Selva Negra (Between Matagalpa and Jinotega)

Early on Sunday the 4th, we left Sabana Grande and first headed north to Ocotal so Susan could see a little there and also so we could catch a southbound express to connect to a bus to Matagalpa.  We arrived at the station about 10 minutes before departure and I experienced another Nicaraguan first:  the bus was considered full and was not selling any more tickets!  It didn’t seem nearly as full as other buses I’ve been on, but we waited an hour for the next bus and headed to Estelí.  Since we had to change buses, we stopped at the small restaurant where I ate on my previous trip to Estilí.  We then caught a local to Matagalpa, which was amazingly empty for a Sunday (well, empty isn’t exactly the right word, but it wasn’t crowded at all by Nica standards) so there were fewer intermediate stops and we arrived earlier than expected in Matagalpa.  There was a bus loading for Jinotega, so we got right on and were heading up the mountains within a few minutes.  It’s only 10 or 15 km to Selva Negra, but the grade was very steep and the old, fully-loaded school bus up the hill for 45 minutes before dropping us at our stop.  From there it was about 100 m more to an old, disabled tank from Somoza’s national guard where you turn right into Selva Negra.  It’s a couple more km to the hotel and we were there before 4:00.

In the gardens at the restaurant La Casita in Estelí.  The tree I’m standing next to is a Ceiba (like the huge tree in Sabana Grande), but as a young tree, it apparently has spines on the trunk.

The old tank that marks the entrance to Selva Negra.

First, a little history to put Selva Negra into context.  I’ve already posted some about its approach to sustainable coffee growing, but it also includes a hotel.  Some of you who speak Spanish may have already noted that the name means “Black Forest,” and it’s no coincident that the name is more generally associated with Germany.  The history of the place as a coffee plantation actually goes back to the 19 th century.  Nicaragua recruited Europeans to immigrate and start coffee plantations and among them were some Germans who were the ancestors of the current proprietors, Eddie and Mausi Kühl.  This particular property, however, was actually owned be other German families in the 1800s and it was only purchased by the current owners in 1975.  They had made money in the rebuilding of Managua after the 1972 earthquake and wanted to return to the family roots in the mountains.  However, this was not a great time to start an enterprise for a couple of reasons.  First, the price of coffee was very low at that time and the hotel was started as a way to diversify and remain solvent until coffee prices rebounded.  Second, it was just about the time that the resistance to Somoza was gaining strength and the war of liberation was imminent.  In fact, the family had to flee to the US and lived in Houston for about 12 years, returning in 1990 (after the Contra war concluded).  An uncle oversaw the operation in their absence.  Eddie wanders the grounds, kibitzing with the guests and supervising various projects (his background in civil engineering/steel construction).  Mousi is the day-to-day manager and is in constant touch with all the operations.  They also have 4 daughters, 2 of which are actively involved in the management.  We met daughter Karen and her family, who remember William from his CELL trip 3 years ago because of the ukulele.  

One of the historical items on display is this painting of the ”Terrocarril,”  basically a steam roller pulling wagons of coffee.  The object was to go from near Matagalpa to the coast (I’d guess about 120 km), but unfortunately it never successfully completed a trip.  You’ll notice from the names, however, that this was a German enterprise.

A view of the owner’s house on the hill with typical Alpine style and the farm workers’ housing below.  There are some elements of a “company town” here, but you can see by features such as electricity and real chimneys that the housing is better than average rural housing in Nicaragua.

Here is Susan inspecting the evidence that William was here in 2009.  This was the CELL groups project to prepare this poster describing the world of the strangler fig (called Matapalo in Spanish, or tree killer).  These figs start in the branches, send down roots to the ground and eventually completely engulf the host tree, killing it.

