ie the artesania聽market) hosts a cultural show of dancing and singing called La Verbena. 聽 Here you can see traditional Nicaraguan dances as well as some Nicaraguan singers, and it is attended by both locals and tourists alike. Once per month a trip to La Verbena is
La Verbena in Masaya Read More 禄
Another of the wonderful initiatives on the activity schedule聽for students studying at聽La Mariposa Spanish School and EcoHotel聽are the talks about Nicaraguan history and other themes. 聽 It really helps you to get a bit more of an idea about the country you are visiting and, to be honest, Nicaragua is a fascinating place! Every Friday
Nicaraguan themed talks at La Mariposa Read More 禄
There are no Easter Eggs in Nicaragua… 聽 Nor hot-cross buns. 聽However, there is an overabundance of Semana Santa Processions (Holy Week Parades) and Easter is much, much more than an excuse to eat far too much chocolate and bread-and-buttery聽goodness. There have been parades all week, but the main parades tend to occur on Viernes
Semana Santa Procession – San Juan, Nicaragua Read More 禄
