Miraflor

 

Wherever you live, whether in a rural setting, a sprawling metropolis or a place in-between, many of us have a special spot were we go to feel refreshed or renewed. Maybe there is a lake that you like to walk around with friends, a mountain you like to climb or bike or a grassy hill that overlooks the fields of your farming community. Many of us have this place were the worries and cares of the world seem to leave us and we are able to be truly refreshed and renewed for what lies ahead.

Cassie and I have found that place in Nicaragua as we have fallen in love with Miraflor, a protected cloud forest and farming community in the northern highlands of the Estelí department.

 

Miraflor has much to offer.  First off it is a space that provides us with a respite from our daily routines, climate and stresses of the capital city.  In Miraflor we find ourselves in a small farming community, where it seems like everyone literally knows everyone else.  Here we find ourselves in a very different climate in which we are refreshingly concerned about layers, wool socks and scarves.  During our recent visit temperatures were under sixty degrees almost the entire time, our body systems are going to have a rude awaking when we visit Minnesota and Iowa this winter.  We find ourselves in a place where there is always something to see and new places to explore from the clear night skies, the ancient trees and magnificent wildlife.

 

Miraflor is a special place, and one day, like many other places in Nicaragua we will miss it and think fondly about the times we shared there.  With that in mind we hope that we are able to visit at least once more and find something new, to bask in the freshness and renew ourselves for our work.

One other highlight of Miraflor is the food.  We generally stay at Finca Neblina del Bosque and they were recently listed as one of the top places in the world for vegetarian food by a Spanish magazine.  The food is delicious, we have enjoyed curries, scrumptious vegetarian tacos and glammed up Nicaraguan dishes.