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Whilst in the Laguna de Apoyo, near Granada, we met a British woman (Martina) who told us about this little bit of Paradise up in the mountains of Miraflor. She herself, had been doing some voluntary work there (teaching English) & helping out with the Womens Cooperative.
She recommended us to stay with a local family in one of the small communities called Sontule, that only had 500 inhabitants. It was a protected forest/farming area & a nature reserve. After having had email contact with Marlon (the son of the family), we were given directions of how to get there & we left Esteli on the 1415 chicken bus, heading towards the unknown !
Well........WOW !!! The "Unknown" turned out to be the best 10 days of our trip....both Lissa & I felt this way. It was like being in another world ! We had only intended on staying 3 days, but we loved it so much that we couldn´t leave ! I shall try to describe the experinces that we had, although I don´t think I will have the words to do it justice....but anyway I shall have a go !!!!!
The trip up there only took 2 hours, 40 mins on the Pan American Highway (which, by the way, stretches from Mexico all the way down to Panama), then 1 hour & 20 mins on a very rough, stony road which wound itself around the mountains up to an elevation of about 1200m. We almost didn´t get off the bus when we were supposed to, as it took a slightly different route, however, as the family were expecting us, they stopped the bus outside their house & were were invited in to meet the "Don & Doña" (Mr & Mrs.) of the establishment !
The main house was a wooden & concrete building with a corregeated iron roof & stone floors. There were 4 rooms off a central area, one of which was ours. A very simple room with 2 beds & a stable door leading to the outside. The mattresses had seen better days & each morning I felt as if my hips were bruised as they were so thin, but at least I had 3 blankets which were truly needed at night when the temperatures really dropped !!!!!!
There was also a kitchen, set apart from the house, which was a wooden shack with a "aga-style" wood burning stove. In the whole house (& whole community)there was NO electricity, NO running water & baths had to be taken outside with a bucket of cold water that you had to collect beforehand, from the well !! This "bathroom" was a wooden frame with black plastic sheeting strung up around it. It was low enough that you had a great view of the garden (& the barbed wire washing lines !) & the back of the kitchen whilst "splashing", & when the wind blew, the plastic flapped around your thighs & bum....which added to the whole excitement !!!!!
Going to the toilet was also a bit of an adventure.....it was a corregated iron shack at the end of the garden (a rather smelly pit!) but at least it did have a proper toilet seat !! Positive luxury !!!!
As for hygeine in the kitchen.....well, with a dirt floor, washing up the dishes with cold water & with cats/chickens & dogs running about...it was practically non-existent ! We got used to it very quickly and resisted washing our hands every 5 minutes ! It was also probably better that there WAS no electricity, cos in the candlelight........ .EVERYTHING looked clean !!!!!
The family were FANTASTIC & made us feel sooooo welcome. They consisted of Doña Lucia & her husband Rohelio & their daughter Nordia with her "compañero" (live-in boyfriend) Evert. Living with them was an old man called Fernando (Nandito) who, each morning used to greet me with a big hug & squeeze. He was from another community but had no family left, so had been working & living with them for the past 15 years.
Nearing the end of our visit, another lad turned up, Jackson, who was about 24 years old. When he was a child, he was deaf & hadn´t been able to speak for years, but was now able to hear & speak...although it was difficult to understand him & to be honest, I didn´t catch half of what he said to me ! He was lovely though & helped around the house for his board & lodging.
Across the road lived Marlon (son) & his wife Mayra & 2 Children, Marciel & Marlon Mauricio. Then up the road lived the other son, Ivan & his wife Daniela & child, Ivancito. Often there would be several people in the house & there would also be random people turn up to buy milk/cheese or just pop in for a chat ! A very busy household indeed ! Everyone we met though, was just wonderful & made us feel so at home.
It was a working farm, so there was ALWAYS lots going on & due to the nature of their country lifestyle, everyday, the cows needed to be milked, water fetched, floors swept & the pigs (& piglets...VERY cute !) & chickens fed.
