Day Trip to Selva Negra – 20220811

Today I planned on going to Selva Negra, just a day trip around the area. As soon as I headed out it started to rain and I drove down the street to wait it up at some place. I ordered rock hard taquitos and drank papaya juice.

The rain would not stop. So eventually I decided to head 8 minutes down the street to a coffee shop to enjoy a coffee while I waited. But the place turned out to not be there. So I headed back and found another spot where I drank some coffee and ate some lunch. Finally after a while I got a break from the rain. It was already about 2 but I figured I would give it a shot and I shot off towards Matagalpa.

After an hour I arrived at Selva Negra. It was really a nice spot. $34 for the cheapest room and $105 for a cabin. And some amazing hiking around the area. And it cost 200 córdobas($6) for entry but you can use it all to purchase food.

It seems some old German people moved here way back when and tried to make it into a little Germany. All the buildings are in German style. I headed back as it was already starting to get a little darker and arrived right when it got dark.

Tomorrow I will head to Managua, the big city!

Matagalpa to Penas Blancas, Finca Don Chico – 20220808

I got up in the hostel dorm, played a quick game of mancala with one of the Dutch guys and then we all went to eat. Got the desayunos típico and then said goodbye to my new friends as they were taking the bus towards Managua and I was planning to go deep in some jungle.

I packed and shot off for Penas Blancas, the last spot I plan on visiting in the north. The ride was pretty dry which I was happy about but 10 minutes out it was like someone turned on the rain all at once. Huge drops of rain smacked and froze my chest and since I was so close I just pushed my sunglasses down, tilted my head down and squinted through the rain. There wasn’t much I could do but hope that my phone would survive. Any attempt at stopping would have meant more rain in my phone. I arrived at Finca Don Chico and was immediately amazed by the place. The whole place is ridiculously gorgeous. I left a drippy trail as I walked through the dirt floors and the kids balked at the motorcycle asking me how big it was.

View from the Cabin

I met the owner of the place, Don Chicho who I find impossible to understand. But I ate some lunch while soaked and listened to Don Chico talk as I came across my 1,000,000th Eureka moment realizing Don was not a name here but basically the equivalent of Sir or Mr. So Sir Chico walked me out to the the little cabin and advertised his price of a whopping $6. I hung my stuff up to try to dry and then passed out into a classic deathnap. I woke up wet as its so humid everything just collects water. All my things were pretty wet too.

I threw on my sandals and walked towards the sound of water. There was a little trail out there through a little coffee farm. My mind was boggled by the life teeming everywhere. Green grows on absolutely everything. When you put your hand in the dirt and look at it you can see everything moving. The stream I found had some cool series of waterfalls that I scrambled up for a bit sloshing in and out of little pools.

I then walked down the road for a while and then back to the Finca. They were making dinner and I met some gringos there surprisingly. A guy from Arizona who had married a Nicaraguan girl and a girl from Canada who was one of 12 kids and was traveling with them. I ate and chatted with them and then I retired to my little cabana. I’m planning on doing a 3 hour hike tomorrow

From Lago Apañas to Matagalpa, Encounter With a Pet Monkey – 20220807

In the morning I rented a kayak which cost about $3. But the rain started to spit at me after about an hour so I just shot around real quick to see the lake a bit. I was the only person to be seen anywhere on the lake. There are very little people around. I was mostly kayaking next to cows that were trying to eat the plants floating in the water that a farmer had cut nearby.

It was supposed to be a short ride today but it was rough. As soon as I started riding it started raining and the whole ride was me squinting as each drop of rain smacked my eyes. I squinted, pulled my helmet down, tried everything to see through the rain. Eventually I stopped at a restaurant and ate some chicken and wait out the rain.

The people next to me had a monkey! I went to pet the monkey for a little bit. He was the cutest little dude ever. I would love to own a little monkey like that one day. They said it cost them $120! Less than a ferret in the US!

I arrived in Matagalpa and went to Buena Onda Hostel and met some nice Dutch brothers and a German girl. We went and got tacos. At the central plaza some homeless people started hovering around us. For the first time ever they literally just wanted the food off of our plate. In the US there is always the assumption that people just want drugs. But these guys kept coming up and pointing to the tacos just asking for one. Eventually I gave in, but felt really strange about it.

We then went back to the hostel, had some wine, and watched Shrek. What better way to end a day?