Miraflor part II

It was a good thing that we were able to get to bed very early.  We both slept like logs until about 3 am when we awoke to a chorus of animal sounds, roosters crowing, cows mooing, dogs barking and ducks quacking, even though it was pitch  dark, they all wanted to make themselves heard.  This melody of sounds seemed to go on for a couple of hours until it started to get light at which time we knew that we couldnดt sleep anymore so they decided to stop.  At that point, it was time to drag ourselves out of bed and enjoy the early morning watching the mist rise over the fields like steam from a hot cup of coffee.  We needed to pack up and get ready for our adventure.  Dora, our hostess for the day served us one last coffee before it was time to board the old dilapidated school bus.  The seats on this bus were even smaller than on the previous one.  We drove for about an hour further up into the reserve, occasionally stopping to let off the odd passenger or two along the way.  Finally,
 we arrived at another minute village and were led to a small house to meet our hosts for the day.  The girls were led directly to the kitchen to help prepare breakfast for our small group, meanwhile, Jeff sat with the other hombres waiting to be served.  He could get used to this lifestyle!  We at a usual breakfast of beans and rice, though this one did not quite have the flavor of the previous days gastronomic delights. We then proceeded to go on another hike into the wilderness. We walked for about an hour and a half finally reaching another beautiful waterfall. This walk was also very hard, not only did we have to go up and over many hills but since the sun was shining bright it was very hot and humid. Jeff had gotten bit or stung by some sort of tropical insect the day before and by the end of the walk his ankle had tripled in size. This was a bit worrisome to both of us since the closest doctor was many, many miles away. We sat by the water again soaking our tired feet, Jeff 
was hoping the cold water would relieve the swelling but to no avail. After a hour or so by the waterfall we ventured back towards the house of our hosts. The walk back was extremely painful for Jeff and we both decided that we needed to cut the trip short so that he could get some medicine to help is ailing leg. It is always problematic in the tropical jungles since there are so many unusual insects lurking about. We made it back to the house and had a lunch consisting of what else..........you guessed it .....rice and beans!!! Around three in the afternoon the return bus back to Esteli appeared. We said goodbye to our hosts and climbed aboard. The two and a half hour ride back to Esteli was probably the most fascinating part of this journey. The bus is not only used to transport people from village to village it also is used for commerce. Many a farmer loaded on various items to transport to another village or neighbor. We shared the bus with many people carrying their chickens t
hat they were taking for slaughter. At one point the bus stopped and we heard the harsh squeals of pigs. Sure enough the tied up pigs were carefully loaded up onto the top of the bus. We could tell by their incessant screaming that they were not at all happy. They probably knew their fate. By the time we were on the outskirts of the reserve the bus was teeming with activity as everyone and their animals jostled for space on the overflowing bus. WE eventually arrived back in Estili and found our way back to the hotel. We were able to find some medicine for Jeffs swelling leg and it seemed to have an immediate effect. We really enjoyed the time we were able to spend in Miraflor. Once again it gave us both an appreciation as to how good we have it back in our comfortable lives in the U.S.A.  Just the little things like not having to go to a well to fetch water, or trying to accomplish things by candlelight.  We will spend the night in Esteli then move on to Matagalpa another small cit
y in the highlands of Nicaragua. until then Hasta Pronto