Esteli

A depliction of Esteli by a local famous artist

We traveled north into Esteli about 2 weeks ago now and the weather up in this mountainous area was more than welcoming. Esteli was one of the places that experienced a majority of the brutality and devastation during the civil war in the 1980’s, meaning that we would be able to see and experience a part that was vastly different not only in temperate zones, but also in people and heritage, than San Juan Del Sur and Managua. The area of the North is known for it’s fertile land, growing much of the coffee that makes it into the cafes of the United States. There was also a concerted effort after the war to create community co-operatives for farming and ecological development. This land is rich with farmers, cowboys, and Sandinistas.

Speaking of Sandinistas, Cass and I were able to hear the President speak on Worker Day in Esteli. It might be the only time in our lives that we get to hear live the head of an actual state, so we had to jump at the chance. However, if that was our only chance it wasn’t all that we romanticized about. The crowd, from what we were told later, was obviously full of Esteli’s people, who are quite reserved and shy. What we expected to happen was that the revolutionary figurehead of Daniel Ortega was going to be serving a dish of powerful rhetoric that made the people believe that what he was doing for his people, the workers, the backbone of the country. In actuality, what we saw did not attest to this certainty. In fact, most of the people were still walking about the grounds and stopping for casual conversation whenever they saw a familiar face. Apparently Daniel Ortega does not have that verbal persuasive power with him at all times. ...Buying hotdogs at the rally:


Esteli did not disappoint. We felt that we got to see and experience first hand another rich side of Nicaragua. We were able to listen to our teachers speak of the Sandinistas in ways that were truly inspiring. Although these people are ardent supporters of this political and revolutionary party, they are also not without criticism. The promises of the past have not been lived up to and the people have become almost expectant that the necessary changes might never come. But still there is hope.

Last but not least, Cass and I have a bone to pick with the writers of the Lonely Planet. We read that it was a nice relaxing hour hike to an amazing waterfall called Salto Estanzuela. However, 2 and ½ hours in, sweaty from the uphill terrain, and with little water we finally had to hitch a ride for what would have been at least another hour walk. Needless to say we hitched a ride back as well. We also heard a rumor, after the fact that this edition of Lonely Planet might have been written in a nice loft in San Francisco, very far away from the land of Nicaragua. I guess he made some quick fact checking telephone calls and never returned to Nicaragua to find new information since the last edition. Oh, well. We had an adventure.

A Series of Fortunate and Unfortunate Events (Part 1)

We just arrived back to where we have a regular source of internet access and so for the next few days we will be filling you all in on what we have been up to.


This is Cassie helping to make nacatamales (the Nica version of a tamal)

In our last few weeks in San Juan Del Sur we experienced some rather sobering realities. We were told by our professors at school that we should go and check out Pelican Eyes Hotel which sits atop the lush hills of San Juan Del Sur’s southern parts. One night another American student wanted to go and visit their famous happy hour. We asked our 19 year old friend Carlos, whose family we are staying with, if he also wanted to come. When we headed out for the hotel we saw that Miguelito, Carlos’ 7 year old brother, was also making his way with us. Cass and I love this kid so we were happy that they were coming along. The other American student was explicit with his instructions to Carlos that his brother “better know how to behave himself.” Really? Sure the little guy can be pretty rambunctious, but this guy was being an over-concerned ass.

However, when we arrived at Pelican Eyes, Miguelito, who had never been there before, became startlingly shy and uncomfortable. We began to realize that this Hotel was full of only white people. There were about 150 people there and Carlos and Miguelito were the only Nicaraguans who were not working. We kept thinking that this kid was getting an early lesson about the disparities in life—that he will never have the opportunities or privilege of these people. He sat there taking it all in, but maybe he was just thinking about the 2 huge orange-Fanta’s he had taken down in record time.

We wanted some explanations on how Carlos was feeling but all he told us was that this Hotel was “good, man” because it only employed Nicaraguans and that nearly 500 people were able to support their families on the great wage they received here.

This is just one of the contradictory facts of life in Nicaragua that Cass and I face on a continuous basis. We are aware that this town is loosing its indigenous Nicaraguan roots as tourism is pushing the once vast fishing trade to near extinction. Sure tourism is great now, but soon the Nicaraguans are not going to be able to afford the price of property in the city as expatriates come and sweep up all the land. Westerners with hopes of striking it rich are making tons of investments along the coasts of Nicaragua with the expectation that Nicaragua is going to become the next Costa Rica. I guess we’ll see in the coming years.

Cass and I can’t help but recognize these injustices, and yet we are also part of it. We are here to learn their culture and hopefully provide income to those who need it. But we are perpetuating the business of tourism that might eventually push all the Nicaraguans with homes to move to the outskirts of the town.

All this to say, we have decided to try our hardest to support Nicaraguan businesses and frequent places that are popular amongst the people of Nicaragua. Consequently, our next visit was to a place called Lago Azul on Saturday Karaoke night, a favorite we are told by Nicaraguans, especially the Granja family, who joined us that night. Here is a video.