Granada
Granada was fun and beautiful. The market is a must see for the intense colourful offerings of fruit, clothing, leather goods and almost anything you can imagine. Julio was our taxi driver from Costa Oeste to Granada and waited with our bags while we hiked Monbacho. He was kind and honest. +505 8602 9807 is his number.
Selva Negra
We decided we wanted to visit the jungles of the north. We had heard about Selva Negra which has a lot of wildlife and walking trails that you can access without a guide. Hunting for a lift to Matagalpa (the town nearest Selva Negra) we were asking taxis in the street. We came across Hendrix who offered us the best price of $80 to get to Matagalpa. The others were quoting $120. So we went with Hendrix. He was a good careful driver, very friendly and very helpful. When he learned of our interest in wildlife he would pull over to let us see iguanas, monkeys or point out trees and birds of interest. We had a great time with Hendrix and would strongly recommend using his services. He was always on time (we used him 4 times) and he went above and beyond when it came to helping us.
He carried our heavy bags up a very steep hill and he even drove from Granada all the way to Matagalpa to pick us up at the end of our stay there. Contact Hendrix on +505 8468 9360.
Here’s Hendrix carrying our bag up to Estacion Biologico Aguali which is where we stayed in Matagalpa.
Aguali is a neat place and the folk who run it have a very eco-conscious approach. We saw lots of birds in their gardens including Nicaragua’s national bird – the Guardabarranco and some cucu ardillas.
We also spotted a couple of beautiful tree frogs thanks to the staff giving us a hint on where we might find some.
Our first day in Matagalpa we went to visit Selva Negra. It’s a coffee growing area and the owners of the Selva seem to have a good business ethic which appears to benefit both the local community and the area’s biodiversity.
These fish are guapotes, a kind of bass. There were loads of them in the pond at Selva Negra.
We went to Selva Negra from Matagalpa on the bus, and the bus station itself was something to be experienced!
The main reason to go to there was for the trails through the jungle, so after a snack at the overpriced restaurant we headed off into the thick old growth to see what wildlife it contained.
The following day we visited the Cascada Blanca which is close to Matagalpa. It was a curiously calm place where we all relaxed by a pool on the river.
It is possible to walk behind the waterfall and that was extremely exhilarating. There were loads of bats in the caves. The whole experience there was very pleasant.
The next day we were picked up again by Hendrix who drove us back to Granada.
Some of the super friendly students at Aguali carried our bags down the hill.
Once back in Granada our plan was to spend a day visiting the famous Isletas and another cycling out to Asese peninsula. The former turned into one of our best days, the latter, our worst.
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