View from Apoyo Spanish School

Laguna de Apoyo as seen through the lens of Leigh Baker, a student of Apoyo Spanish School at Estacion Biologica. Our Spanish students enjoy the best views in Nicaragua! 

Leslie is a biology student at a university in Nicaragua and one of our teachers in  Apoyo Spanish School. 

Studying Spanish at Apoyo Spanish School is not only about learning the grammar and vocabulary. Our teachers provide precise and demanding instruction with vigorous methods to engages the students, but they also teach about Nicaragua, the area, the forest and people, and other cultural issues. One of the best parts of a time at Apoyo Spanish School is the time spent in the forest, or in the lake.

Students of Apoyo Spanish School on an afternoon excursion with their teachers. 

Most lakes around the world are already polluted and buildings have destroyed the natural environment around them. Building in this area is prohibited, and many other restrictions on activities are in place, which means the views can be excellent in almost any direction through a clearing.

Lake Apoyo is beautiful from a distance, too! 

The sun rises from Granada over Lake Apoyo at dawn.

Ficus trees can take root even on tops of large rocks. 

Basalt rocks are everywhere, and layers of pumice are also found in the crater. During the dry season, leaf litter covers the ground and protects the life in it, holding in precious water until the first rains in May.

Leigh joins a local family on washing day in Lake Apoyo. 

Binoculars are recommended equipment for a visit to Apoyo Spanish School. 

The flowers of Aphelandra scabra are visited frequently by hummingbirds. 

The red, peeling bark of a Bursera simaruba tree suggests the local name, Indio Desnudo. 

The water of Lake Apoyo is transparent. 

The project behind these signs, supposedly for "ecotourism", were fined for serious environmental violations.  Not everyone has the same ideas about ecotourism and real estate.

Lake Apoyo and the Apoyo Spanish School are located inside the Apoyo volcanic crater, which is actually a gaping hole in the earth, six kilometers across and several hundred meters deep. The lake is surrounded by the slopes of the crater interior on all sides, along which several houses have been built over the years. There are small patches of agriculture along the slopes, as well, and lots of natural forest. The most well-preserved of the natural forest is on the south-west side of the lake. One can enjoy the forest by hiking or sitting and meditating, swimming, or birdwatching. Monkeys are easy to find in the trees in most parts of the reserve.

Studying Spanish at Apoyo Spanish School is about Spanish, but it is also about more: nature, local people, water, and causes. And plenty of natural beauty around. What do you see when you visit Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve? Let us know, we are interested.

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Photos by Cindy Skeie II: Flowers of Laguna de Apoyo

Cindy Skeie is not only a capable photographer, she is an enthusiastic nature lover, with an eye for the beauty found in all scales of nature. Below is a sampling of her photography taken during the dry season of 2011 in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, reminding us of the special offerings each season brings us. She worked with our botanist, Pablo Somarriba, to photograph flowering plants. Here we present a few of the flowering plants she photographed.

Sapranthus palanga (Annonaceae) Spanish common name: Palanco. Does this flower give the impression of a smell of dead flesh? Its odor is distinctly fetid, and it is pollenated by flies! This species was recently separated from Sapranthus violaceus, on the basis of coliflory (flowers emerging from the side of stem instead of shoots).

Quassia amara (Simaroubaceae) Spanish common name: Amargon. This bush harbors many chemical properties, and is used in fever medications, insecticides, and in flavoring for liqueurs.

Jacquinia nervosa (Teophrastaceae) is called Burrito locally. Its range is from Mexico to Panama.

A cluster of Yellow Trumpet Flower, Tecoma stans (Bignoniaceae), called Sardinillo in Nicaragua. This species easily colonizes disrupted areas with degraded soils, making it an excellent species for reforestation. The tree makes broomsticks for a socioeconomically important sector in the Laguna de Apoyo area, it makes high quality firewood.

Aphelandra scabra (Acanthaceae) Spanish common name: Papamiel. The stems of bush were used by the indigenous people of the area for arrows.

Barleria oenotheroides (Acanthaceae).  

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