Patrick Dowd

I had some difficulties related to traveling during Holy Week, but saw a procession for Good Friday. In Estelí, I visited a small one room museum about the Nicaraguan revolution and the Sandinistas.

I had been warned that the country slows down for Holy Week and that Thursday and Friday are particularly slow. On the advice of La Selva Negra staff, I took a taxi to Matagalpa (rather the the bus) . I planned to take the bus from Matagalpa to Estelí. However, all the buses had stopped running. I hired the driver to take us to Estilí. On the way, I saw tons and tons of coffee in bags waiting to be exported. I also saw an entire valley of rice.

In Estelí, I could only find one open restaurant. Everyone was in (more…)

When I first hear about La Selva Negra, I did not think I wanted to go there. How improbable–a German resort in the middle of Nicaragua. But after several positive reports, I went. As anticipated, there were German tourists, but most of the guests were Nicaraguan. They take great pride in the resort and consider it a national destination.

La Selva Negra is a coffee plantation settled by German immigrants in the nineteenth century. The area reminded them of the Black Forest in their homeland. It now has a hotel, restaurant and resort accommodations. It is high in the mountains and encased in clouds. At 65 degrees, I felt chilly after living for weeks at 85 to 95 degrees. (more…)

 The Museo de Cafe is interesting and the town has an authentic feeling untouched by tourism. Ruben Dario, a famous poet, was born here.

I took a taxi to Moyagalpa on the north end of the Island of Ometepe, took a ferry to San Jorge, a taxi to Rivas, a local bus to the capitol, Managua, and an express bus to Matagalpa. Matagalpa is about 2,000 feet in altitude and considerably cooler than the coast. The town is nestled in the mountains and is a center for coffee shipments.

I stayed in the Hotel Alvarado. My hosts are very friendly. The family is a family of physicians. Both Noe Garcia and his wife are physicians as well as a father, mother, aunt, uncle, son and grandson. There is variability in the rooms; we got the one under construction.

I am floating on my back in Lake Nicaragua. I slowly tread water with my arms and legs. My nose, mouth and eyes are above water. The cool water feels good after the hot humid afternoon. I open my eyes and see the new moon shining above in the clear, blue sky. I turn my head to the right and see the older volcano. I turn my head to the left and see the newer volcano. This is Isla de Ometepe.

I took a ferry from Granda to the Isla de Ometepe. The ferry left almost two hours late and took about four hours (more…)