Monday, January 10, 2011

Esteli, Nicaragua

I am going to tell you a travel secret. Esteli is my favorite city in Nicaragua. The air is fresh and the streets are clean. The city is in the northern, mountainous part of the country. It is about halfway between the capital of Managua and border with Honduras. The people are incredibly nice and it is not overrun with tourists. There are tourists here, but you are hard pressed to find the tacky American or European visitor here. Most of the tourists who come to Esteli want to learn Spanish or volunteer at an NGO or they are lured by the lush mountainous vegetation surround the city.

Above is a photo of the incredibly beautiful waterfall at the Tisey Nature Reserve found near Esteli.

As I mentioned before the city is clean and the air is fresh. Here is a picture of the low-key central park found in front of the city’s cathredal.

My favorite part of Esteli is that you see the most incredible murals everywhere you go. I have included a couple of cool ones here for you to see.

I have also included some pictures of my favorite hotel in Esteli. It is called Nicarao (named after a famous chief of the Chorotega tribe). Rooms range from 7-20 dollars depending on your needs. There is free Wi-Fi a great kitchen, friendly people and José the duck who might quack at you (he does not like me very much).



This is a city of art, bohemian coffee shops and tourists who give a damn. Surprisingly, most tourists I meet here speak some, or good, Spanish. This is a great place to practice your Spanish and get to know a cutting edge city. Did I mention the weather is fantastic? The average temperature is about 68-70 degrees on any given day.  
This is also the country’s home to cigar production and the cattle industry. This is cowboy country. Here is a picture of the horse parades that take place in the city.

So if you want to be a good tourist, please visit my favorite city in Nicaragua. If you don’t give a damn, just stay home.

4 comments:

  1. Someday I need to visit. Sounds amazing.

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  2. Sounds like an eclectic city, but unfortunately they might not let me in. I might be one of those annoying tacky American tourists ;-)

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  3. sounds lovely.....you should bring Brent a cigar back, and y'all can smoke one together at NCA in the fall....he'd love that!

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  4. Im going the 18th of August my grandmother owns a house in estelI staying for 2 months

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