where are you going?

Step 1: Catch a taxi from where you are staying to the bus stop located near the Pali supermarket. Should be around 15 cords per person. Buses run at 9:30am, 1:30pm Step 2: Catch the Chicken bus marked for Rivas. 30 cords per person, 1.5 hours in a converted school bus. About 90km From the bus stop in Rivas take a taxi to the ferry station should be about $1 per person if its shared. Confirm the price before you leave, we agreed on $1 per person then it changed halfway through our ride. This wasn’t the first time in Nicaragua when our price changed mod ride, if this happens just be firm and say no and repeat the prices stated earlier, good Spanish helps here. We got on a 12pm ferry, but check the ferry schedule for up to date timing.

Tobacco Fermentation Room Some of the finest handmade cigars in the world are made in Central America. Many cigar makers fled Cuba during the revolution and re-started their businesses here. The little town of Esteli Nicaragua is now home to many of them. The intense smell in there will make your eyes bleed. While I’m no Cigar Afficianado, I do enjoy a relaxing smoke once in a while. Lazily rolling the tasty tobacco vapor around in my pallet, then slowly blowing it back out again is quite an enjoyable experience. So I decided to visit the Tabacalera Santiago cigar factory, owned by Francisco Santiago F. Perez (a Cuban), to watch the whole process from start to finish. Tobacco Gangsta’s Tobacco Fermentation Stinks After I ignorantly pay a taxi to drive me just 4 blocks down the road :???: we arrive at the factory gates. Turns out you get a free tour guide to show you around, provided you buy a few cigars at the end. Sounds good to me! First we visit the room wher...

Sweaty & Dusty Bus Ride Popoyo, Nicaragua It started like most Central American adventures do, inside a chicken bus. The tiny Nicaraguan surf town of Popoyo Beach isn’t easy to get to, but those who embark on the journey are greatly rewarded. The trip began in the city of Granada, where I jumped on an aging American school bus for a 1.5-hour ride to the town of Rivas. After pushing past a swarm of 20 different taxi drivers at the Rivas bus station (all of them spewing lies to secure my business), I found a man who honestly told me what time the only bus to the town of Las Salinas would leave. The 2 hour bus ride to Las Salinas was cramped, dusty, and hot. Luckily I was sitting next to a curious little old lady who chatted with me while we munched on tasty empanadas. Vendors would occasionally hop on board to sell food, belts, flashlights, and even underwear. Meditating Pink Panther Meditating Pink Panther? Once close to Las Salinas, I kept my eyes peeled for th...