Esteli
NICARAGUA
Border Crossing & Indigenous Living
By AARON
Saturday, July 5, 2008
So after a great time in El Salvador, it was time to head to Nicaragua. Lyndi and I decided to head to eastern El Salvador to San Miguel, and stay for one night so as to allow us ample time to make it from there all the way to Leon, Nicaragua in one day. There are 2 main ways to do this:
- Stay in San Salvador, take Ticabus (good bus line) all the way direct to Managua, transfer from Managua back north to Leon.
- Take chicken buses all the way from San Miguel to Leon, Nicaragua; which entails crossing 2 borders on foot (El Salvador/ Honduras, Honduras/ Nicaragua).
Lyndi and I decided we didn’t want to backtrack, so we chose option number 2. Boy would we regret that.
We left at 8am from San Miguel, El Salvador to the border town of El Amatillo, where getting off the bus we were instantly hounded by money changers, border patrol, and just people trying to scam you any which way they can (i.e. “hey, I’m a random homeless looking guy, but give me your passport and I’ll get it stamped for you!”). After battling through that gauntlet, we crossed the river into Honduras, and jumped on another chicken bus that would take us from the border of Honduras, to the exchange town of Choluteca. There we decided to take a minibus to the border town of Honduras and Nicaragua.
These scammers, as I have come to lovingly call them, seem to hang out at the borders, preying upon any traveler they see as easy prey. Mainly, travelers with big backpacks. So considering Lyndi and I were the only 2 gringos on the minibus, again, we were instantly surrounded by at least 15 guys, all trying to get us to exchange money with them, and take their bike taxi because it’s 3km to the border. Our bus driver put our bags on one bike, and after assuring us that it is 3km away, we opted to take the bike. At this point, you get mentally ready to bargain with the bike driver on a price, but according to him, “oh no, I only work for tips”. “Really? So we can pay you whatever we want?” “Yeah, I only work for tips”.
So we were off, and rightfully so, it was about 3km to the border and to the bus station on the other side. At this point, the bike driver demanded that we each give him 100 Cordobas (about $5 each, $10 total), for a ride that took about 10 minutes total. What happened to just working for tips? He was literally trying to grab our money out of our hands while we got angrier and angrier. Maybe because of the fact that this guy was trying to shake us down, maybe because we realized that at this point of our trip we should have taken the Ticabus, or maybe because I realized at that moment that the Dallas Mavericks will continue to break my heart, no matter how fanatically I support them. Regardless, we argued almost to the point of shouting with this guy, gave him 100 Cordobas, told him to go away in a “not so nice way”.
Now with both of us in an extremely foul mood, we took the chicken bus another 2 hours on the bumpy dirt road (it would end up being 9 hours total for the day) to the town of Chinandenga, and finally transferred to Leon. I don’t know what it is about crossing the borders – we handled ourselves fine, didn’t overpay or get scammed (although 100C was generous to that thief), but for some reason we were mentally and physically exhausted when we got to Leon. There is only one remedy for a 8 hour trip on chicken buses while crossing 2 borders to get to your destination: ICE COLD BEER. After that first chilling sip, that seemed to stay cold all the way down to your stomach, our bitterness went away, and we were back to our ususal happy-go-lucky selves.
We stayed at Bigfoot Hostel, right around the corner from Parque Central, and decided to head up to Esteli, about 1 1/2 hours northeast of Leon, to check out Miraflor Nature Reserve, which is about another 2 hours north of Esteli. (We actually wanted to go to Esteli, Nicaragua first, but amidst all the bus changing and border crossing, we missed the last bus that would take us to Esteli, so we had to head to Leon first.)
Early next morning, we hopped on a direct bus to Esteli, which is a small town in northwest Nicaragua, known for it’s murals painted all over the city, and for the Miraflor Nature Reserve just outside the city. (Also known for some great cigar factories – but we’ll get to that…) We decided to stay at a hostel called Luz y Luna, which is a quaint little place with clean dorm rooms, blazing hot showers, and a cafe across the street. There we ran into a friendly solo traveler named Kristy from Perth, Australia who would end up being our traveling buddy for the next week. Lyndi and I ate at a small comedor that night, and decided that next day, the 3 of us would visit a cigar factory in Esteli, since it is known for having some of the best in the world.
