Selva Negra

Lex

Wednesday
Today we left the pyramid shaped Crowne Plaza in Managua. Before we left we went swimming.It was really cold so it was nice with the hot humid air. Oscar made little paper boats that actually floated.
After that we drove up to the mountains where it was really cold. We were squashed in a tiny car for three hours. We didn't even have room for our legs. We had to cross them.
When we arrived we headed straight for the huge playground and bizarrely we met some friends from Laguna de Apoyo.
Our cabin,a two bedroomed bungalow, was nice but absolutely freezing. We had to ask for more blankets and wear our fleeces in bed. The cabin was all on its own in the trees and had a great view from the porch.

Thursday
Today we went to the restaurant for breakfast. It was the worst one so far. The pancakes tasted of lemon and the rest was really horrible too. What a rip off!
After breakfast we went on a farm tour which included a coffee factory, animals, worms and vegetables. We walked around the coffee factory talking about the process. Picking, shelling,roasting and shipping.
After lunch we went for a steep hike and I loved it because it was like doing rock climbing. We had to use roots for handholds. It was even harder on the way down but we did it! In my opinion that was the best hike we've done. This is a photo of mum and the monkey poo that hit her!

Friday
After a day in Matalgalpa we came back to Selva Negra for a night hike. We saw birds and smelt wild pigs. When we were walking we heard things rustling in the bushes. I was a bit spooked. When we were returning I saw an owl about 4 metres away on an electric cable. It was making really loud screeching noises. Seeing a wild owl so close really made my day.

Saturday
Today we set out to find a geocache. Unfortunately we didn't find it. It was hidden inside a ruined house that had crumbled everywhere. The hint was 'near the crumbled wall' but they were everywhere and we had to give up. We've only got wifi and couldn't get close enough to be accurate. Then we went on another hike. We hiked up the Mosquita trail and came down Helen and Peters trail. There was a great mirador at the top and we had to walk for hours.
These of the roots of a strangler fig. It was huge.