A Visit to Miraflor

September 15^th is Nicaragua’s National Independence Day. It marks the anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto when 150 Nicaraguans fought off a force of 150 Americans under the leadership of William Walker, “The Grey-Eyed Man of Destiny,” as he named himself. Walker was invited down by one of the warring factions during Nicaragua’s decades of civil war to once and all rout the enemy into submission. Walker and his crew of American Filibusters completed their task with such success that they continued on their way, defeating the army of the party that had hired them! With no armies left in Nicaragua besides his own, Walker made himself president (after a free and fair election, of course) in 1856, made English the official language of Nicaragua, and turned Granada into his own personal playground.

He only lasted a few years before the Nicaraguans mustered enough force to run him out of Dodge. Walker left his mark along the way, however, burning Granada to the ground. The big battle happened at San Jacinto, between Managua and Leon. The Nicaraguans were holed up in a ranch and Walker’s forces had the entire place surround. Running low on ammunition, Andrés Castro, now a Nicaraguan legend, picked up a rock, a killed in an American attacker by throwing the rock at his face. Apparently, his men followed suit and they had just enough rocks to stall the Americans until another force arrived to attack the Americans from behind. The Nicaraguans won and Walker fled to the States. He made his way back down a few years later to reclaim his thrown, but was swiftly captured and hung in Honduras, before ever making it back to Nicaragua.

OK, so that’s why Jess and I had Monday, the 15^th, off from work. While Somoto filled it streets with the lovely sounds of 15 bandas de guerra, or marching bands, Jess and I decided to head out for the quiet tranquility of the mountains. We made our way to Miraflor, a 120 square mile protected area outside of Estelí. Miraflor is special not just for its ecology, which is very different than its surroundings, but also for the way of life of its residents. Mirafloreños are agriculturalists, but they do it in a very sustainable way. They are big into any technology that will lower their impact on the land, such as solar panels and natural fertilizers. They’ve also realized the tourist potential of Miraflor and have worked to make it a popular destination for those interested in nature.

We stayed at a little cabin without electricity surrounded by coffee and banana plants (which grow very well together). Our cabin was on the edge of a cloud forest, which feels a lot like a rain forest, just colder. Basically, every night the drastic chance in temperature creates a mist that covers the entire landscape and doesn’t go away until the sun burns it off around 10:30 in the morning. For the plants, it’s like getting rained on every single night, so the forest is really damp and jungly, while still only getting to 75-80 degrees everyday.

Jess, Astro and I passed our time hiking and exploring, not to mention just relaxing. Astro was able to get in touch with his roots and try his hand at herding. It didn’t go so well, however. The cows and horses weren’t very afraid, the chickens weren’t cooperative, and sheep actually tried to herd him.

Jess and I enjoyed the food, cooked by a local family, as well as the downright frigid nights. It was the first time we’ve felt cold since leaving the States. We were sleeping in long sleeves and pants under a very heavy comforter.

Commuting to and from Miraflor was also quite an adventure. The busses were packed and Astro had to spend the majority of the time tucked under a seat. Going out to Miraflor was a 1 hour ride from Somoto to Estelí and then a 2 hour ride from Estelí to Miraflor. On the way home we managed to hitch a ride, which had us bumping down the hill at a fast enough pace to get us back to Estelí in about 40 minutes.

So, that’s how we spent our Nicaraguan Independence Day. We’re spending Tuesday just cleaning the house and preparing for the week. Hopefully things will be settling down for the two of us and we’ll be able to write more blog posts again. If you are still reading, thanks for doing so! Here are some more pictures of our adventure to give you a better idea of a cloud forest.

Jess climbing into a hollow tree.

I love this sign because of all the hidden jokes. First of all, Nicaraguans have a big problem when it comes to the difference between B and V, because they both sound the same when speaking. Therefore, when writing, they constantly mix them up. Occasionally you get hilarious signs like this one, which is supposed to say, ¨Don´t throw garbage.¨ as in don´t throw garbage in the street. It actually reads, however, ¨Don´t vote garbage.¨ Which is also a very important thing not to do. Therefore, we encourage all of you, not to throw garbage in the street and also not to vote garbage...
Dr. Werder, I presume?

Be sure to stay on the path...the plants are watching you!!

Every dog has his dreams... (those are cows out there in the field)

Bananas growing over coffee plants and next to pine trees. Who would have thunk it?!

Coolest tree house ever.