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Published: February 6th 2006
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Thanks for your help Terry
Here is a photo of Terry pushing my innertube up the river in the Grand Cañon of Somoto We arrived in Somoto, a sleepy little mountain town near the border of Honduras on Friday. We feel very comfortable in this town, the pace is much slower than it has been in many of the other cities and towns we have visited. The locals like to emphasize how safe the town is. Of course, we have felt safe everywhere we have been in Nicaragua. I think traveling the United States would be more frightening to a foreignor who did not know the language. The Nicaraguense people are very welcoming to tourists, at least that has been our experience. Somoto is very comfortable to us. We are staying in a really great hotel the Hotel Pan Americano owned by a wonderful man named Danilo who speaks good English and has been a wealth of information. He is well traveled and is planning a trip to the States in April and will be spending time in Colorado, along with Arizona and Texas.
We came here to see the Grand Cañon of Somoto. Danilo took us there today and what a great time we had. The canyon is several kilometers long accessible by walking, boating, scaling the canyon walls, and in the
Swimming in the Grand Cañon de Somoto
This photo should give you some idea of the beauty of this canyon. narrowest part by swimming or innertube. Because I had the camera, I got to take the innertube while Terry and our guide and a few other hombres swam through the narrows pushing my tube upstream. The water was really nice, around 90 degrees and very clean and clear. The canyon is really a place of beauty, accesible below only during the dry season as it would be too dangerous during the rainy season. Up until a couple years ago only the locals around Somoto knew of the canyon until some Europeans discovered it and brought it to the attention of the locals that it would make a great tourist attraction. After that one of the Nicaragua newspapers ran a story and since then tourism has picked up in the area, which is very welcome as the area is very poor and the tourist dollars really have helped the area. We heard of the Grand Cañon last year from a local from another part of the country who was surprised to hear it existed. Our new Footprints Nicaragua guidebook has written about it. I would recommend Somoto and the excursion to the canyton to other eco travelers and would most definitely
Rum On The Rocks
Terry sharing a bottle of rum with some new Amigos in the Canyon. These guys had a lot of fun swimming the canyon with us. Lots of laughing and of course charades with the lanquage barrier. Funny how a little rum makes ones Spanish seem better. recommend the Hotel Panamericano. The hotelier is one of the best that we have met.
While I am recommending hotels, I must also recommend the Hotel Nicarao in Esteli. We stayed there 10 nights while we went to school and explored that area. The hotel staff was most gracious and gave us quite a send off. The owner of the hotel gave us a wonderful gift and a card, and the concierge gave us a very nice gift as well. I was so touched by their warmness and plan on returning next year. The courtyard at the hotel was beautiful and a great environment for the many hours I had to spend doing my homework.
While in Esteli, after we were done with school we were able to visit a couple of nature preserves in the area. One was the Salto de Estenzuela, a beautiful waterfall with a great swimming hole at the bottom. We had to walk in about 5 or 6 kilometers to the spot, well worth the walk. The next day we visted a preserve called Mira Flor. Mira Flor is a very special place where there are many small fincas (farms) growing coffee, cacao,
Typical Market Scene
Every town we have visted in Nicaragua has these wonderful outdoor markets with many vendors selling their fresh produce. We strolled the market here in Somoto and bought our breakfast of fresh fruit. fruits and vegetables, all organic, within a protected rain forest area. We only spent one day there, and had a problem hooking up with our guide, so we did not see too much, however, what we saw was really beautiful. Another time I would like to spend a few days and see more of the area.
From Somoto, we will head over to see another area of the northern mountains containing the towns of Jinotega and Matagalpa. We are really enjoying the mountains of Nicaragua, however, we are surprised how void the mountains are of trees. We have found out the the mountains have been deforested for the lumber and never replanted, which has caused a drastic change in the climate and created areas of draught that never were before. The country has recently passed laws to protect the forests from future cutting of the lumber. It makes one sick to see the damage to the environment caused by the greed of a few. The trees actually grow very fast in this climate compared to the time it takes a tree to grow in Colorado. Had the lumber companies simply replanted the area would not have had to dry up the way it has. It is good to know that efforts are underway to replant and that the country is being proactive in its efforts to stop the rapid loss of the rainforests.
Terry is off watching the Superbowl, which gave me time to spend on the internet. We were surprized to see they are installing fiber optics throughout the small town of Somoto. Apparently they have run fiberoptics all the way from Managua along the Panamerican Highway so they can have internet connections in all the homes and schools.
Well I need to upload a few photos and then sign off, I was just told I am about out of time. Thank you all for your messages and I look forward to hearing from you all again. Hattie, have a great time in Guatemala, we have met many travelers who have been there and it sounds like a great place, I would like very much to visit there sometime.
To Mom, Molly and the rest of the family, I love you and miss you all. Johnny, I believe that no news is good news so keep up the healing. Nancy, how about those Steelers, we are thinking of you today and cheering for your team. Can´t wait to share the rest of my photos and stories with all of you. To my friends in Paonia, see you all real soon, can´t wait to see the new pool hall at Pizza my Heart.
Adios,
Love from Kathy
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John Walsh
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Grand Cañon of Somoto
Kathy, Terry, I know you have to be having a great time. Grand Cañon of Somoto sounds like it is a beautiful place. I’m so glad for that you both are getting this opportunity to experience adventure travel. I still treasure my adventure travel experiences of years ago. I’m scheduled for my first surgical post-infusion MCI in mid March, but I have total trust in Jesus that we will be seeing positive results. I’m gaining my strength and recovering daily. Enjoy your adventure!!!