Las Montañas

As a birthday gift from the Jubilee House Community to Felicia (volunteer coordinator), Paul (volunteer), and me, we went to a cloud forest in the mountains of Nicaragua this past Saturday. There were only five of us (Felica, Paul, Leah, Coury, and me), so we were able drive the Kia. Compared to the ambulancias, the Kia is a luxury car. It is actually fairly new and nice, and we were able to jam out with the CD player and sound system. It took us about 3 hours to drive from Managua to Selva Negra, a coffee plantation and resort area with an abundance of hiking trails.

Selva Negra is located in North Central Nicaragua in the Matagalpa and Jinotega Highlands. The mountain road between Matagalpa and Jinotega is known as one of the most scenic roads in Nicaragua, and I agree. It was a breathtaking drive through mountain towns and past coffee plantations on a road that weaves through the mountains. As we climbed in altitude, the air turned ‘fresca’ (cool) and we saw more horses with carts and women carrying wide umbrellas. It is a completely different culture and environment compared to the busy, dusty, and loud streets of Managua. It was beautiful and tranquil, although life in Ciudad Sandino and the city of Managua is very rich as well. I am truly appreciating and enjoying life here. The pictures of me hiking over a creek and overlooking the mountains were taken by Leah, another volunteer.

We arrived at about 11:30am and decided to eat lunch at the Selva Negra restaurant before hiking the trails. Because we had a fixed amount of money to spend on food and had to eat lunch anyways, it seemed like the way to go. However, the food was ‘rico’ (rich/delicious) and we were all very full by the time we were done eating. The Selva Negra restaurant uses fresh ingredients, including some of their own beef and pork. I ordered café con leche (coffee and milk) for starters…since I was at a coffee plantation, I had to try their coffee! It was clean, rich, and absolutely delicious. As a table, we split the cheese and ham sampler. This included about three different types of ham and at least six different cheeses. I thought I was back in Italy! The cheese was wonderful. For the main course, Felicia and I split a farm raised bacon cheeseburger (that’s right, Dad!) and German sausages with German potatoes and Sauerkraut. During the second part of the 19th century, many Germans immigrated to the east coast of Nicaragua to develop gold mines. However, after establishing themselves in Nicaragua and noticing the perfect mountain climate for coffee cultivation in Matagalpa, many switched their interests to coffee cultivation. Therefore, German roots are present in the Matagalpa-Jinotega highlands, and Selva Negra is owned by a German family. After the meal, we were each given a fresh orange for dessert. I ate mine on the drive home after our hike, and it was one of the best oranges I have eaten in Nicaragua.

After becoming very full from the comida rica (delicious/rich food), we set off on a hike up a steep mountain trail. The cloud forest was beautiful. We saw gigantic trees with roots winding up their trunks, banana trees, coffee plants, butterflies, brightly colored flowers, gurgling mountain streams, and breathtaking mountain views. Pictured to the left is a banana pod. We hiked for about three hours total, about a third of it up the side of a mountain. I loved every minute of it. I decided that I am going back for a weekend before I leave, and I will stay in the youth hostel for a couple of nights – it costs only about $8 a night! There is also a beautiful chapel in the resort area, a banquet/dancing room, gardens, a gazebo, a pond, and varying sizes of cottages/rooms for rent.

Today is my birthday (!!!), and we are going dancing at El Bosque ('the forest') tonight. I am very excited! I have been to El Bosque two times before and it is always a blast! It is a huge covered open air bar with a large dance floor. Half of the music is played by a band and the other half is DJ. The music is a mixture of traditional Latin dance music with some modern popular Latin songs. Every once in awhile, they play a few early to mid '90s slow dance songs in English. I have improved my Latin dance skills and am usually found on the dance floor. Sometimes I dance with one of the guys in our group, but I have just as much fun dancing with a group of girls. Last weekend, Leah and I went to the market with Nila's daughter (Nila works at the clinic) and her best friend. We had so much fun shopping. We also went to a secondhand store where I bought two pairs of jean capris (I didn't bring any jeans with me and realized that I need them!) and a birthday tank top.

¡Hasta la próxima vez!