Each morning we were awoken by the sound of "Slapping" which was the method called "palmear"...or the making of the maize tortillas ! There was obviously an art to it...which neither myself or Lissa mastered which was a good thing, as they say that when you are able to palmear...you are ready to become a wife !!!!!! The whole process really was quite intricate ! Definitely need more practice !
It involved boiling the maize (that had been stripped from the cob) with chalk, then washing it in fresh water, mincing it, then adding flour to make a dough. Once this was done, each tortilla was lovingly "patted" out (although not so lovingly sometimes in Lissa´s case !) to form a perfectly round, thin shape (in theory !) to be cooked upon a metal plate over the fire ! It really was quite incredible, as this was done EVERYDAY !!!!!!!! Oh did I mention that tortillas are a part of every meal here !!!!
Talking of food.......it was wonderful & so fresh as it was grown/produced/raised in the garden! Mostly beans & rices ("gallo pinto") with fresh cheese made everyday, plantain, chayote (christopeen) & of course freshly made coffee (which we helped roast)...see pic of Lissa in kitchen with rather large pot !!!! We also had this wonderful "herb" tea that Lucia made from all these different plants from the garden...it was medicinal, but to this day I have no idea as to what she was trying to cure us of !!!!! Breakfast, lunch & come to think of it...dinner too, were all pretty similar meals, but it tasted so good that we didn´t mind the repetition ! Occasionally we also had a bit of chicken....(the ones that were running around the yard that morning & that we helped pluck !).........they tasted devine !!
During the 10 days we went on beautiful walks through the most incredibly scenic countryside, swam in freezing waterfalls, luke warm rivers & weed infested lagoons (we managed to persuade some young lads to "punt" us out into the middle where it was weed free !). We visted some old indiginous caves & sat & watched the sunset at the most amazing lookout, gazed at the bright stars each night (no light pollution obviously!), saw coral snakes & many birds, but the best day by far, was our horse trek (6 hours) through the whole reserve of Miraflor.
Marlon & Evert were our guides (as well as "traviesa" which means "naughty", the dog) & we set off with half a bottle of rum (!) & a picnic lunch.....slightly nervous at first, but my horse was so sweet & by the end I was cantering & galloping at every chance !!!! We stopped off for lunch & a wee dram (for medicinal purposes only of course, as our rear ends were feeling very tender already !) & Marlon & I then ended up climbing up inside this huge fig tree (up about 30m!)....great views of the surrounding forest & local community !
The sun was beginning to set when we were on our way back home through a beautiful woodland, which was only ruined by the smell of a skunk that traviesa had been in a fight with......I though it was Evert at first but I didnt think he could smell THAT bad !!!!! Basically, it was the best day that we had had in Nicaragua....even if we couldn´t walk, sit down or have sex (had it been on the cards obviously!) for 3 days after !!!!!! But it was well worth the PAIN !!!!!
Over the course of our stay we also learnt so much about coffee production (the family was part of a coffee cooperative) & the family told us all about the revolutionary war & the contra war that followed. Rohelio told us of his involvement in the fighting (he had been shot & almost lost his arm) & how their lives had been destroyed during the war & how they were all affected. Everyone up in Sontule, lives with the hope that things will change for them all....especially now that the Sandinistas (FSLN) have regained power & won the election.
During the first week there was also an "activity" to celebrate the Sandanistas victory which involved speeches, food & dancing...but no booze. That came later when we had a small impromptu party at Marlons house. That was a fun night, with rum & dancing, although Liss & I were the only women there !!!! It was hysterical as everyone wanted to dance with us......so we did, even though they still had their spurs on !! The horses meanwhile were tied up the the garden fence !!!!!!! A top night !
Well.........when we eventually left, we went with heavy hearts, but the family have invited us back for Christmas! So, having said our farewells, we left the "Magic of Miraflor" & caught the morning bus back down to the "city" (10,000 inhabitants). We stayed there for 2 nights to reclimatise to being around traffic & so many people !!!!
All in all............Sontule was a VERY special place for us both & we shall return !
previous travel blog entry
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