A working coffee estate in Nicaragua's cloud forest, founded in 1891 — and one slow afternoon with a demitasse of long-fermented coffee that tastes of blackberry, wine, chocolate, and honey.

A Nicaraguan ecolodge cradled in jungle cliffs, a thundering waterfall, a muddy cave I wisely walked past — and a full day alone in a cloud forest alive with 200 bird species, monkeys, deer, and one small leopard-spotted cat.

A solo hike up Mombacho Volcano outside Granada, Nicaragua — cloud forest, crater views of Lake Nicaragua, and the real gift of staying with hosts who know the trails.