Palm Oil Trees On the Way to Nicaragua

On our way  to Managua, Nicaragua, we drove by (that's right, drove. As in drove for 12 hours across Costa Rica to Nicaragus) many interesting sights like beautiful waterfalls and lush jungles. One of the more memorable things we saw though, was the acres upon acres of palm oil trees.

Palm oil is an edible oil made form the fruit of oil palms. Along with coconut oil, palm oil is on of the few high saturated vegetable fats. Palm oil has been a common cooking ingredient, but is being widely replaced by coconut oil. Palm oil became sought after during Britian's industrial revolution to be used as a machine lubricant. Today, its not usually used for machines but for more basic things like cooking. Though palm oil is still being produced and distributed, it is suspected that coconut oil will soon replace the more expensive, harmful to the environment, palm oil.

Traveling through the countries, we are able to see many different plants and animals and people that we like to learn about whenever possible. We are constantly researching the new things we see and experience to get a better understanding of what Nicaragua and Costa Rica are truly like. We have learned so much so far and can't wait to see more of these countries' people, agriculture, and wildlife.