Estelí, Estelí

Last week I mentioned that I hoped to go to the city of Estelí this week to visit my friend and watch the USA match with him. My schedule just managed to work, so I was able to make it. First, unfortunately, my Wednesday afternoon classes were cancelled due to one of my teachers still recovering from being mugged two weeks ago. And my Thursday classes were cancelled for Día de Los Maestros. So I hopped on a bus Wednesday afternoon, and I left Estelí after the game on Thursday. I had to be back before Friday morning, because I had a class planning day starting at 7:00 AM.

The trip to Estelí takes a little more than two hours. From León we headed straight for the volcanoes to the north of the city, and cross them. It’s then an hour of cruising through the plains of León, passing El Sauce, before we hit the city of San Isidro in the department of Matagalpa. San Isidro is at the base of the northern mountains of Nicaragua. From there we started to climb before arriving in Estelí.

Estelí is a rapidly growing city, right on the Pan-American Highway, in the northern mountains of Nicaragua. And I loved the climate. Compared to the heat of León it was great to be in a cooler climate. It sort of felt like a slightly chilly night at Shohola (nothing too cold though). Estelí has a lot of industry for a Nicaraguan city, but it is best known for its tobacco and cigars. I’ve even heard that a lot of Cuban cigars are actually made from imported Nicaraguan tobacco, probably because it is cheaper to grow and pick the crop in Nicaragua than in Cuba.

I don’t have any pictures of the city. It didn’t seem very photogenic to me anyway. I do have one picture from the main event though, USA vs. Germany:

Half time

A lot of Volunteers from Estelí and its surrounds made it into the city for the game. It was a pretty nice day, and despite the US loss, clinching the elimination rounds was very satisfying. I’m now looking forward to USA vs. Belgium on Tuesday.

I’m staying at home this weekend. After a Fun Filled Fun last weekend I’m pretty tapped out since it is the end of the month. I’ve got some plans for July though, plus we are having a local celebration for July 4th. I hope everyone in the US enjoys this short week at work and the long holiday weekend.