http://www.solentiname.org

Welcome to our winter home, Solentiname Nicaragua. Explore the Best of Solentiname with professional local guides and dedicated boat service since there are no roads.

The trip starts with super friendly people, art, nature, and ends with  history. The legacy of present day Solentiname is steeped in the history of the Nahuatl word Celentiname, which means "place of many guests".

From the waterfront pier in San Carlos, we can see our home for the next several days -- the Archipelago de Solentiname – a designated national monument.  It has a rich past and reputation, known, not only for its primitivist art colony,  its semi-revolutionary activities, its unique natural history, but also for the hospitality of the people and their peaceful style of living. Solentiname does not allow any motor vehicles. In fact, only paths exist—no roads. Ernesto Cardenal, famous poet, and the community of painters and wood carvers are major attractions for visitors. For others, the secret of the areas attraction may be its serenity. We challenge our visitors to find a more peaceful place on earth.

The archipelago is a group of 36 small islands, situated in the fresh waters of the great Lake of Nicaragua. We will explore the islands by canoe and foot. Paddling along the shore line lets us soak in our surroundings and is an excellent way to birdwatch.  The community of painters and artisans are very open and friendly and are spread out among the islands. The palette of this genre is often bright, deep and rich. The initial development of these artistic endeavors came through the efforts of the well known priest and poet Ernesto Cardenal who settled in the islands in the 1960´s. We will explore the history and artist colony of Solentiname over the next few days.

We settle into Albergue Celentiname, where Maria Guevara has been running a lodge for over 23 years. She is one of the original painters on the islands and is happy to share her story and the history of life in Solentiname.

This trips are fully escorted and guided by staff and students of the Alianza of Solentiname, generally accompanyied by our lead guide Bayardo Gueverra, along with our boatman Evert Ugarte, who is also Director of Operations for the Alianza.

Solamente Solentiname Itinerary: 3 days, 2 nights

Day 1:

We can arrange flight, bus or private transfers can be arranged from Managua  as well transfers can be arranged from Fortuna or San Jose Costa Rica. The Costena flight arrives in San Carlos at 2:30, and the public boat from Los Chiles generally arrives around 2 pm.

Our guide and boatman will meet you in San Carlos; if you have arrived earlier in the day, we will plan a short walking tour around town, but we want to leave promptly by 3pm. On our way out to Solentiname, we plan to stop at Isla Zapote, the "Bird Island of Solentiname", and then we plan to visit the Arellano family on Isla La Venada. Four generations of painters are working out of the Arellano family; the perfect introduction to primivista art of Solentiname. Our final destination for the day is Solentiname, and Hotel Celentiname.

Day 2 & 3:

This morning we will probably stay close to home at Celentiname. We plan to take an easy walk from the hotel, to a high lookout, passing some pre-Columbian petroglyphs on our way to the Museum, and the Casa de Taller (artist cooperative), circling back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch, we have some great choices:

• Visit Isla Mancarron and the other artists of Solentiname, and the famous church of Ernesto Cardenal, along with the Pre-Columbian artifact museum and the library within the APDS compound.

• Another walk to visit local families on Mancarron.

• Canoe or Kayak around the islands

• Visit la Cueva de Duende with more pre-columbian petroglyphs.

• We can arrange to borrow a fishing pole, or even arrange for a guide to take you fishing, as the locals fish.

• or just relax with a book and enjoy the views and the serenity of Solentiname.\

All-together-too soon, our quick trip is over. You can rest assured that we will be able to fill our days and evenings in Solentiname. We assure you that you will need to plan your return visit since we will only scratch the surface of Solentiname.

The 3 Day option will leave Solentiname by 11am to be able:

• to catch the 2:30 La Costena flight back to Managua, or

• Catch the 2pm public boat down to El Castillo, or
• Catch the 2pm Ferry Boat to Ometpe and Grenada on Tuesday and Friday
  

• Catch the 3pm boat back to Los Chiles Costa Rica, connecting with the bus to San Jose.

Optional Extensions:

1 day extension to Los Guatuzos:

We will have a very early morning departure for the boat trip to Los Guatuzos; we want to be on the Rio Papaturro near day break when the birding is best.  We will have breakfast in Papaturro and meet up with our guide Armando to explore a multitude of beautiful wildlife and spectacular tropical flora. In the afternoon we walk an air bridge trough the trees, perfect to take good pictures and be in contact with the amazing wildlife after the bridge we will make a nature walk in a young forest. Lots of orchids! Mid afternoon, we will return to Solentiname for our final evening.

2 day extension to El Castillo

We will return to San Carlos, from here we will take the public boat to El Castillo, an impressive fortress, ones build to protect this important treading route. Lodging at the Hotel Victoria.

4 day Extension to El Castillo and Bartola

After our days in Castillo, we will continue downstream to Refugio Bartola and  The Biological Reserve Indio Maiz. Here we are going to walk in the middle of the forest who has many of the oldest trees in Central America, we will get in there with an expert local guide who will show us the different plants used us natural medicine, birds, monkeys, snakes (if we are quite). And the end of the walking we can swim en the river Indio Maiz which connects with San Juan River. Back to Bartola Lodge.