A belated ode to Isla Ometepe

"Out of the midst of Lake Nicaragua spring two magnificent pyramids, clad in the softest and richest green, all flecked with shadow and sunshine, whose summits pierce the billowy clouds. They look so isolated from the world and its turmoil- so tranquil, so dreamy, so steeped in slumber and eternal repose...These mountains seem to have no level ground at their base but rise abruptly from the water...When not a cloud is visible elsewhere in the heavens, their tall summits are magnificently draped in them"

Mark Twain, 1867

The island of Ometepe is one of Nicaragua's most beautiful sights, so it seemed a bit unfair not to give it a bit of airtime (especially in light of how many paragraphs have been devoted to rum consumption).

Maderas at sunset

The island consists of the twin volcanic peaks of Concepcion and Maderas- the former a perfect cone reaching 1610m and still (very) active; the latter is extinct, 1394m high and covered in thick forest.

View of Concepcion from the rickety lancha

 The only way to get to Ometepe is by boat, namely lanchas of questionable seaworthiness. Because of its size, Lake Nicaragua is prone to fairly heavy swells, which made the boat sway dangerously from side to side, with huge amounts of water coming in over the bottom deck with every lurch.

I hope Leontien has forgiven us for making her get on board. If you look behind the nervous smile you'll see the glint of real terror in her eyes!! Probably not the best sea-going experience for someone with a bit of boat-phobia.

The Rum Diaries Parts XXIX and XXX- LIVE from the Flor de Caña Distillery, Chichigalpa

Happy birthday Martijn!!!! His present might have been a month late but judging by his happy face, it was worth the wait.

We had been hoping to arrange a visit to the Flor de Caña distillery and luckily for us, it opened its doors to the public just one month ago!! Oh fortune!! Martijn woke up on Thursday like a kid on Christmas morning : )

The Pellas family who owns the distillery is the richest in Nicaragua and they have poured a lot of money into designing the tour. Since they only opened recently, everything is still brand spanking new and gleaming- a sharp contrast to the generally non-shiny world outside the gate. A little electric train zipped us around while an audio-set equipped guide talked us through the history of the company and the process of turning sugar-cane into rum.



 

Molasses- the basis of all tasty rum

The first distillery was built at the San Antontio Sugarmill in 1890 and rum was produced to celebrate the harvest. The rum became famous and in 1937, the Flor de Caña brand was created and began to be distributed commercially.

The Pellas family owns huge tracts of land all around the Chinandega region and still grows all the sugarcane used to create Flor de Caña products. From raw sugarcane they produce molasses which is then distilled up to five times, barrelled and aged in their warehouses for anywhere from 4 to 25 years.

Interestingly, it was the revolution, and subsequent difficulties in Nicaragua which contributed to the present day success of the Flor de Caña brand. The company's land was appropriated in the early 80's but they retained the distillery. The Pellas family made the decision to begin storing huge quantities of rum, in secret locations, and they now posses one of the greatest stockpiles of aged rum in the world.

The company is eager to highlight its eco-friendly credentials- "With every sip of Flor de Caña Rum, you can take pleasure in knowing that great care has been taken to protect the environment for generations to come". They are also involved in education & health, having built probably the best hospital in the country and providing free health care for their employees.

Never has drinking rum felt so socially and environmentally responsible : )

After the initial spiel from our guide, and a high production value video, we got to the good bit. The tasting.

The tasting room was appropriately dimly lit and aesthetically pleasing. We were asked not to take photos but I managed to snap a sneaky one!

Classy snifter glasses for the Centenario Gold 18 Year

The Master Taster was on hand to lead us through the look, smell, touch and taste test for their Centenario Gold, 18 Año Rum. Amber hued, with a nose of nuts & caramel and a long smooth finish...man, if only all the Rum Diary entries could sound so knowledgeable!!

 The tour ended in the gift shop, where English speaking shop assistants hovered over us, encouraging us to buy rum-flavoured jam and a Disney-esque range of Flor de Caña bathrobes, t-shirts, hats, hipflasks and glasses.

