Day 1

Your flight arrives in Managua Airport where you will be greeted by your bilingual guide and private transportation.  We’ll head directly to the Eco Lodge at Finca Java, Jinotega located on Lake Apenas (3hrs). This is a working organic coffee farm. The drive takes us into the Nicaraguan Highlands and gives us an opportunity to see some of Nicaragua’s striking countryside. The Eco Lodge is a converted barn split into rustic double rooms with private bath and hot showers. The adjacent kitchen and dining room afford us panoramic views of the lake.
   
Depending on our arrival time, we’ll enjoy a delicious lunch or snack at the Eco Lodge. “Finca” means farm in Spanish and although we are primarily a coffee farm, our lakeside location allows us to grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs you’ll enjoy at every meal. And there’s always room for a cup of our delicious coffee.
 
After we’ve settled into our rooms and had a bite, the farm staff will orient us and take us on a guided tour of the coffee plantation. We’ll learn about the history and day to day operations of the farm as well as learning about organic permaculture. We’ll finish with a visit to our onsite coffee mill (total tour, approx. 2 hrs).

After the tour we’ll head back to the porch of the Eco Lodge to enjoy a beautiful sunset and a delicious meal. We’ll finish our evening reviewing the trip itinerary and sharing our first impressions. For those who aren’t ready to hit the hay, we have a wide variety of games to enjoy together.
 
Accommodations at Eco-Lodge at Finca Java

Day 2

We’ll start our day with breakfast at the Eco Lodge and put on our walking shoes. Get ready for a day of service. Having seen the farm yesterday, today we’ll get to know our local community “Los Robles”.

As our walking tour ends and our work begins, we’ll have the unique opportunity to work with local craftsmen and community leaders to put a roof over a deserving family’s head. This part of the country gets cold and rainy season can hit hard. Many families struggle to keep food on the table and live in makeshift plastic shelters to keep the rain out. You will get to install a roof as part of ProyectoTecho, our roof project. Through this project we’ll gain a better understanding of their experience and work as a team with them to improve their quality of life.
 
We’ll return to The Eco Lodge for lunch and then return to work on the community project. Depending on the weather we may have a chance to enjoy a community game of baseball or soccer before returning to the Eco Lodge for dinner and a relaxing evening following our day.   We may invite some of our new Nicaraguan friends to join us in the evening as we share music and culture. For those who are interested there will be a chance to learn some local dishes.

Accommodations at Eco Lodge

Day 3

After breakfast at the Eco Lodge, we’ll be visiting our dry coffee mill or “Beneficio Seco” in Matagalpa. Following a 45 minute travel time, we’ll enjoy an in-depth tour of the machinery, science, and skill involved in this part of the coffee production process. We’ll see the machinery, talk to those involved in the process, and learn about the beans. For many, the highlight of this 2 hour tour, will be the coffee cupping. Cupping is the art of discerning coffees flavors and learning to tell the great from the mediocre.  We’ll experience all of the stages and qualities and hopefully leave with a greater appreciation and understanding of coffee.

We’ll return to the Eco Lodge for lunch. Following lunch we’ll learn about the important role composting plays in organic coffee production and experience a little of what our farm workers do to maintain healthy organic compost.

We’ll finish our afternoon with a little leisure time. We’ll have our choice of boating on the lake, fishing by the lake shore or a guided walk on our trails. If you would like you can just relax and enjoy the view and a delicious cup of coffee. We invite everyone to take a moment and enjoy their last sunset here at the Eco Lodge.
After dinner, we invite you to relax, play games or instruments and prepare for the next day’s trip to Nicaragua’s Pacific coast.

Accommodations at Eco Lodge

Day 4

After breakfast at the Eco Lodge, we’ll say our goodbyes and head south in private transportation. We’ll bypass Managua and stop at Katarina overlook to enjoy a view of Apoyo Lagoon. After enjoying the view and having our Kodak moment, we’ll stop for a delicious lunch in San Juan del Oriente. Following lunch, we’ll get a private tour of a local potter’s studio. We’ll learn about the importance of pottery to the area and those who would like to can try their hand at the pottery wheel. We’ll spend some time talking to the potter and his family in order to better understand their lives.  Everyone will have a chance to shop and ask questions. Following our artistic foray, we’ll board our transport and go to San Juan del Sur, located on Nicaragua’s beautiful Pacific coast.

Once in San Juan del Sur, we’ll get everyone settled in their home stays. All of these local families are proud ambassadors of Nicaraguan culture and hospitality. They take great pride in opening their homes to you. Your comfort and safety are of the utmost importance to them. San Juan is a warm part of Nicaragua and all of your rooms will be equipped with fans. The showers here are not equipped with hot water. All of your homes have purified water and ice. Let us know ahead of time about any dietary restrictions so your time with your family can be comfortable. This evening you’ll enjoy dinner with your new families. Later, we’ll meet up at Eskimo, the ice cream shop on the beach, to discuss our first impressions and address any questions you might have.
 
If time permits, we’ll enjoy a Latin dance class that will improve your dance skills as well as give you insight into local culture.

Accommodations at Home stay

Day 5

Following breakfast in your home stays, we’ll meet for a walking tour of San Juan del Sur. This picturesque fishing village was once considered to be the alternative to what is now the Panama Canal. Mark Twain deemed it ‘the route forever’ and Cornelius Vanderbilt considered it to be an essential side for a Pacific opening to a water route during the California Gold Rush.

