La Selva Negra

When I first hear about La Selva Negra, I did not think I wanted to go there. How improbable--a German resort in the middle of Nicaragua. But after several positive reports, I went. As anticipated, there were German tourists, but most of the guests were Nicaraguan. They take great pride in the resort and consider it a national destination.

La Selva Negra is a coffee plantation settled by German immigrants in the nineteenth century. The area reminded them of the Black Forest in their homeland. It now has a hotel, restaurant and resort accommodations. It is high in the mountains and encased in clouds. At 65 degrees, I felt chilly after living for weeks at 85 to 95 degrees. It rains on and off and admittedly, I feel somewhat homesick for Oregon.

The farm is very large and is divided into the coffee plantation, the farm and guest quarters, and the natural area. The coffee is good and marketed in the U.S. by General Foods as La Selva Negra. The farm is organic and recycles virtually everything. Millions of worms in the worm farm chew up the husks from the coffee beans into rich humus fertilizer. Methane from the treatment plant is used for heat and cooking.

The natural area is like a park with trails into the hills and cloud forest. In the upper reaches, I saw quetzales, toucan and monkeys.