In fact, it was quite hot today. And I spent almost all of it in one or another of those busses I described in the last post. Now I am in Granada, a pretty rad city (or so I'm told, having spent all day traveling I haven't had time to look around) at a youth hostel with free internet access and more NotreAmericanos than you can shake a stick at (plus a few spare Euros).
From where was I traveling today? Well I was traveling from a little bit outside of Esteli, in the Miraflor Nature Reserve. I think I described it before, but basically I was staying at another organic coffee farm (though much smaller than the others, it is part of a cooperative rather than exporting independently). This coffee farm is next to a whole bunch of other farms that produce other thingsand then there are a whole bunch of other trees intersperse too and you are not supposed to cut down the trees without permission and now there is some ecotourism going on to insentivize that as well.
The first night I was at Finca Lindos Ojos there was another family staying there. The parents were originally from Nicaragua, moved to Costa Rica and then New York and now live in Nicaragua again. The kids (all adults now) still reside in the US, one in New York with her husband (who was also there) and the other in Washinton DC. In any event, they were really nice and fun to talk to and very New York (though they didn't say it, I'm pretty sure they live in the city or at least nearby). I also got the parent's number in Managua and might stay with them the night before I leave, though I fly out pretty early and they apparently live on the other side of town from the airport.
After they left I was the only person staying at Lindos Ojos for the next two days. It was kind of nice, but also a little boring and isolating. I had some really nice long walks in both the forest and through some farms, but sort of wish I would have hired a guide for at least a half day because it was hard to find the trail heads and I feel like I didn't get as much of the forest as I could have. The woman who cooks and runs things at Lindos Ojos was totally awesome though and VERY patient about my crummy Spanish. Also her kids were seriously adorable and amusing.
Overall though, I was just as happy to leave this morning. First the hour and a half long bus ride to Esteli, down out of the cloud forest into the more arid forest and then the tobacco fields (apparently Nicaragua has good cigars?) Then from Esteli the 3 hour bus ride to Masaya. I sat next to this nice Nicaraguan man who lived in Canada for 5 years (yay real conversation due to English, boo to my continuing abysmal Spanish ability). He is a chef and furniture maker and moved back to Nicaragua because his wife is a radiologist and can't practice in Canada or the US without a new certicficate. Anyway, we talked food and northern climates (he likes Vancouver a lot better than Toronto) and a few other things and he helped me get my bus to Granada a lot quicker than I otherwise would.
In any event, now that I am here I hope to walk around the city really early tomorrow morning and then try to La Finca Ecologico Zopilote at a reasonable hour tomorrow (boat ride). Expect another post on the other side of the water.
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