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…
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…
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. He asked to see the bird (which was obviously…
Wander through the Central Park of León on any day and you’ll find brightly painted wooden push carts with several glass bottles lined up on top. These are the Raspado sellers and one of the institutions of León. Inside, the cart is lined with aluminium and contains a large block of ice. The Raspado sellers use an ice…
For many tourists, volcano boarding down the active volcano Cerro Negro is the biggest drawcard of León 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…
Some more pictures of wildlife taken from the patio where we eat our meals at La Mariposa Spanish School and Eco Hotel. Apart from the Blue-Crowned Motmot, we also have the following regular visitors:
Another very regular inhabitant of the gardens around La Mariposa Escuela de Español is the Variegated squirrel. This is a tree squirrel endemic to southern Mexico and Central America. Again taken from where we eat our meals at the school/EcoHotel.
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…
Every Thursday night, the Centro Cultural Antiguo Mercado de Masaya (ie the artesania market) hosts a cultural show of dancing and singing called La Verbena. 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…
Another of the wonderful initiatives on the activity schedule for students studying at La Mariposa Spanish School and EcoHotel are the talks about Nicaraguan history and other themes. 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…