Nicaragua - Corn Islands and Miraflor Reserva

Corn Islands (Islas del Maiz) - el 30 de enero al 5 de febrero

Our plane from Managua to Big Corn, a one-hour flight.

We arrived in the Managua airport on January 30th, and from there took a plane to Big Corn Island in the Caribbean.

We stayed in a room on the second floor of the house, right across from the ocean, and I got out every morning and evening to take photos.

The moon rising on Feb. 2. 

Light trails from cars going by the restaurant we were dining at. 

Fishermen across from our house. 

Snorkelling off the beach from our house. 

Friendly children on the way to town. 

We took a "panga" over to Little Corn Island on Feb. 3.

A rough ride on the way over!

A wet ride too!

There are no motorized vehicles on Little Corn, not even motorcycles!

We did a snorkeling tour out to the nearby reef. 

Lots of beautiful flowers.

The "lawn mowers" keeping the grass down in the baseball diamond. 

The sun setting on Little Corn. 

Estelí - el 5 de febrero

From Little Corn, we flew back to Managua, and then took a taxi to Esteli, en route to Miraflor.

February 5th was the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Felipe Urrutia, a Nicaraguan composer. 

The Esteli catedral. 

The next day, before we left I walked around town. 

The poor side of town. 

Miraflor Reserva - febrero 6 al 9 de febrero

We took a "chicken bus" to Miraflor, which was supposed to be a 2-hour journey, but became longer when the bus broke down. 

Luckily though, we weren't far from town and the replacement u-joint arrived before long. 

The Miraflor Reserva is rich in biodiversity with three different climactic zones: dry at the lower region, humid in the middle zone, and the predominant cloud forest. What makes it unique, though, is the sustainable tourism. It consists of nine communities, all of which make their living from agriculture and the burgeoning tourist industry.

We stayed at La Finca Neblina del Bosque (the farm of the mist forest). 

We enjoyed the exquisite meals, 

the flowers, 

the bird life, 

and the old water pump. 

We went on two tours with Urieo, our amiable and knowledgable guide. We witnessed people living as they have for many years. (This community only received electricity two months ago!)

Heading out for our morning walk in the mist. 

Doing laundry is a labour intensive job, unlike in our culture. 

The people tend to start work at dawn (6 a.m.) and often work 'til dusk. 

Drying clothes seems to be a continual chore, with the mist slowing the process down. 

A Miraflor traffic jam.

Carrying a fence post. 

Who needs Wi-fi when you have Miraflor Reserva?

No shortage of free range chickens!

I appreciated the way the residents dressed up their property with flowers. 

And this house with the flower pots made from recycled bottles. 

Flowers grow everywhere!

We took a walk our second day, well off the beaten path!

The "mist forest" lives up to its name!

We saw several industrious colonies of leaf-cutter ants. 

The ant highway.

The sunset from our cabaña.