Between Indians and Cigar Smoke: 3 Days in Estelí

Early in the morning, we set off from Las Penitas to Estelí together with Laura on the chicken bus. In León, we had to transfer and find the bus station on the other side of the city (there doesn't seem to be a central bus station here), which is why we wanted to share a taxi with Laura, who had to go to the hostel halfway. As always, before we could even get off the bus, we were swarmed by young men offering us taxis, etc. We were convinced by one of them (thinking the gentleman was a taxi driver), Paddy negotiated the price a bit, and the guy seemed absolutely satisfied anyway. It quickly became clear why: the guy didn't have a taxi at all, but actually wanted to drive 3 people plus 2 big and heavy backpacks in his rickshaw (they are called something different here, unfortunately, I forgot how), which is essentially a BICYCLE, through the entire city. We actually wanted to back out, but he was very persistent, and a short time later we were cramped together in the vehicle of this somewhat too optimistic gentleman, who, who would have thought, started panting as if he had just run a marathon in no time. When we finally arrived at the bus station at a snail's pace, he actually wanted twice as much money as agreed, because he had to transport our heavy backpacks - some people here have no limits to their audacity. But he quickly gave up when he realized that we hadn't even considered paying him more.

In the chicken buses, our backpacks are usually thrown on the roof, which always makes us a bit nervous, as we have unfortunately heard some stories about stolen luggage in Nicaragua. That's why we sit somewhat uneasy on the seats at every stop and observe what luggage people are taking off the bus. Fortunately, everything has gone well so far :) On the journey towards Estelí, the bus was often extremely crowded (there is a reason why they're called chicken buses) - we're always impressed by how the mothers here literally hold their children under their arms in the crowded buses and still manage to breastfeed them during the ride.

Here's a little anecdote from the category of unnecessary experiences of an obviously European woman in Nicaragua: unfortunately, the ogling of Nicaraguan men reached its absolute climax towards the end of the journey: the guy in front of me had been placing the dark screen of his smartphone on the backrest in front of him for a while, until I noticed that he was actually watching me through the screen. At first, I thought I might be imagining it, so I turned to Paddy, who was sitting two rows behind me with our backpacks. When the guy continued to stare when I turned back, I sat on the other side of the bus and the guy actually turned his screen to continue watching me there. When Paddy, who hadn't noticed anything at first, sat down next to me, the guy put away his phone.

Originally, we had planned to visit one of the many cigar factories on the day of our arrival in Estelí (surprisingly, apparently 6 out of the top 10 cigars in the world come from Nicaragua), but since we were both pretty exhausted from the long journey, we only managed to take a nap in the hostel and then stroll through the town. By chance, we set off just as a parade was taking place in the city center on the occasion of the Día de la Resistencia indigena (Day of Indigenous Resistance). Dancers, drummers, and above all many children in Indian costumes - funny enough, the children sometimes stared at us more than the other way around, but the great thing about children is that they smile or wave back unlike most adults ;) after a very disappointing meal, we treated ourselves to some delicious cake in a small café. Treat yourself, right? :)

The next day, we had a slightly bigger excursion planned for us: a canyoning tour in Somoto Canyon, right on the border with Honduras, with a friend of the family's son, who we stayed with at their house. After a 2-hour bus ride, we met Juan at the train station, who then took us to his house after another short bus ride, where we could change and pack the necessary things into a dry bag. Then it was time to go - after 2 km of walking over rough terrain with a magnificent view of the Somoto Canyon, we entered the water. A total of 4 hours of climbing over rocks, being dragged by rapids, and cliff jumping (9 m was the maximum) - all in such a cool setting, amazing! Juan, who in our eyes perfectly organized the tour, had told us before the tour that the water flow was quite strong due to the rain the day before, which was quite fun during the drifting but caused me quite a few difficulties getting out of the current 1 or 2 times. This resulted in the following situation: Paddy was still pulling himself up on a rock when I almost didn't make the jump due to the strong current and therefore only grabbed onto his swimming trunks. Unfortunately, I started laughing so much after that that even my last strength left me, so there we were - Paddy, desperately trying to hold onto the rock with all fours without losing his swimming trunks, and me laughing at his shorts :)

The next day, we had planned to go hiking, but unfortunately, during the canyoning tour, I hit my thigh against a rock in the water so hard that I could hardly walk anymore. So we had time to plan our remaining time in Nicaragua, which is definitely necessary if you want to go to the Corn Islands (two islands in the middle of the Caribbean) and don't have endless time, as the trip there turns out to be quite complicated. After one or two small nervous breakdown/temper tantrums from Paddy, we completely threw out our original plans and planned the remaining days :)

In the afternoon, we walked into a cigar factory, which we had actually expected to be a bit more tourist-oriented - it was mentioned on the internet that you could get tours there. When we arrived there, we were asked what we were doing here before we even reached the entrance, and then another guy was called, who apparently had something to say in the factory: a thick golden watch, pumped up, tattooed, gold chains, and a cigar in his hand - probably the reason why the poor guy had hardly any voice left despite his young age. Anyway, we were allowed to enter the factory with him, where we were first looked at strangely by the workers and then led into a back room where he (fortunately, unlike what we imagined at the moment) only wanted to show us the dry tobacco. All in all, we had about a 10-minute tour through the few small rooms, during which even Paddy hardly understood anything. In the end, the voiceless guy handed us two cigars - not bad! This tour was definitely unbeatable in terms of authenticity :)

In any case, we have not regretted taking the journey to northern Nicaragua, which most travelers apparently simply skip, as can be clearly seen from the looks of the locals. There are also not many options for accommodation in Estelí, so we ended up staying in the hostel of a very kind family, with whom we shared the kitchen and living room. For us, it's always very exciting to see how the people here live (small example: garage, living room, and dining room in one) - that's where we can most intensely feel the luxury we actually live in in Germany!