North West of Nicaragua (part 1) - Matagalpa, Garnacha en Tisey

Back in León after a fantastic week in the north west of Nicaragua.
I mainly did eco tourism, staid in farms and enjoyed nature. (Which means also getting stung by all kind of bugs! Ants, wasp and mosquitos!)

First stop: Matagalpa. After 2 hours in a crowded bus, squeezed against the window with my neighbor's elbow on my thigh (until I showed her my angry look)... I got to the "buena onda" hostel.  Cheap and clean.  The only place to be in Matagalpa if you re a backpacker! I met my very welcoming dorm-mates, 3 Austrian girls and 3 Americans. Had a drink with them and went to bed early. It was rainy and a bit cold.
The next day, after a long lazy morning walking around the small city, I decided to walk up to a mirador but the rain stopped me and I ended up ... In a beauty salon to get waxed! For weeks I ve been searching for a waxing place! I can finally go to the beach without looking like a yeti!

                Cathedral of Matagalpa

      Adorable family who invited me in their       house when it was pouring rain.

In the evening, I joined again my roomies for drinks, food and music.

The next day, I took a bus to Esteli, a bus hub in this region, with my new American travel companion,  Andrew. He found my destination interesting and decided to join me! 

From Esteli we took another bus to the Tisey reserve where I had been advised to stay (instead of Miraflores, a more touristy reserve). We followed the instructions and walked about 1 km in the Garnacha community until the house of Reinaldo and Adriana.

We were not expected but certainly welcome to stay and enjoy some guided tours in the region and Adriana's cooking. (2 nights+3 meals+a tour with the 12 year old daughter for 15$)
The first night we just walked to a mirador where the view was stunning! We've been fed rice and spaghetti ()... Andrew and I talked a lot and went to sleep in our cold and humid rooms at 10pm. I slept with 5 blankets!! My room was a little caban (in the tree?) with no light. I made sure not to drink too much this night to keep my blatter empty... 

The next day, we got up at 8 and took our home made breakfast (frijoles, rice and platanos) with very sweet coffee. Seriously starting to miss desserts and proteins!!and already sick of rice and frijoles!

Sweet local wine we to warm us up... yurk! 

We walked for a while with the daughter as a guide until we got to the old carving man's finca.
Alberto has been carving the rocks in the mountain behind his house for 35 years! His work is amazing! He is very proud of his region, the landscapes and his impressive art in the middle of the nature that became a museum.
We loved it!

Back to our home, our lunch was ready... rice, potatoes and...? Hmm I Don t remember.  I would say frijoles! 

In the afternoon we walked a bit in the village and I treated myself with the specialty of la Garnacha: delicious goat cheese! 

After a rainy and stormy afternoon that we spent reading in the rocking chairs with blankets, we had our supper at 6.30pm... pasta soup. Thank god I had the cheese!

The night was really humid and the wind was so strong that I was terrified each time branches and other things were falling on the roof of my caban!

We got up at 6 am this time and enjoyed a nice quiet morning walk to a mirador. We asked  Adriana to tell us about the war. She was 8 in the 70s when the revolution started.  The sandinist were particularly gathered in Esteli region, so the gov army came to villages to destroy houses and kill civilians, paysans regardless their politocal positions. She had to hide in a cave for 3 months with her family. They ate wood to survive. She hid in trees not to be raped... She kept telling us terrible things with a smile on her face.  I got goose bumps...

The discovery of la Garnacha was amazing.