We have visited Esteli many times, it is close to us and it makes for a nice ride in the country. From Selva Negra we make the circle route which is nice not to retrace our steps. We left Selva Negra around 9:00 and arrive in Esteli at 11:00, going trough Jinotega (9:40), San Rafael del Norte (10:00), La Concordia (10:20) and finally Esteli (11:00). This is the longer route, but such a beautiful country feel that we prefer it if we're not in a hurry. You will pass right next to Lake Apanas, one of Nicaragua's many beautiful lakes and also a hydropower generating lake. I don't know much about the project, but it is on our todo lists.
The road this way is with stone pavers (adoquinada), with narrow one car bridges, filled with small farms, small country towns, and country lifestyle. On this trip there was quite a bit of construction but didn't delay the trip very much. The weather was beautiful which affected our mood of the trip.
Our first stop was the Casa Vechia restaurant in Esteli for lunch. Very good Italian food, good simple service and decor. I enjoyed a pasta dish with grilled chicken, capers and olives in a tomato sauce accompanied with two slices of toasted, buttered Italian bread. We found the restaurant through a trip advisor review and they had lots of great comments. After lunch we went for a nice walk along the main streets and enjoyed some of the hustle and bustle of the city.
We didn't linger too much since our goal was Tisey-Estanzuela. We headed towards Don Alberto's place. I had had the pleasure of visiting him previously with a niece visiting from upstate NY. Don Alberto is a local guy who started chiseling out rocks about 20 years ago. He has become a bit of a sensation among backpackers and people looking for out of the way places. This is definitely an out of a the way place. The first time I went I was sure it was all a hoax and someone was waiting with a hidden camera somewhere. But that is part of the adventure and beauty of living in Nicaragua. We had read and heard so many unique things about Don Alberto, that I figured I could just ask anyone and they would point the way, but just when I needed someone to tell me where he was, he became like a figment of my imagination that noone knew anything about.
Anyway, we made it the first time and the second time too. You take the road into Tisey-Estanzuela and veer off at the Empalme la Garnacha. Garnacha is another wonderful place on our todo list in this area. I wish I would have written down how many kilometers after the Garnacha, but I would guess about 4KM. You will have to leave the vehicle on the side of the road. There is a small wood sign (NEED PICTURE) marking the entrance down through a fenced gate, which you then follow down and veer towards the left down a bit of cattle pasture, and through a second fence. Then you continue down a rocky, water damaged path until you think you're definitely going the wrong way, and you will find your third and last fence. Shortly after you will find Don Alberto's house on the right hand side. If he's not sitting on the rock waiting for his next guests, he's probably already walking with someone in the paths that lead to the amazing stone carving on a rock exposure and the priceless view. His personality is priceless and his look is very unique. More to the charm of this adventure. Please remember to tip him, he doesn't charge a set rate, just asks that you donate as much as you think the trip was worth it. We gave him C$500 as a family. It is a long walk all downhill, then all uphill again. Hanna racked up 218 floors on this and then going to the Cascada de La Estanzuela.
From here we continued on the same direction (away from La Garnacha) headed towards the waterfall. This was a new destination for us, but the way is pretty obvious (if you've gotten used to driving in Nicaragua), you simply follow the road most used. You don't HAVE to have 4-wheel drive, but it is definitely recommended. The road had quite a bit of water damage and it is slow going, but the reserve is so very pretty and clean! Clean! This was my biggest amazement of the reserve, maybe not US National Park standards clean, but for Nicaragua it was amazing. It is forested, very little damage due to wood theft and the trees are so beautiful and refreshing. It is noted that the communities understand and respect it. I wish I knew why this model can't be replicated in more places in Nicaragua. Once we found the waterfall, we payed C$25 per person to park and walk in. Once again a climb straight down, short 10 minute walk. The waterfall was beautiful and again, looked clean. There was some trash (snack containers, plastic bottles and such), but after living in Nicaragua so long that qualifies as clean. Hanna was the only one that went swimming, she is definitely my water kid. We had decided to leave the suits in the car, since it was a bit chilly and figured noone would end up going in, but we should have known better. Hanna ended up going in with her jeans and Tshirt, and changed in the car to her suit to stay dry. We exited back to the Pan American through a different exit, which was right at the entrance to Esteli. I don't think I could find this entrance again, but asking around the area, I'm sure they would point it out.
From here we headed back towards Matagalpa via Sebaco. There is many farms here too, but this are industrial giant rice farms. To me and my family this makes for a more boring view. The return trip is about 1.5 hours directly to Selva Negra, but we made a very crucial pit stop in Matagalpa. KISS ME, the best ice cream shop. Local flavors like Guayaba Cheesecake, and Flor de Coco (with Flor de Caña), and coffee are among our favorites. While we ate our ice cream, we ordered pizza to go from Vita E Bella, one of our favorite restaurants in town and then headed back home.
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| Typical sighting of the "proper" of a bicycle |
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| Hanna with orchid gift from Don Alberto |
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| Views from the road Concordia-Esteli |
Other things we have done on previous trips in the area are:
1- A trip around Lake Apanas,
2- Fishing in Lake Apanas (with boy scouts)
3- Black Ceramic Cooperative (with boy scouts)
4- Finca Neblina del Bosque - Miraflor (with girl scouts)
5- Zip lining in San Rafael del Norte
6- Cigar factory tour in Esteli
7-Artisan shopping (recycled paper & marmolina stone)
Hopefully we will get around to blogging about those trips another time.
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