Solentiname Archipelago travel guide

Isla La Venada, named for its plentiful population of venado (deer), is also home to artists, in particular the house of Rodolpho Arellano who lives on the south side of the island. He is one of the region’s best painters and his wife, daughters and grandson all paint tropical scenes and welcome visitors to see and purchase their works. On the north side of the island is a series of semi-submerged caves with some of the best examples of petroglyphs from the pre-Columbian Guatuso tribe.

Isla El Padre is privately owned and the only island inhabited by howler monkeys. If you circle the island in a boat they can usually be spotted in the trees.

Isla Mancarrón is the largest in the chain, with the highest hill at 250 m. This is where the famous revolutionary/poet/sculptor/Catholic priest/Minister of Culture, Ernesto Cardenal, made his name by founding a school of painting, poetry and sculpture, and even decorating the local parish church in naïve art. He preached a kind of Marxist liberation theology, where the trials of Christ were likened to the trials of poor Nicaraguans. There is a monument to the Sandinista flag outside the church. Hiking is possible on the island where many parrots and Moctezuma oropendolas make their home. The island’s hotel of the same name is part of the local folklore as its founder Alejandro Guevara was a hero of the Sandinista Revolution; his widow Nubia and her brother Peter now look after the place.