Our tummies were full from breakfast and we were off to another local coffee farm, followed by a wonderful picnic lunch at a local river.

Our ‘back of the pickup’ excursion to the picnic location

Our local transportation was either by foot or in the back of a pickup. I love the open air experience, reminding me of riding in the back of my Dad’s 1958 Chevy Pickup around the Iowa farm.

The final leg of our picnic excursion was by foot, across a pasture and down to the local river for swimming, bird-watching, and howler monkey scouting. The weather was sunny and gorgeous. Local cattle watched the gringos pass through their green pastures with a curious eye.

The final hike down to the river bed was shaded by a canopy of beautiful trees, bubbling waters and water falls.

River bed in Nicaragua

Waterfall at local Nicaragua river

We put down our packs, marveling at the tremendous work it took for our hosts and staff to coordinate and transport all of the fixings for our gourmet lunch by the river. While our lunch was being prepared, some of our group enjoyed soaking in the river while other settled in on the rock of choice enjoying the splendor of our surroundings.

After relaxing for a bit, lunch was served.  (I am yearning a ‘do over’ as I write this.) The grilled kabobs, rice, cabbage salad, Pico de Gallo, homemade tortillas, and juice were delicious. Everything tastes better when enjoyed in the outdoors!

kabobs, cabbage salad, tortillas and rice at our river picnic

Fresh Pico de Gallo

Again, our tummies were full and….what’s that noise. Howler monkeys! This was our first experience hearing and seeing them. My dinky point and shoot camera was up to the challenge to capture a silhouette of these funny creatures.

A rain storm was moving in and we got moving, too! A quick hike back to the truck for our ride back to Finca Esperanza Verde. Free time awaited us…what to do? Hike, siesta, read? Decisions, decisions!