Its been two weeks since our last post. I don´t know how time has slipped by that fast! We`ve been busy here in Nicaragua...well not busy...but we`ve been on the move a lot and where we have stayed have been more or less remote little fincas and ranchos where we have been busy - swimming and lying in hammocks etc. Without photos this post will likely be a lot less interesting than it could be (also because Tor is sick today and it is just me writing, it will also probably be a lot less funny than it could be). Hopefully by next week we will have our new card reader and will be able to post a bunch of photos at once.
After spending a couple of days in Leon we headed into northeastern, or highland, Nicaragua. In this land of coffee we hiked our way up from Yuccul to the Finca Esperanza Verde outside of Matagalpa. Four kilometers isn´t such a hard hike and even four kilometers uphill is ok, but four kilometers uphill with our packs on really made us realize just how out of shape we are! The finca was such a special place though, serving coffee grown and processed on site, having tons of hiking trails, a waterfall complete with swimming hole, toucans, mat mats, howler monkeys and even sloths! It was all very tranquillo except for the little run in that we had with the monkeys...A big male was letting us know we were in his territory, making short calls and such, so Torrie, of course, had to call back to him. Then the male started rubbing and pounding his chest...and of course...so did Tor. Then the big male stands up on his branch and shakes his alpha male testicles at us...and of course..no no, luckily Tor didn´t do this back, though he may have tried, but then the male monkey sort of charged us from the tree and I finally convinced him that maybe, maybe we should just keep walking.
Our run-in with the sloth was much less eventful. The sloth slept and slept and then finally woke up and scratched its bum for a few mintues before falling back asleep. Fun fact: the spanish name for a sloth - perisoso- translates literally to `a lazy´.We went back 5 hours later just to see if the sloth would still be there and sure enough it was, still fast asleep. Perisoso.
After the Finca we went to what must be the Momostenango of Nicargua, quickly left, and then headed to the Tisey Nature Reserve, outside of Esteli, where we happily met up with some friends. There were two definite highlights at Tisey. The first being that the quiet little posada where we stayed serves soup on Sunday. We didn´t realize the significance of this when they told us until Sunday rolled around and all sorts of locals and Nacionales from as far as Managua rolled in for soup...and rum. What goes better with soup than rum? Apparently nothing.
The second highlight, and a reason for anyone visiting Nicaragua to detour up to the north-east, was the Galleria de Arte Jalacate. The Lonely Planet is spot on here, Alberto the artist really does skip through his garden despite being close to eighty, jumping up steep paths to explain to you (well, if you can understand his fast, semi-eccentric spanish) the meaning of his art and culture. It is even more exciting because he is also reciting poetry and chain-smoking all the while. As our British friend with us summed it up, it was `brilliant´.
Somoto Canyon was another highly, highly reccommendable adventure, but one that would definitely not pass Canadian safety standards. We swam our way 2km through the narrow canyon whose steep walls hold small rapids, waterfalls and deep pools. Tor, much braver than I, jumped from 15m into a pool. After my 11m jump at Semuc Champey in Guatemala I realized that jumping from heights in a bikini is not highly adviseable, unless you don`t mind not being able to sit down, or walk, for a couple of days afterwards.
Most recently, we stayed three days at the Rancho Esperanzo on the northern Consiguina Peninsula. Back on the coast it was so hot and glorious that we have both finally managed to get some colour back on our skin after our long stint in the cool Guatemalan, and then Nicaraguan, highlands. Hopefully, after a few more days in the sun at Laguna de Apoyo where we will go tomorrow we will actually look like we`ve been to Central America. Right now we are stationed in Masaya. It is a nice city with lots of artesans and a very, very cool Volcano than is still smoking (we visited the crater yesterday). Luckily for Torrance, most of the arts made in Nicaragua are ceramics and big hammocks so I can`t even try to justify buying anything.
Ok, that is all for now. Thanks for reading!
With love,
Lisa and Torrance
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