Central American country is a lot more than coffee and bananas

By Jerry Hall
[1] Daily Record Columnist

[2]
Before my recent trip to Nicaragua, much of my knowledge of that country came from lyrics to an old Guy Lombardo song — “Managua, Nicaragua, what a wonderful spot/There’s coffee and bananas and a temperature hot.”

Sure enough, they grow coffee and bananas and it hit 94 degrees while we were in the Suyapa Beach area. It had been 104 the day before and people were thankful for the “cold front” passing through.

However, Nicaragua is a lot more than coffee, bananas and hot weather. Surprisingly, we encountered windy, chilly conditions in the Miraflor cloud forests, where a coat felt good. We also saw active volcanoes, floated around lovely islets in immense Lake Nicaragua, enjoyed a cascading waterfall and stood on golden Pacific beaches with a boisterous surf. We saw squirrels, iguanas, monkeys and butterflies, bright-blossomed trees, delicate orchids and big fields of cabbages, pineapples and beans.

Along the way, we spotted 201 bird species, which set a new record for our particular Elderhostel program, “The Birds of Nicaragua.” The previous record had been 200 species. While we saw some great tropical exotics – three-wattled bellbird, turquoise-browed motmot and blue-throated goldentail hummingbird — the little bird that put us over the top was a purple martin.

Birds from the U.S. over-winter in Central and South America and it’s possible some of the birds we saw on this trip — scissor-tailed flycatchers and painted buntings, for example — might be arriving in Texas during the coming months.

Our group of 14, all members of the Wimberley Birding Society, visited Managua, Jinotega, Esteli, Leon and Granada on a nine-day tour. We traveled by bus around Nicaragua, which covers some 50,000 square miles, almost as large as the state of Oklahoma. We didn’t get over to the Caribbean side. The country has a limited number of good roads and some parks and natural areas can only be reached via rocky, dusty, pot-holed trails.

Tourism infrastructure is rustic in spots – modern toilets are scarce outside cities and dogs and chickens have the run of the place in rural cafes. Unfortunately, the country has a major litter problem and in some areas plastic and paper garbage lines the roads and highways.

On the plus side, the people are friendly and I enjoyed the food, especially a dish called “Old Indian” which featured a combination of native specialties ranging from sausages and fried bananas to sliced beef and melted cheese. Also good: Fish with garlic, grilled steaks, chicken with jalapeno sauce, pickled onions and all sorts of fresh fruit drinks. And we had a lot of rice and beans

Extensive research revealed Victoria was the best local beer and seven-year-old Flor de Cana rum was a fine sipping beverage. Prices were most reasonable and the exchange rate was about 19 cordobas to the dollar. The German immigrant influence is felt in positive ways, witness the excellent beers, the September Polka Festival at Matagalpa and the attractive Bavarian-styled buildings at Selva Negra.

Just as the song promised, Nicaragua produces coffee and bananas. Both were superb. Check out www.organiccoffeebeans.com or call 1- (877) 543-110 to order organic Nicaraguan Jinotega coffee at $7.95 a pound.

On a boat trip among the many small islands in Lake Nicaragua, our guide jumped ashore, climbed a tree and brought back several ripe, delicious mangoes. We skipped the scheduled rum and cigar factory tours, and instead visited a goat cheese cooperative. I purchased some sweet local honey and a big jar of rose of Jamaica-flavored organic marmalade, which I have yet to open.

Masaya National Park offered the chance to look down directly into the smoking crater of an active volcano. Signs advised people with asthma and respiratory problems to take care and luckily the wind blew the vapors away from us. You can also climb up 177 steps and get a panoramic view of volcanoes and the surrounding countryside, marked with ancient and recent lava flows.

Barn swallows, parakeets and black vultures actually live in holes and crevices inside the active volcano crater. Brave birds.

At Chocoyero Nature Reserve, we walked to a crystal-clear, 80-foot tall waterfall and saw and heard hundreds of chittering-chattering Pacific parakeets flying in to roost for the night. Our guides provided chilled bottles of wine and we sipped good Chilean vintages to the sounds of splashing water and squawking green birds. Neat.

If you’d like to visit a country with intense biological diversity, friendly people and the largest expanse of virgin cloud forest in Central America, I recommend a visit to Nicaragua. Most libraries carry international Elderhostel catalogues or visit www.nicaragua.com for general information.

Guy Lombardo was right – it’s a wonderful spot.