The second Saturday at Estéli, we got up early to arrive at the bus terminal a good quarter of an hour before departure, scheduled at 6am. In Nicaragua people tend to arrive late, as in Brazil, but buses, never! It was all the more important to arrive early because we wanted a seat, not that the seats were comfortable, after all these are old American or Canadian school buses, but we wanted to avoid standing all the way of this 2-hour trip to Miraflor. Taking the local bus is already quite an adventure in itself, in Nicaragua it is the main means of locomotion for the majority, the cheapest too, and there are people of all ages, from the newborn wrapped in a cloth to 80 yers old little lady. The seats are narrow and uncomfortable but people sometimes go to 3, the central aisle is crowded and I still wonder how the controller can sneak up to sell his tickets. These buses regularly carry double the number of people indicated by the manufacturer, the engine is hardly in the climbs and the smell of the brakes is strong in the descents. Of course, the musical atmosphere is part of the joy and depending on the age of the driver, it will be either Mexican songs or reggaeton that will cover the sound of the engine. This time we did not have chickens, these buses are called “chicken buses” by the gringos, the musical atmosphere is rather calm and we are rocked by the hoarse voice of a Mexican singer (Ana Gabriela, I think). Another advantage of a slow bus ride is that we have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery, and on this road to Miraflor the small greeny mountains succeed savanna-like plains.
A little before arriving at the destination, everyone must get off the bus because the road is blocked: electricity arrives in the small hamlet and a crane blocks the passage to plant an electric pylon. We continue on foot and arrive in a small simple farm for breakfast. Very quickly, we are off for a small walk to the waterfall 3 km away, we cross what remains of the forest in this Part of Miraflor, we hear more than we see a dozen different birds, we admire the different kinds of butterflies, plants and flowers, fortunately Alvaro is there to help us recognize them, and we reach, at our pace, the small waterfall. It is too cool this morning to dive into the water but we take advantage of this stop to observe the environment and we are lucky to see a couple of guarda-barranco, the bird symbol of Nicaragua. But there is no trace of the quetzal, another emblematic bird, which also lives in this part of the country.
Miraflor is a protected area, once it was a dense forest but nowadays it is the fields that predominate except on the heights (up to 1400m). These are small organic farms (but I do not think they are certified or controlled) that promote ecological tourism on the farm. Some thirty years ago, during the Counter-revolution, the locals helped Sandinista fight against the contras from Honduras. In return, after the victory the lands were nationalized and lands shared.
Even if we support social and fair tourism, we find that here there is a little abuse and for instance it is not possible to cross the land without paying each farmer. We decided to stay and walk on the main roads. The weather has warmed up, the sun is knocking hard and after 15 km of walking, it becomes difficult to continue for Dora and Lili: we stop to wait for the return bus, time to filter our water (a little slow Our gravity water filtration system!) and receive the first drops of an imminent storm.
On July 31st, Nicky’s birthday, another activity (organized by the school) takes us for the day, visiting the Matagalpa and Jinotega area. This time no local bus but a small combi rented with driver. It is much more comfortable and equally informative, Ramon (and not jamon – difficult in Spanish to differentiate j and r!), our driver for the occasion is very educated, and gives us a summary of the economy from the country. He is also very curious to learn how is life in Belgium. The trip passes quickly and we have already arrived in Matagalpa which surprises us by the cleanliness of its streets, something unusual in Nicaragua: Alvaro who was born in this city tells us that it was the mayor who made it a priority.
We make a short stop to visit the main church, originally made of mud and eggshell (dixit Alvaro). Matagalpa is the home town of one of the great men of the revolution, Co-creator of the Sandinista Party (FSLN), Carlos Fonseca, whose museum is opposite the church.
It is an important city, the capital of coffee and cocoa, with various hills and steep streets, where many Germans immigrated after 1871, taking with them coffee plants that have flourished there since. We do not visit coffee plantations (still green) but we go to San Ramon, a small village on the hillside, a few kilometers from Matagalpa, to visit an orchidarium, a frog vivarium and a butterfly greenhouse. It is an institute subsidized by the town council, whose guides, although only 17 years old, are well trained: the visit was very instructive and even if among the 48 species of orchids present, alone 3 were in flower, their explanation and their desire to do well compensated for the absence of colors and scents …
Outside the orchidarium, the visit was more lively, the girls had fun looking for the frogs and especially twirling around the butterflies. Some cocoons look like golden earrings!
To refresh ourselves we bathed at the foot of the white waterfall. What a surprise to see, on the wall,the portrait of Don Alberto, the sculptor of Tisey, at this place!
To return, we went through the “selva negra”, the black forest (in homage to that of Germany, whose ancestors of the present owners are native) but at this time it was rather white because covered with thick clouds and the temperature was very cool, almost cold.
We did not stay there and after a short stop to see an old tank, a vestige of the civil war, we continued our route to Estéli via Jinotega and San Rafael del Norte.
On arrival at Estéli, our host family was waiting for us with a homemade cake for Nicky’s birthday and a decoration made by the kids!
The following days we continued our Spanish courses.
Norma and Alvaro also organized a small party for Nicky, and invited the children of the neighborhood for a piñata and a dance with the Giant …
Our 2 weeks at Estéli passed very quickly, we learned a lot and not just the Spanish bases. The host family, especially the children Saïd and Carlos Fernando, will be missed: during these 14 days we lived, ate, slept with them but also played and exchanged.
Norma and Alvaro, who gave us their passion for their country and culture, were a little more than teachers for us and it is with a sense of sadness that we leave them.
Before leaving, Alvaro recommended us a guide for our visit to the Somoto Canyon the next day.