It was fun for me to ride in the Caravan and watch what was going on in the cockpit, except I did wonder who was looking outside when both pilots put sun shields up in the windshield. They were using autopilot, and yes, there isn't much traffic in Central America, but to me, this is placing a bit too much confidence in air traffic control.
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This area is well known for bird watching. On the first morning we saw a little Pacific screech owl asleep in the tree above the outdoor restaurant. It was there every morning during our stay.
Meals were superlative.
During a visit to nearby Granada, we stopped in the main cathedral and climbed up to the bell tower for a view of the city. It seems quite European, colorful and well-manicured.
Mi Museo is a small archeological museum nearby that is filled with a private collection mostly composed of ceramics. Nicaragua has many ancient sites, even a village that was buried by a volcano, like Pompei.
Judy did a good job of getting directions to the Mercado Central from a local cop, and we managed to negotiate the constant flow of people and vehicles.
The last stop before lunch was Tio Antonio's hammock shop, where they employ disabled young folks. Would have liked to take one (hammock) home, but we travel light and the bags are nearly bursting already.
And who cares if there's a power outage, they can still make a smoothie.
Back on the island, we went for two early morning boat rides to birdwatch with a local naturalist.
A couple of these photos were downloaded. But we did see the birds.
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| osprey |
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| purple gallinule |
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| northern jacana |
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| ringed kingfisher |
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| green heron |
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| orange-fronted parakeets |
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| little blue heron |
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| great egret |
There's a school on one of the islands painted in the colors of the Nicaraguan flag. Kids come by rowboat, and some of the parents stay while school is in session.
Early one morning we kayaked around a few of the islands and spotted a Hoffman's woodpecker atop a dead palm trunk. Another joined it and disappeared into a hole in the trunk, likely a nest.
Lots of beautiful wild flowers on trees around the lake.
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| poponjoche flower |
While we took it easy, our tilapia dinner was being caught in the lake.
Most of the fishing is done by net.
If anyone is keeping score, here's some of the birds we saw around the lake: orange-fronted parakeet, orange-chinned parakeet, crimson-fronted parakeet, white-fronted parrot, white-necked puffbird, green kingfisher, belted kingfisher, ringed kingfisher, scissor-tailed flycatcher, great kiskadee, great egret, tropical kingbird, white-throated magpie jay, mangrove swallow, rufus-napped wren, Montezuma oropendula, great-tailed grackle, osprey, black vulture, turkey vulture, neotropic cormorant, plain chachalaca, little blue heron, green heron, great blue heron, snowy egret, bare-throated tiger heron, purple gallinule, northern jacana, Caspian tern, royal tern, laughing gull, red-billed pigeon, Inca dove, clay-colored thrush, Pacific screech owl, Hoffman's woodpecker.
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| After sorting, the beans are roasted |
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| We helped peel the beans after roasting. Hot! |
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| The beans are ground by hand (we tried it--not easy) |
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| into a paste, which is mixed with raw sugar and sweet cream |
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| then poured into ice cube trays |
The fresh tilapia was awesome, served with taro, salsa, and vegetables. And because Judy mentioned she likes mole, the cooks made tamales with a mole filling as appetizers. And of course, having helped a bit, we were obligated to try the chocolate for dessert that night, served with olive oil and coarse salt.
After a muy tranquilo six days here, we were off to Espino's sister lodge on the mainland. Next stop: volcanos!
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