Blogs from Matagalpa, Northern Highlands, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean

My week in Matagalpa continued with more great meetings with women. Before I continue with additional stories, I thought I would share more about why I am making these visits. I am hopeful that I will be able to partner with CEPAD to expand the work they are doing to empower women in Nicaragua. They have an impressive program to give women the knowledge they need to start or improve their small businesses. A goal of CEPAD is that the women will share what they have learned with other women in their village along with some oversight from CEPAD. But there are not funds available to for these mentees to receive loans for their businesses. That is one way I hope to create a partnership. This would allow us to utilize the program CEPAD already has ... read more

After an unsuccessful attempt at getting a ride from San Juan de Nicaragua to Bluefields by boat, we grudgingly got on a 5 AM Express (and vastly more comfortable) boat back to San Carlos (on the good advice of Freddy, the shark fin guy from Managua). Of course the military searched our bags thoroughly as we were getting on, drinking our sweet instant coffee from a styrofoam cup. We had a quick stop over in El Castillo where we confirmed with a nice coffee shop owner (originally from California) that there still is no boat to Bluefields, and also got some to go grub. At San Carlos, we hopped right on a bus to Juilgalpa. The city has a terrible bypass road, with loud, fast-moving traffic and litter lining the gutters. However there was still much ... read more

Geo: 12.93, -85.931542hrs: Location: Verandah of Bunglow 7 Altitude 1300: Broken sun but blowy....very blowy. Summary: today kicked off with the usual coffee at 0600hrs....late as the kettle took some 30mins to boil due to the feeble output of the solar batteries. I think we have drained the whole days supply.......other Eco bungalow occupants are sipping tepid yucca juice and switching of lights at every opportunity whilst we are scalding our lips on Barista quality Italian brew....."tough"...in the distance I spot a couple of "Bill Oddie" birdwatcher types setting off in search of the lesser spotted "Ooomegoolie Bird"..... EQUIPMENT ALERT: disaster has struck in the sponge bag department. A whole tube of shaving gel has managed to quietly discharge itself and coat my entire supply of Alka-Seltzers in scented gloop. We carefully hand wipe each sac ... read more

Selva Negra is a paradise-like eco-lodge and organic coffee plantation in the mountains of Nicaragua between Matagalpa and Jinoteca. Their lodge restaurant sits on the edge of a huge fish pond that mirrors the surrounding alpine jungle. Among the inhabitants are a flock of about a dozen white geese that live and feed at the sight and that appear daily as they make their rounds of the estate. Like childhood images of farm animal illustrations, the dozen or so geese of Selva Negra line up like a single file of wibble-wobbling soldiers as they exit the water in perfect cadence to an unheard beat and march in a perfect line on one of the paved pathways that interlace the resort. Their mission, known only among their flock, includes marching past manicured flower beds, guest cabins, and ... read more

Bonnie - We have been visiting Selva Negra for two days, outside of Matagalpa. This place is a preserve run with extremely up-to-date sustainable practices. it's an organic coffee plantation with workers who live here and earn the going rate but with free housing, 3 meals a day, medical care, school, etc. on top of that. The leftovers from the coffee shelling and husking process is composted with red worms, and used on the plantation. There are accommodations for 230 people at various costs, the restaurant serves organic food grown here on site. Lights are all CF's, etc. Outside our door is a lagoon with birds, including rather rambunctious geese. Howler monkeys sound like a pack of alligators. There are hiking trails and the forest is old growth (significant because much of the area around Matagalpa ... read more