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.