Cualitlan Hotel Esteli

... soft, almost velvety texture when ripe) from the trees on the roadside; The waterfall is nestled in the midst of tranquil, verdant hills. As a bonus, we were the first group to arrive, so for a good half an hour, we had the waterfall all to ourselves. Warmed up from our hike, the water was refreshingly chilly; it's always times like this when I realize how much I actually like (and miss) the water...
unfortunately when I
Estanzuela, Estelí, Nicaragua alicetin

... surprise: Malinda Meegoda. Not many of you will know Malinda, but he's a Sri Lankan guy in International Studies at the U of S and I completely didn't expect to see him in Esteli, Nicaragua! Turns out he's down here with Intercordia doing God knows what. After some banter and checking my email, I went to have a rest, seeing as how my headache was noticeably escalating and my body was aching all over. For the following 6 hours I was trying to bear the worst sickness I've had since ...

... and was told no rooms available. I then saw the buzzards devouring a carcass. Just weird feelings man. Anyway. I just did a lot of walking and ran a day to pass time. Not much happening in Esteli. Not much tourist here but internet cafes everywhere. I opted for a more expensive hotel ($17) since they had a private bath and cable TV to give me something to do. This place saw heavy fighting during the Contra and Sandinista war. There are some bullet ...

So, we left Roatan on the 30th
of April ready to leave our island paradise and it seems weird, but
it would be awhile until we realized how great a time we had.

Out trip back to the mainland was cool
because we actually were able to go on the barge with Gloria. Definitely not normally allowed, but since the boat capitan said we
could and since it saved us the ...

... old and new as they have solar power to provide for one lightbulb and a small tv. Their only furniture is wooden benches, plastic chairs and a hammock. The mother cooked our meals on a wood burning stove made of concrete that was started in the morning and kept going all day. They still milk cows and keep chickens, pigs, dogs, cats and 2 horses. Our ´bedroom´ was an outbuilding with homemade wooden beds and a thin foam ...

... is after we´ve told them we´re from England. But people are friendly and helpful and it makes a lovely change. 5 buses later and various types of new and untried bus food - there is always someone selling you something - we arrived - 7 dollars lighter thanks to the border - in Esteli. This small town has a lovely feel to it. It´s got a cool climate which helps and - surprise - at least one good coffee shop. Nicarguan coffee is ...

... boat trip to Belize, we paid an immigration officer to stamp our passports as if we had left the country and came back in. The guy behind the counter obviously knew what was going on but we didn't really do anything wrong. After a couple minutes of waiting, they made us pay $10US each. That kinda sucked. The whole point of the C4 agreement (an agreement between Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua that allows you to go ...

... gathered around the central plaza, apart from some hip(ish) clubs along the interamericana highway out of town. After a few salsa/bachata classes above the fire station run by a buff nicaraguan in lycra hotpants with an impressive hip wiggle, I felt ready to practice on some real live locals. My attempts weren't as bad as they could have been, probably due to the flor de cana beforehand- doubtless I was enthused with nicaraguan rhythm from this magical drink. Spent a ...

... supplies. And many of the sellers would put many marketing executives at home to shame, such is the elaborate sales pitches on the virtues of their given products. Esteli is a pleasant city and again, the local festival is in full swing as I arrive. Esteli was, and still is, a Sandinista stronghold and political murals and graffiti are everywhere.

... of people had told me was amazing and full of stuff to do. I ended up staying two nights in Estelli, not really sure why. Esteli was (and still is) a stronghold of the FSLN during the revolution, and I´m increasingly interested in the Latin American history and the intersection of culture/politics/and economy. Maybe that´s why I went.

In the end, probably my favorite part of visiting Esteli was eating pizza. I was in serious need of cheese. I always knew that ...