A Trip to Coffee Country

On dive trips, I always try to tack on a side-trip. I found a good one at Selva Negra in northern Nicaragua. I set up (online) a cheap car rental at the Managua airport and drove a pleasant 2.5 hours north into the highlands and coffee country.

Here lies a very interesting sustainable coffee farm and lovely inn, Selva Negra, which was founded by Germans in the waning days of the 1850s gold rush and is still owned by the same family. Lovely cabañas, a great coffee and grounds tour, excellent food, and a wealth of hiking trails in the cloud forest, where you’ll find spectacular birds and maybe howler monkeys. Inexpensive. Bring home some great Nicaraguan coffee for your friends. (www.selvanegra.com)