Hiking with the Howler Monkeys

This past Friday we took a trip to the mountains a few hours north of Managua.  We traveled through some farm land where we saw some facilities that one might see in the United States.  We also saw plenty of cattle and chickens.  The region we were in is known for its coffee production, so there were a number of processing plants with huge cement floors for drying the coffee when it comes down from the mountains.  Our trip took us through a city called Matagalpa and eventually we arrived at Selva Negra, a coffee plantation and resort.  During the night, we were treated to various sounds of nature, the most surreal being the call of the Howler monkeys.

After a tasty breakfast with high quality Nicaraguan coffee, we spent most of the day hiking various trails in the mountains. On one of the trails, we were able to hear Howler monkeys in the trees above us.  Unfortunately, we were unable to catch a glimpse of the monkeys themselves, but we could see the leaves rustle as they jumped from tree to tree.

The monkeys weren't the only creatures of nature we got to know while we were at Selva Negra.  We also got to know a goose we affectionately named Ralph, because that's what his honk sounded like.  You'll see a picture of Ralph below.

Susan and Artie told us that Selva Negra was one of their favorite spots in Nicaragua when we talked about going there, and I think it's safe to say that it's now one of ours as well.