On a late afternoon, after crusing down the Rio San Juan for practically 4 hours, the general public ferry lastly deposited us in El Castillo. I felt weary from the weeks we’d spent travelling on packed hen buses throughout Nicaragua. But as we deboarded and wandered in the hunt for meals, it appeared prefer it wasn’t simply the panorama that had modified. The sky shone just a little brighter, individuals had been chilling at road corners, and upbeat music adopted us all over the place we went. We had arrived within the Nicaraguan Caribbean in spite of everything!
But we hadn’t but reached our vacation spot.
We had been but to sail additional down the river, into the Indio Maiz Biosphere Reserve, previous settlements of indigenous communities who nonetheless dwell in wood stilt homes. We would really feel our hearts quieten amidst the candy melody of birds, as we entered no atypical Nicaragua jungle. This was the nation’s second largest old-growth tropical rainforest. The setting solar would fill the river with a mushy orange gentle, and shortly, our abode for the subsequent 5 days would come into sight: A wooden home on stilts!
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Eco-tourism in Nicaragua
Despite the years which have handed since, the recollections of dwelling within the solar-powered wooden home, crusing on the Rio San Juan in the hunt for the white-faced capuchin monkeys, and feeling a robust sense of reference to the unbelievable Indio Maiz rainforest stay etched in my thoughts.
So it felt each surreal and highly effective to reconnect with our host household final yr, and find out about their inspiring journey. The San Juan Wood House is now Guacimo Eco-lodge (Instagram @rio_san_juan_lodge) – named after the Guacimo tree (of the cacao household) that greets travellers once they first arrive. Same location, nonetheless powered by 100% photo voltaic, nonetheless family-run, however with far higher efforts to preserve the Indio Maiz Biosphere Reserve – famous to have higher biodiversity than all of Europe!
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Conservation-based journey on Rio San Juan
I may really feel my adrenalin rush as Manuel, the co-founder of Guacimo Lodge, talked about canoeing down the Rio San Juan, by means of the Indio Maiz Reserve and the Rio Bartola, to lastly bounce into the cooling river water at El Playon. I remembered my very own time on the river – otter recognizing, and maintaining a pointy eye out for howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys. The river was as soon as utilized by Americans to journey from one coast to the opposite, throughout the Gold Rush of the 1800s, however fell into obscurity after the Panama Canal was constructed.
But adventuring on the river and within the forest is a dreamy sustainable journey expertise now. Guacimo Lodge has been working with Nicaraguan biologist Edgar Castañeda to develop and implement a biodiversity conservation plan. Together, they’ve initiated the Indio Maiz Biodiversity challenge on iNaturalist, with a objective to doc standard and but unknown species within the San Juan river and the biosphere reserve.
This means travellers now turn out to be citizen scientists, not simply observing the wild world but in addition documenting its altering biodiversity. 4,000+ observations over 1,495 species have been reported up to now! The initiative additionally invitations native Nicaraguan naturalists to frequent the forest and be taught from its wonders.
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Tropical forest trails and an Indio Maiz Corridor (within the works)
I bear in mind spending my mornings gazing out on the major forest within the yard of the Wood House, wishing I may quietly go in and observe the toucans and cedar timber. Guacimo Eco lodge, below steering from Edgar Castañeda, made that attainable by designing the area’s first eco forest path. Travellers, naturalists and would-be citizen scientists can now be taught first-hand, the worth of this wealthy ecosystem, the species it harbors, and what life on this jungle at night time is like.
Guacimo lodge is positioned about 2.5 kilometers away from the biosphere reserve, separated by 5 farms. The lodge is now seeking to work with these neighboring farms to create a forest hall connecting its patch of major forest with the reserve, by means of fee for ecosystem providers. This will create more room for wild animals to maneuver freely and have sufficient meals to feed on. What a superb manner that might be to broaden a dwelling habitat!
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Climate motion and sustainability practices at Guacimo Lodge
I’m at all times skeptical when locations I’ve stayed at and liked, inform me about their development plans. Can we ever actually develop with out sacrificing our core values?
I used to be relieved to be taught that at Guacimo Lodge, the aspiration is simply that. Instead of a sprawling lodge, Guacimo solely arrange 6 cabañas – fabricated from largely recycled wooden and domestically made clay tiles. Each of those divulge heart’s contents to the river and forest, permitting world-weary travellers to fall into rhythm with uncooked, wild nature.
Besides their revolutionary work with biodiversity conservation, documentation and schooling, the lodge is taking the next measures to scale back its carbon footprint:
- Energy: Guacimo Eco-lodge is powered by 100% photo voltaic vitality, lowering its Scope 2 emissions to zero.
- Food: Noting that cattle ranching is the main reason for deforestation on this pristine forest, the eco lodge provides a beef-free menu. Globally too, beef is the only most carbon intensive animal meals, each as a consequence of deforestation and cow burps which launch the extremely potent methane! I fondly bear in mind all my gallo pinto (native rice and beans) meals on the wooden home.
- Wood: In November 2016, the highly effective Hurricane Otto hit the area. While the forest continues to be recovering from its influence, the fallen timber had been recycled to construct the lodge, together with wooden obtained from regenerative plantations.
- Water: Water on the lodge comes from a pure spring, and is purified utilizing pure filtration strategies (like sand deposits). When drawn from the bottom, a photo voltaic pump is used. All black and gray water is filtered for re-use.
- Plastic: No single-use plastic bottled water is obtainable, and different non-recyclables are minimized.
- Community: 100% of the employment on the lodge is from the area. During the constructing section, they labored with expert artisans, carpenters and masons from El Castillo and San Carlos to design the cabañas in tune with the native structure, together with pure air flow strategies.
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One of my fondest recollections on the wooden home is studying a e-book on the wood swing, because the rain lashed the river, mist crammed the afternoon, and the solar fought its manner into the sky to create a double rainbow. So I needed to ask Manuel if, all these years later, that feeling has modified in any manner?
“I remember days and days of interminable rain. It was the Nicaraguan region with the highest level of rainfall. Now, even though rain is still very prevalent, it is by no means as it was before,” he instructed me candidly.
Like all over the place else on the planet, the influence of local weather change, deforestation, useful resource extraction and unsustainable improvement has taken its toll on the Indio Maiz Biosphere Reserve too. But tourism – if performed proper – has the potential to preserve it, create alternate livelihoods, and permit travellers like us to consciously expertise a particular place on Earth. Guacimo Ecolodge is exhibiting the best way!
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Practical info
Getting there: El Castillo is the closest city, accessible by a public ferry from San Carlos. The lodge organizes a personal boat pickup from right here.
Wellness, yoga and swimming: While Guacimo Eco Lodge doesn’t supply yoga courses and isn’t a wellness retreat per se, it provides loads of alternatives to disconnect from the world and reconnect with nature. It additionally has a spring water-fed out of doors swimming pool to chill off on sizzling tropical days.
Costs and bookings: Book a keep at this beautiful ecolodge for150$ per night time. All inclusive packages (together with keep on the ecolodge, meals and actions) for 3-4 days can be found on their web site. Follow the lodge on Instagram for updates and particular provides.
Have you travelled to Nicaragua or is it in your radar? Have you stayed at an eco-lodge that provides you hope for the way forward for tourism and conservation?
Note: I wrote this put up in collaboration with Guacimo Eco-lodge. As you already know, opinions on this weblog are at all times my very own!
Welcome to my weblog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been referred to as a storyteller, author, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism marketing consultant and environmentalist. But in my coronary heart, I’m only a woman who believes that journey – if performed proper – has the facility to vary us and the world we dwell in.