El Chocoyero Nature Reserve

Last Wednesday we got a last minute babysitter for Layne and took the big kids to a soccer game! It was the Nicaragua national team playing against St. Kitts, which is a Caribbean island. The game itself was uneventful with no score but it was really fun to be in the stadium! There were SO MANY people milling around the stadium selling stuff. Everything from horns and Nica flags, food, water, drinks and cotton candy. We bought the kids horns and immediately regretted it. Thankfully they were super cheap little things and within 15 minutes R&R had broken theirs. Haha!  

The kids were thirsty so we got some water. They were amazed that the water came in a plastic bag rather than a bottle! Rather ingenious I think!

See previous post about the Refiner's Fire for more details but, last Thursday I had a bit of a melt down feeling so much struggle and discouragement. Mitchell is so good to me and he took the day off work on Friday to help me in hopes that I could feel less overwhelmed. He is so amazing! After we got the big kids to school he helped me get a few things in order at home and then we set off to enjoy a hike in a nearby nature reserve. It was about a 40 minute drive out to Chocoyero Nature Reserve and it was a beautiful drive! There are green rolling hills that are used as farm lands. We found out later that the main crops in this area are Central American pineapples which have a white flesh rather than the yellow fruit from Hawaii. Also Dragon Fruit or Pithaya as it's called here. Both plants are pictured.

Pineapple farm out on the rolling hills

Pineapple plants in the distance

I had no idea that Pithaya grew on a cactus! No wonder it's called Dragon Fruit! I also learned that the Dragon Fruit flower only blooms for one night and is most commonly pollenated by bats. Interesting!

Yummy Pithaya!

This was an absolute paradise! Mitchell and I both agreed that this is the thickest rainforest we've seen so far, and it's so close to our house! Layne was a trooper hiking much of the trail. I love hiking. It is a beautiful way to enjoy the incredible earth and to get exercise and feel great! 

We came across this GIANT spider! The body alone was as long as a house key! There were a few babies on the web also learning how to haunt to forest! Speaking of haunting.... Honestly, the rainforest was kind of creepy! We were the only humans on the trail that morning but there were so many sounds! Monkeys howling, birds screeching, lizzards rustling through the brush. Branches snap in the distance and I kept expecting a jaguar leap out at me! It was an absolutely gorgeous morning.

These trees are breathtaking. They have a smooth wood and their branches and the trunk cascade around like ribbons.

La Cascada

Layne has learned how to smile for pictures now. What a cutie!

Isn't the bark on this palm so neat??!

This tree is called "El Anciano del Bosque" or the oldest tree in the forest. It was massive and majestic.

This butterfly was as big as my hand. Here is his looking at you.

More pineapple plants

A baby pineapple!

On Saturday we wanted to go check out a neat spot in Managua that we heard about. That plan didn't work out so Audrey and I headed off to our local open air market, Huembes. She and the boys needed traditional folklore costumes so off we went for some mommy daughter time. It was great fun! We needed a smoothie to cool off after, of course. Yum!

This week we had the inside of our house painted! It turned out so nice! We are renting but the custom here is that renters paint the walls fresh before returning the house to the owner as they move out. As a result, renters of course choose the cheapest paint that will do the job. Our house was previously completely pained with cheap, flat white paint. The flat texture is impossible to clean and after a very short time I had dirty handprints all over the walls! Not only did I get a satin paint that will clean up easier, I got some color to splash around. I think it turned out lovely!

This bookcase was delivered today! I found a metal worker and commissioned this shelf! It is super solid and quite heavy of course, being made of solid metal. His price was very good too! A fifth of the price of what the woodworkers were quoting.