The North: Basecamp in Esteli or pueblo hop?

Que Onda.

Beginning Monday I have 10 more days of travel. Originally I had planned on basecamping at a Spanish school in Esteli and daytripping each afternoon to discover canyons, wildlife, vistas, chocolate, cigars, and coffee. As I dig into my guide book and the strings on this site, I am starting to second guess booking a week in Esteli. Cigar smoking and seeing the unique habitat of the north are priorities.

La pregunta: Are the gems of Jinotega, Ocotal, Somoto, and Matagalpa, and others accessible as day trips or overnights from Esteli, or would it be best to check out each individually?

Thanks,

LJ

If you are taking morning Spanish classes, they will end around noon or 1 p.m. From Esteli, you can certainly do the afternoon cigar factory tours in and around town. There are frequent buses to Somoto and if you leave Esteli early enough around noon you should find enough time to do a canyon tour and get a late bus back (check the times beforehand). It is trickier for hikes along el Tisey just about 10 k. south of Esteli as there is a 1:30 bus from Esteli, but it will be about 2:30 before you reach some of the more distant hiking areas and start walking back along the ridgeline towards Esteli via La Estanzuela (be sure to check out the rock paintings). The last bus returns to Esteli, passing through La Estanzuela around 4:30 p.m.,so this does not give much relaxed, extended hiking time. It is about a 45-60 minute fast walk from La Estanzuela to outskirts of Esteli but it will be dark by about 6 p.m.. There is a rustic place to stay on el Tisey overnight and then if you get up early enough you can get a real early bus (with the high school kids) into Esteli for your Spanish classes. Miraflor is about a rough 1 1/2-2 hour bus ride each way from Esteli and I am not current on its schedule. El Salto de La Estanzuela (known locally as la Cascada) is an easy afternoon side trip. Beware that there are two different bus cooperative stations in Esteli. See if there is a local bus going the three year old paved short cut between Esteli and Jinotega for nice scenery and a different route than for your return to Managua.

Matagalpa is a busy smalltown, certainly not a gem. It's the surrounding nature, Selva negra and Cerro Apante that makes it atractive if you like hiking.There is a chocolate factory, a coffeemuseum, some nice bars (TierraMadre,Artesanos and a womans collective (forgot the name altough i spent 8 months over there) with live gigs, mostly singer-songwriters. It"s okay to spent a weekend, not worth the travelling as a daytrip. Take a managuabound bus from Esteli, change buses at Sebaco.
have fun..

Fantastic posts from both of you. Thanks. I am going to stick to my guns and take 5 days of classes in Esteli unless either of you have an overwhelming recommendation of a Spanish school in Jinotega o Matagalpa. I also hope I will have the liberty to call an audible and head to Somoto or Miraflor for a night if I feel like it.

Great tip on selva negra. I will spend the remainder of my time in and/or around there.

Now that my itinerary is plastered on the web, if anyone reading wants to join let me know.

Best,

LJ