Next morning, we headed to Nicarao Cigars where we were taken on an intricate, guided tour of the step-by-step process of making cigars. Back in the early 1950s, immigrants from Cuba came to Mexico in search for a better life, and in doing so, headed south and settled in northern Nicaragua. They also happened to bring their highly coveted tobacco seeds with them as well. Cigar Afficionado Magazine once commented on Esteli’s climate and soil conditions for tobacco, saying “It seems as though God himself took this spot of earth and said, ‘Here you will grow tobacco'”. So Kristy, Lyndi and I all got a great tour, learning tons about the cigar making industry, from the different types of tobacco leaves, all the way up to rolling the actual cigars (which was quite fun to watch in action). At the end of the tour, we purchased some cigars (don’t worry Chris Gleason, I got you some), said goodbye to our guide, and the resident toucan, spider monkeys and leopard. Yes, they had a pet leopard. Total cost for the tour – $2.50US.
That night, we decided to take it easy, as we would be heading up north the next morning to Miraflor Nature Reserve, to live with an indigenous family. Luckily, while at Cafe Luna, we ran into Juan Carlos, whose family houses any tourist willing to come up there, and who himself runs tours in the Reserve. Giving us directions which consisted of “take the bus to Miraflor, stop at the city called La Pita, and ask for me”.
Just for a little background, Miraflor Nature Reserve was declared a National Reserve in 1990, and the tourist infrastructure was put together by the locals living there, with absolutely no outside help. There isn’t really a main town, just pueblos scattered throughout the 206 square kilometers of mountainous land, caves, rivers, and waterfalls. Since there is no outside help, it is considered “unconventional tourism” as one ad put it, and if you’re not up to living off the grid, complete with chickens, bugs, mud roads, and an outhouse to boot, don’t come here. Juan Carlos’ home and family were great. For $13US a day, we got a room, plus 3 home cooked meals a day, courtesy of his mom Dora.
The first day, Lyndi, Kristy and I took horses out to ride and see the landscape. The area was absolutely amazing. I had never seen so much green in my life. Surrounded by lush mountains on all sides, we winded through dirt roads and cattle trails, along rivers, and through forests. The next day, we went off on our own to the peak of one of the mountains, and followed a river down to discover a bunch of small, tropical waterfalls along the way. Later that day, Juan Carlos took us to the “caves”, which consisted of a 1 1/2 hour hike to what basically looked like a hollowed out rock. Not that impressive. Apparently the waterfall tour is the most fun and exciting tour (go figure), but due to a rainy afternoon on our first day, we had to cancel that excursion. Although it wasn’t the greatest experience we have had on our vacation, I still would recommend Miraflor for 2 reasons.
One: because it is an absolutely stunning landscape, and off the beaten track, so if you’re tired of running into gringos all the time in Leon and Managua, it’s a great way to get in touch with the locals.
Two: since this is completely run by the locals, all the profits go to the families you stay with, which is a great way to support the local economy. As of now, they get about 1-2 guests every 2 weeks, so hopefully the popularity will grow for this “unconventional” trek.
The next day we packed up our things and said goodbye to the family of Juan Carlos, and made a pit stop by the local elementary school (one of 2 in Miraflor), to watch a celebration, honoring one of the teachers who had been there for 15 years. It was fun to watch – they even had a piñata of Barney, which I enthusiastically supported, because if you’re going to want to hit anything with a thick piece of wood, it should be that guy.
We headed back to Luz y Luna in Esteli, and enjoyed a nice dinner of tacos from a local comedor, followed by eskimo ice cream with cookie crumbles at Cafe Luna (I highly recommend both). Since we had gotten along with our new Aussie friend Kristy so much, we all 3 decided to head back to Leon the next day, for we had plans of art galleries, trivia nights, rooster fights, and most importantly – VOLCANO BOARDING!!!!!
