bluedog

Bonnie: The travel gremlins were at work (or perhaps play) today. We arose at the uncivil hour of 4:00am and walked down the dusty, rocky road in the barest of light listening to the fauna waking up, especially the rooster brigade (don't know why they need so many -don't they say it just takes one...). All was well until we inadvertently got off the bus at the wrong ferry, and two more buses and several hours later we made it to the ferry and thence to Granada, where we treated ourselves to a nice hotel. After. Reading Paul Coehlo's The Alchemist all day, it was just more fuel for speculating about signs and fate.... read more

My love affair with nica hit reality. I was beginning to think I would never travel without Ganesh again (thanks d!) because all obstacles indeed seemed non-existent. But then we left northern nica for more southern climes. I can only guess that's where the problems began. Or maybe they began with me getting pick-pocketed at the bus station (you'd think I would have learned by now), then an unfortunate choice of bus stations (yup, that would be the one across town you wanted). But the ferry ride uneventful and a very nice lady driver (first I've met in central america but it was the island) with a beat up little pickup with an awesome sunset view but usual third world comfort. ... 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

another long day - started in Atlanta, spent the flight to nica trying to figure out a gameplan on disembarkation. travel karma intact - found a great hole-in-the-wall thai restaurant across the street from our best western in atlanta (thank you dad, i'll explain later), then a seamless flight to nica, picked up without a hitch from the airport, nice drive to leon and immediately found a very decent room in a nice hostel. once in leon, we dropped bags, got our bearings and headed off across town turned 90 degrees around because we haven´t figured out how to look at our map right side up (we are looking at it sideways). dumb luck ended us up at the very museum I had so wanted to see in leon and it was well worth the 50 ... read more