Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Managua
(US$6.50, six hours, eight daily)
San Miguelito
(US$2, two to four hours) Direct buses leave at 12:20pm and 1pm, but you
can hop on any Managua- or Juigalpa-bound bus and get off at the San Miguelito turnoff.
TOP OF CHAPTER
San Miguelito
Most travelers miss this mellow lakeside fishing community and gateway to the region's
newest and least-visited reserve, the
Sistema de Humedales de San Miguelito
(San Miguelito
Wetlands). A handful of rivers meander through the reserve, including the Río Tepen-
aguazapa, the Río Camastro, the Río Tule and the gorgeous Río Piedra, a glassy slice of
black water framed by a dense tangle of jungle. Trees, hip-deep in water and sprouting
with orchids and bromeliads in the canopy, stretch back as far as you can see. Occasion-
ally the grasslands and lotus fields teeming with birds and butterflies intervene. The best
time for bird-watching is at daybreak or dusk in September and October, when the migra-
tion peaks. If you're lucky, you may even see some alligators.
Hotel Cocibolca
( 2583-3260; hotelcocibolca@yahoo.com; frente Muelle; s/d/tr without bath-
room US$6/12/18)
is a fantastic budget choice with wooden rooms boasting high-
beamed ceilings and French doors that open onto private balconies overlooking the lake.
The staff arrange visits (US$20, four to six hours) to
Finca El Cacao
, a private family-run
finca
(farm), a 30-minute boat ride away where it's possible to observe iguanas, alligators
and monkeys.
Getting There & Away
The most popular way to arrive in San Miguelito is on the boat from San Carlos or Al-
tagracia in Isla de Ometepe, although the service from Ometepe arrives in the middle of
the night. Direct buses to San Miguelito (US$2, two hours) leave San Carlos at 12.20pm
and 1pm, but any San Carlos-Managua bus will drop you at the Empalme de San
Miguelito, from where
colectivos
(shared taxis; US$1) make the 8km trip into town.
