Smell of coffee wafts through Nicaragua’s travel trail, fair
The Nicaraguan department of Matagalpa –some 80 miles northwest of Managua- is now offering tourist the Coffee Trail together with a piping-hot cup of the beverage and grand tours around nearby plantations, plus liquors and custards made of ground coffee.
The coming of the First National Coffee Fair on Nov. 29 and 30 –officials are hoping to welcome as many as 60,000 local attendants- brings up additional allure to Matagalpa, a region where travelers can choose from an array of top-notch hotels.
Matagalpa mayor Zadrach Zeledon said the fair is aimed at boosting up the department’s economic development. Since the early 19th century, that northern region of Nicaragua has traditionally provided over half of the country’s coffee output.
According to Victor Hugo Polanco, a spokesman for Matagalpa Mayor’s Office, the unprecedented tradeshow will feature the election of the Queen of Coffee, a parade of coffee-related carriages and buggies, and a number of popular parties.
On the 27th and 28th, attendants will hear out lectures on marketing, produce quality and coffee as a key competitive player, as well as on the ties between coffee and tourism, and coffee and health, among other topics.
On Nov. 30, several performers will stage a hoedown entitled Coffee and Music. For culture-vultures eager to traipse trails meandering through the mountains, there’ll be chances galore to grasp knowledge on both the growing and harvesting of coffee and other organic crops.
A small museum in Selva Negra will allow visitors to steal a peek at the local history and that of the aromatic grain, the top currency maker in this northern Nicaraguan department. There’ll be lodging available at the Barcelona, Matagalpa, Ideal, Apante, Alvarado and Fountain Blue hotels.
If travelers had time to spare, some of them could saunter up and down the Coffee Route –one of the eight tourist projects that are giving Nicaragua a powerful leg up. A visit to La Ponderosa Farm, with a firsthand look at the process of organic coffee from top to toe, is a must-see, let alone the possibility of feasting eyes on the local floral and wildlife.