Although fishing is still the occupation of many, tourism has surpassed it as the principal industry of the town of less than 20,000 inhabitants.
We’ll learn a little about the town’s history and a lot about how to best enjoy the jewel of the Nicaraguan Pacific Coast.
 
Our tour ends as we board transport to go to Carrizal, a community made of 70 families located outside of San Juan. Carrizal is home to Condimentos Carrizal, a collective of women who make jam out of local fruits. This morning we’ll spend some time with them and make jam, learning about their process and their lives.
 
After our time in the campo or countryside, we will move on to cooking class where we will prepare our own lunch. Traditionally, lunch is the largest meal of the day and may include fish, beef, or chicken, almost always accompanied by rice and beans or gallo pinto a national dish of rich rice and beans cooked together.

After lunch we’ll see a 45 presentation about the various facets of Comunidad Connect, your local host organization. You’ll learn more about us, our mission and our projects.

Following the CC presentation we’ll get to know another community. Depending on community needs, the time of year and your group’s interests this might be one of several exciting projects.

Los Pipitos Fun Day: Los Pipitos is a national organization dedicated to individuals with disabilities. San Juan has a small school where anyone with disabilities can come and spend the time. We can spend several hours gardening, making crafts, playing sports, serving as 1-on-1 support, or doing yoga and movement with these incredible individuals. The local Pipitos range in age from 6 to 43 and have a wide variety of disabilities. A visit with them is truly amazing.

Rural English Class is another option. Comunidad Connect is proud to offer an open enrollment English class in a local rural community for young people aged 4 to 24. Having a day of 1-on-1 tutors makes for a rich and powerful class.
 
School Make-Over: This is a project where we help school improve the quality of life at a local school. In the past we have painted murals, planted trees, painted, reused construction materials to build paths and walls, planted gardens, adobe natural construction, and taught English through games and song. Our days usually end with a game of soccer, baseball, or if we have them, American football.  

Sports Outreach: This is a great activity for a sporty group. This can be a clinic for young people hosted in our community sports park, a lightning tournament, or teaching a new sport. Nicaraguans are sports fans and in San Juan del Sur there is interest in baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, skating, surfing, biking, and swimming.

After our community activity we encourage you to enjoy the lovely sunset before joining your families for dinner. There are also yoga classes, excellent hikes, and a gym located in town.

After dinner and depending on the day of the week there may be live music playing that we can all enjoy. Depending on the season, there are also sporting events to attend.

Accommodations at Home stay

Day 6

Today we enjoy some of San Juan del Sur’s tourist offerings.

In the morning we offer surf lessons and a chance to see one of our beautiful local beaches. Your instructors are local surfers who are national and international champions. Boards and rash guards are provided. Take your time. More experienced surfers can bypass the lesson and head right into the water. If you would prefer you can try a Zip line tour or take the time to schedule a decadent coconut oil massage.

Any of these activities are bound to leave you ravenous so we’ll head to our homes for lunch.

After lunch we bet you’ll want to spend time on the ocean. We have 2 incredible options. The first is a sailing trip along our beautiful coast.  You’ll enjoy a luxurious afternoon of munching and imbibing as well as a little beach time.  The coast is gorgeous and depending on the season there is always the chance of seeing dolphins, sea turtles, whales, and amazing displays by the avian wildlife. If a more active ocean experience is what you seek we can arrange fishing trips in local flat bottomed boats called pangas. You’ll have an opportunity to fish for mahi-mahi, grouper, and a wide variety of species of tuna. If you’d like you can also try your hand at heritage fishing. Our local provider is a wealth of knowledge. He and his family are always willing to share their stories. Sport fishing is no laughing matter and if you catch it, you can have it prepared at a local restaurant.
Tonight we dine out, savoring the classic beach cuisine at El Timon, a family restaurant with a 30 year history of succulent seafood and delicious chicken and beef. We may also have local fishermen come and share their story of being lost at sea and rescued.

Accommodations at Home stay

Day 7

After breakfast we once again say good bye and board our transport to colonial Granada. One of the oldest colonial cities, this tourist Mecca is the home to a tremendous number of historical and natural wonders as well as being the home to some of the most innovative non-profit work in Nicaragua. We head to Granada to take full advantage of her rich offerings. First we’ll head to the Isletas, 365 small islands formed eons ago.  We’ll take a boat tour through the Isleta as a local guide shares the history of the region and the people. We’ll sample local cuisine for lunch, leave our bags at our hotel and head to the Central Square and Tio Antonio, an amazing non-profit that makes hammocks. The hammock making provides jobs and teaches skills to young people, individuals with special needs, and single mothers. We’ll spend time in Tio Antonio’s space getting to know his employees and participate in their workday.  
 
Following Tio Antonio we’ll head to the Chocolate Museum and learn about the process and the significance of chocolate from ancient times to the present. We’ll them move on to Casa de Tres Mundos, a unique working artists space and see the artists at work. After these sites we’ll give everyone a chance to explore the city on their own. We’ll enjoy a delicious dinner together followed by a little nightlife depending on the evening. Depending on the season there may be cultural offerings, poetry, or theater.

Accommodations at Hotel Con Corazon

Day 8

As all good things must end, so must our trip. After breakfast we will board our transport to the airport. Depending on the time of the flight there may be time for an additional shopping stop in Masaya or a visit to a local cigar manufacturer. Nicaragua is famous for its cigars and we’ll have a chance to see how they are made.  Masaya is known as the cradle of Nicaraguan folk culture and craft and it is an excellent place to find a truly unique souvenir of your time here in Nicaragua.