August 13 and 14/2011

This weekend was so much fun. Saturday morning, Steph and I left for Chocoyero natural reserve where we were planning on camping. Despite danger warnings we were given about the path leading up to the reserve we decided to brave it in a mototaxi(little mini motarized cart). We made it there safe and sound, and set off on our first hike with a guide. We saw some kind of jungle squirrel, a tucan, many many butterflies and birds, and chocoyos(little green parakeets). We found the waterfall, and beside it was a cliff full of holes where the chocoyos nest. We ended up hiking back on our own at 4:30 which is the time where all the chocoyos return to their nests. There were four hundred birds approximately that were flying around at this time. It was absolutely unbelievable. When we got back to the tourist check in area, the people had set up our tent for us and matresses underneath the covered tourist area. We didn't get to camp in the camping area as the tent did not have a fly, and they said it had been raining a lot. And oh wow did it rain that night. It was pouring so hard the noise kept me awake for the majority of the night (that and the monkey howling sounds!). It was a little bit scary because we were in the middle of nowhere with no communication if anything were to happen, but it all worked out in the end. The area we were staying is also the largest supplier in Nicaragua for pineapples, which we would later buy. In the morning, we went for a morning hike bright and early, and had our breakfast by the waterfall and the chocoyos. We were then told that the mototaxis were unable to access the reserve because of all the rainfall, and that we were going to have to walk the road where muggings and rapings supposedly occur. We made one of the people at the reserve walk with us until we found an area that the mototaxis could reach. We made it home safe and sound. The rainforest was so amazing it felt like I had been on an adventure the entire weekend.