El Salto Estanzuela and Reserva El Tisey

       Our final day of the trip took us to El Salto Estanzuela, a beautiful 15-meter waterfall, and Reserva El Tisey, a 9344-hectare nature reserve (the equivalent of over 23,000 acres). As we started the hike at Estanzuela, we could hear the roar of the water grow louder and louder at we neared the base of the waterfall. Once we rounded the final turn, we were amazed to see the beautiful falls surrounded by rock walls and cascading into a shady pool below. Although the water was a bit cold, we couldn’t resist the chance to jump in and go for a brief swim. We then hiked back up to the top and continued on to Tisey where we enjoyed a 45-minute hike to the top of the mountain range that overlooks Estelí. We were all amazed at the lower temperature of the area and welcomed the cooler weather. Lunch was served at the restaurant on the reserve, and then it was back in the bus for our journey back to Jinotepe.

            It was a long and very full extended weekend, but we were pleased with the students’ stamina and enthusiasm. The group does a wonderful job of integrating different types of learning, from reading to listening to conversing to experiencing things first-hand. We appreciate their engagement through thoughtful questions, dialogue and good-natured and much-needed laughter.