 Since returning in 1990, they have continued to expand and now the hotel includes dozens of cabañas, some mult-room buildings, a youth hostel, meeting rooms for up to 300, a restaurant, a little museum, over 300 acres of cloud-forest nature reserve with miles of trails and a chapel.  Most of the architecture is German style and there is something of a German feel to the way things are run, but there are also Nica touches.  It’s amazing the amount of work that has been invested in the many details:  walkways and roads all lined with plantings, landscaping, trails, benches, bridges, fire rings, gazebos.  There is even “landscaping” on most of the roofs!  (Metal roofs prepared to accommodate various plants.  Actually, even if they didn’t plan for plants to grown on the roofs, they probably would anyway.  The lushness is remarkable and virtually every surface has moss, lichen or something growing on it.)  For a quiet family reunion, this would be a fantastic place.  (Perhaps quiet isn’t quite accurate because every night about 5:00 the howler monkeys start calling from the mountains and soon after the frogs in the lake start croaking in an almost rhythmic fashion.  Additionally, there are numerous geese swimming/strutting around that can become a bit boisterous at times.)

The building with our room.  Note the lakeside location and the solar hot water on the roof.

One of the many cabañas at the resort.  Note the profuse growth on the roof as well as how lush all the plants are;  not all roofs are covered this much, but most have at least some.

A view of the chapel which was completed 20 years ago for their daughter’s wedding.  This roof is also covered with plantings.

A view at the typical landscaping in the hotel area.  You can see a fern tree in the middle and an example of a stone path in the foreground as well as bananas and what looks a bit like a bird of paradise.

A couple of shots of the geese that act like they own the place.  They always marched around in single file and would come right up to our door.  They were not shy about asserting their territorial rights if you got too close.  I can now see where the term "silly goose" comes from.

A view of the lake with the geese in the background and showing how thick the forest is in the background.

The restaurant serves Nica food as well as German and US items, such as kraut and wurst, Wiener schnitzel and pancakes (panquekes).  Much of the meat, dairy and vegetables are organically grown right on the farm.  They also have a very good pastry chef and there is typically a selection of 5 or 6 different cakes each day.  Seating is either indoors or out overlooking the lake, but we mostly ate indoors due to fairly strong winds and cool temperatures.  (This is the only place in Nicaragua that I’ve actually put on my windbreaker.)  

Susan having breakfast on the deck of the restaurant.  I know she won’t like this pose, but it was the only photo I had inside.

A view of the restaurant deck from across the lake.  Our room was just behind the blue roof in the center.  This also gives a nice, sunny view of the mountains.  Being a cloud forest environment, it was often cloudy/foggy and damp, but there were generally patches of sun mixed in as well.

Like the farm, the resort also strives for sustainability with features such as solar hot water heating and micro-hydro electricity generation in addition to the locally-produced food.  We noticed that the sheets were actually sewn together, so probably salvaged from a couple of damaged sheets and sheets/towels are not changed everyday unless requested.  

The inlet to the micro-hydro generating plant located on the farm.  Note that the filter system consists of old washing machine drums pounded out flat.  I think they would do any depression-era farmer proud with the way they improvise and use what’s available.

There is also the nature preserve adjacent to the hotel where we walked several times during our stay.  There are nice, flat trails near the bottom of the hills, but some of the higher trails are very challenging, in part because the ground is always wet and slippery.  The growth is incredibly dense with many unfamiliar species, but some that are familiar as house plants.  It is also quite dark in the forest, even if sunny, but it was cloudy/misty for much of our time, so many of the photos didn’t turn out well.

A living example of the strangler fig.  In the center of the trunk is the rotting carcass of another tree.  You can see how the trunk is made up of the viney roots of the fig that have merged to form a solid trunk.

A flower growing from the trunk of another tree.  It is not an orchid (although there are many), but it grows in a similar manner.  Note all the moss and growth on the trunk as well

Susan standing next to a plant that is locally known locally as the poor man’s umbrella (for obvious reasons).

Here is a shot to show what the cloud/mist conditions are often like.  If it were a bit clearer, you could see Matagalpa through the notch in the mountains at the center.