Hola Nicaragua! Selva Negra

12/28/2016 - 12/30/2016

After Managua, our itinerary took us to a place we probably wouldn't have chosen on our own, the Selva Negra ecolodge in the mountainous department of Matagalpa. The lodge was built by a German couple in the 1970's on the grounds of a hundred year old coffee plantation. We'd packed one set of warm clothes for the stop, but our cabin was still fairly cold the first night. The next day we realized there were vents under the windows we had left open. The lodge was a pleasant place with a lagoon and a playground next to the dining patio.

For our one full day at Selva Negra, we had a nature walk in the morning followed by a tour of the farm and estate in the early afternoon. The nature walk was fun, although the kids yapped so loudly it eliminated any chance of seeing any wildlife larger than a snail.

The sustainability tour of the farm and coffee plantation provided some scenic views over the rolling, forested hills. At the farm, the boys were good sports about letting a calf suck the sweat from their hands but Cleo was horrified at the idea.

We ended up with a lot of downtime that day, which is unusual for us when we travel. The kids were kept occupied by the playground while Mei Ling worked on her Chinese blog and I caught up on work. The patio was crowded with Nicaraguan daytrippers from Managua.

We left Selva Negra early the following morning and found another market in the nearby town of Sébaco. We picked up some snacks and Cleo practiced her runway poses in the muddy streets of the market. From here it was mostly fields, coffee plantations, and cattle at the side of the road all the way to León.