We ignored all the crap and went straight for the rum. Martijn spent his birthday money wisely on a bottle of the Centenario Gold 18 year, which we sent back to Holland with Peter and Leontien...and a Centenario 12 Year, which we promptly cracked open and drank as soon as we got back to the hostel.

After our classy snifter experience we even sought out proper glasses and bought ice & soda water for the 12 year. Unfortunately we didn't have the Master Taster on hand to help us with tasting notes, but I've pinched these from the Flor de Caña website...

Palate: Stately and semisweet; nougat, almond butter, molasses and sherry abound. Finishes with a peppery spice, dark caramel, and charred oak fade.

We are now looking forward to the Havana Club tour in Havana for our next high-end rum experience....but until then its back to the old swigging from the bottle, tightass Rum Diaries.

The Rum Diaries Part XXVIII

This is one of the very few rum diary entries that didn't involve drinking the entire bottle!! Kind of feels like cheating in a way...

Martijn stumbled (not literally) upon this never-before-seen bottle of Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum at a little bar in Granada, Nicaragua. Needless to say, he was only too willing to stray from the tried and true straight-up variety of rum and delve into something a little more metro.

A bit like Captain Morgan's spiced rum, this one had a nice little vanilla-y taste to it, and would have been the cat's pyjamas in a hot chocolate on a cold winter night (not that we've had one of those for a while).

You can't be lucky all the time

According to the numerous tour touts in La Fortuna the trip from Arenal to Monteverde is spectacular. We couldn’t really tell you firsthand, but having just looked at Google images it does look as though they were telling the truth.

Lake Arenal according to Google images

What we saw (or didn't) as we crossed the lake

The road to Monteverde

Our road to Monteverde

Costa Rica might be the best place so far in terms of wildlife, but it will also be remembered as having the most consistently shitty weather in 10 months. Adios Costa Rica...Nicaragua here we come!!

Costa Rica, pura vida

We’ve only been in Costa Rica for 72 hours and so far we’ve seen: howler monkey, spider monkey, capuchin monkey, two-toed sloth, agouti, American crocodile, caiman, black turtles, snakes, spiders, iguana, lizards, frogs, dolphins and more birds than I can name.

 

 

 

This country might be terrifyingly expensive but you definitely get a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to animals.

The Rum Diaries Part XXVII

I'm pretty sure this is our first Jamaican entry for the Rum Diaries....however after 26 different sorts of rum (plus countless beers) it's kinda hard to be sure.

Myers Rum was the first 40% rum we'd drunk since...ummm, well a while ago. This, coupled with the fact that it was dark as dark (and sweet as sweet) can be, made it a bit much for the likes of me...Martijn battled through but agreed it was a bit heavy on the tongue to be an enjoyable rum straight.

When two becomes four...

I’ve been trying to remember who sings that ‘2 becomes 1’ song all day and now that I’ve googled it and discovered it’s by the Spice Girls, my blog title feels a little lame…but whatever, it’s too late now. Considering I’ve been singing Phil Collins for the last week I guess the Spice Girls isn’t exactly a huge step down.

So the whole point of the title is that we have travelling buddies now!! Peter & Leontien arrived into Panama City last Sunday and now we have playmates!!!

We kicked off with a flying visit to the Panama Canal, which was more interesting than I thought it would be, and is apparently almost as popular as Machu Picchu!! There were probably 600 hundred people there when we arrived, all filming the incredibly slow-moving passage of a cargo ship through the lock…man, do I feel sorry for their families and friends. Yawn. I bet they’re gonna miss slide night.

 

Next up we hurtled cross country to Boquete in the Chiriqui province, nominated one of the world’s best places to retire by Old Fuckers Monthly and consequently home to a large community of gray haired Americans.

To be fair I can understand the appeal- gorgeous scenery, rheumatism-friendly climate and last but not least….

 

The Explorador private garden, which the Lonely Planet generously describes as “something out of Alice in Wonderland” but is probably better described as “some old lady’s slightly eccentric pastime”.

I took away many, many ideas for my own descent into eccentric old ladydom.

We also celebrated Peter's birthday the traditional Panamenian way...

 

with beer and nacho's...and a bit of painting (well, Peter painted...we drank beer and gave moral support, along with the local kiddiwinkles)

 

So far life as a foursome has been highly successful!!!