My wife Chilo and I have found that living at 650 meters in elevation works well for us. It is cool and we don’t have to fight the heat. We just use one fan to keep the mosquitos off us at night. I had a job in San Marcos, so it didn’t make sense to build a place farther north. My wife’s family is from Matagalpa, so we know the area and have relatives there. One of them lives high up on Aponte. I am working on an orchid project close to where Julie has her place. The climate is very agreeable there and you can wear long-sleeved shirts all day long. It is also close to Matagalpa and other interesting places like the Macizo de Peñas Blancas, a very large block of limestone that is stuck up high in the sky and covered with orchids, quetzals, and tropical trogons. And it has old gold mines. Another advantage is that it is only two hours from Managua.