Yet close by is a vibrant rain-forest around the Reserva Indio Maiz, one of the largest protected rainforests in Nicaragua – abounding with unique wild-life and rare flora…Alison and Ken were able to paddle up the Sabalos and Indio tributaries to witness these remarkable natural wonders and to witness how, without roads – these remote, rural communities depend on the river as a life-line, running between isolated farming communities and vast reserves of thick tropical rainforest on its left (Nicaraguan) bank and much chopped forest on its right bank – mainly the frontier of Costa Rica.
During this journey, they also observed how, as in many other parts of Nicaragua – the agricultural frontier has been steadily advancing and how the indigenous populations, as well as the unique flora and fauna – have been struggling to survive… ever since the first foreign incursions into Nicaragua… back in the 16th Century…