Esteli, Cigars, Telica, Caterpillers

Here are some random photos since its been a while since I last posted. 

Moth in Esteli

Nicaragua and Esteli are famous for their cigars.  So we went on some cigar factory tours in Esteli.  There are so many factories.  A few of the Cigar factories we went to were American Caribbean Cigars which produces Tomano as well as Santiago and Drew Estates.   All three had good English speaking guides and both American Caribbean Cigars and Santiago sell cigars.  I also recommend the small factories which may not give formal tours and probably not in English but many do sell cigars that are supposed to be top quality. 
Santiago Tobacco Factory (Rocky Patel and Nica libre) Tour Cost: Free (tips accepted)
They harvest tobacco 2 times  year in the winter and summer.  They have two monkeys in a cage one capuchin and spider monkey.  In the process you can see that most of the materials are reused or recycled.  They have their own fields and when they cut the cigars they use the ends to be rolled into lesser quality cigars.  The other scraps are brought back to the fields to be composted.  They make 400 to 500 cigars a day.  Cigar rollers can make .25 to 1 cord per cigar which experienced cigar rollers can make around 300 a day, which would average around $5 to $12 a day.  The guide said 45% of the population here work in some area of tobacco.  They make their own boxes. The factory had around 250 working in the past but due to the economy downturn or other factors they have less demand and now only have around 60 workers and have about 100 in the fields. Recently the US tax on cigars was raised from 5 cents to 45 cents and this may have caused decrease in orders.  They are producing around 5,000 cigars a day now but in the past they have produced around 50,000.  In all of Esteli there are around 80 Tobacco factories. The largest tobacco factories in Esteli have just over a thousand workers.  Everything in all the factories is done by hand even at big or small factories.  You can try the cigars as well as buy them here.  They will even let you try to roll a cigar.  I forgot to ask but I had been told they produce an organic cigar and that they have contracts with Arnold Schwarzanegger and the Playboy mansion.    

Drew Estates (Liga Privada and Acid, Ambrosia, Isla del Sol) Tour cost: Free (Tips for guide accepted)
They are a much larger factory.  They produce around 87-92,000 cigars a day and have around 1200 people working in their factory.  They buy their tobacco from a cooperative.  They also purchase boxes from a maker in Nicaragua.  Wrapping and taking off the center vein of the leaf is a role that only women fill as they believe the women are more detail oriented.  Some of their bigger labels are Liga privada which retails in the US for around $250 and Acid.  Too bad they are part of the Nicaragua free zone where they do not have to pay taxes but also cannot sell within the country so we were not able to buy any cigars there.  The guide here said the there are more than 30 factories and that 30% of the population are employed in the tobacco industry.  These figures are very different than the numbers I received at Santiago but nonethess there are many tobacco factories in Esteli and the tobacco industry certainly supplies a large percentage of the population jobs here.  The guide Mike gave us a few free samples to try at home.          

On the Santiago tour they reuse all parts of the tobacco. 

There were lots of caterpillers on my treks.  

caterpiller

More caterpillers

Telica at night where the camera picks up the red glow from the volcano

 Went on a tour in Miraflores.  The tour in Miraflores was quite disappointing as we were told the guide would be with us for 8 hours and it was only 5 hours the first day and 3 hours the second day and the guide kept saying he didnt want any complaints cause the tour was only 3 hours.  While I wouldnt recommend the guides the homestays were nice.. Both places had great food and the families were very nice.  There wasnt too much to do there but relax and read and it rained alot but we enjoyed it. 

Miraflores reserve outside of Esteli

San Cristobal San Cristobal at night

San Cristobal is Nicaraguas highest volcano.  It was a beautiful hike.  We saw so many butterflies and some catapillars and other cool insects.

San Cristobal at night (playing with light)

Top of San Cristobal there was a little water

So many butterflies

Butterflies everywhere

I think this is the black witch butterfly

Another beautiful butterfly

A view of matagalpa on an excursion

Leon and Telica

Children doing environmental activity

 Sonati Trek

Volcano monitoring station

Steaming active volcano Telica

Bees nest

Sunrise from Telica

Leon is a university and colonial city in Nicaragua.  Telica is an active volcano where you can see red hot lava rocks and hear the hiss of the pressure of the steam being released.

Leon Nicaragua

Here are some photos from the Telica Trek

Turquoise-browed Motmot, National bird of both Nicaragua and El Salvador

Dragon fly

Dragon fly

Telica Volcano

View from the tip of the crater of Telica

Volcano San Cristobal, the highest volcano in Nicaragua

Farm in Argentina

Well its been wonderful here in Argentina. There are so many monkeys in the trees.  You can hear them making sounds and they will sit and watch you from the trees.

The farm is amazing with tons of fresh products.  Fresh yogurt and cheese and bread.  They make all types of fruit marmelades.  Of the marmelades here my favorite is apple and my next is fig as well as the dulche de leche.  Also they have bees and make honey. We picked mushrooms and have cooked them a few times now.  Ever day we make a batch of fresh fruit juice to drink. The rice here is not processed like white rice so it has more flavor and nutrients. The one we eat is called missiones but they have many different types of rice, none of which I have ever heard of before. The butter I can eat plain with a spoon its so good, but I never end up eating it because the olive oil is so good. We take fresh eggs from the chickens daily as well as pick fresh greens for a salad every day.  They also have lots of fruit trees.
  
Other interesting things about the farm.  They have two types of cows and have about 100 cows with about 50 of each type so the mixture of fat and taste is what they want in the final product. They sell meat, beef and pork and make their own sausage and salami as well. They make their houses out of adobe and have grass growing on their roofs.  They have biogas from the animal manure to have gas to cook and heat the water.  They are a biodynamic farm and are all organic.    

My experience here has been fun.  We have a large lunch and eat with the family.  And most people take a nap after lunch.  I have had a great time doing lots of different things.  My favorite I think is making cheese but bottling juices for sale, and making marmelade were also fun as well as working with adobe to help finish the walls, and the indoor wood oven for breads.  As well as taking picking some fruit, making granola bars,  taking the fresh eggs and feeding the chickens and milking the cows (which is just putting them on a machine)   Mostly I have been labelling and packaging products but I have had the chance to do many other things.

Off to Nicaragua in a few days.

Monkeys in the trees will sit and watch you

First time I have seen a peanut plant.  These were pulled up to dry

This is called hibiscus and is used in teas and drinks.
They sell dried Hibiscus at trader joes and it looks like gummy bear candies in the shape of a flower.  Well the flower is quite succulent looking.  

a bush in the pond with red worms on it

Red worms close up

We made papaya marmelade

We bottled fresh grapefruit (both yellow and pink) juice with some orange mixed in

The juicer

The grapefruits

Adding the tops to the bottles

This is rice and a piece with the shell taken off.

 White rice is processed even more.  They grow tons of different types of rice here. Most of which I have never heard of.

They have chickens ducks and even an ostrich.  

Cheese fresh out of the salted water its been in for two days.  

Milking the cows.  

Gouda with oregano

Gouda Cheese agring.

We made

Paraguay Missiones and Esteros Del Ibera Park, ArgentinaPark Esteros Del Ibera

Well Paraguay was a bit of a disappointment.  After taking two days and lots of money getting a visa I went to Paraguay with high hopes.  I tried to go to 4 national parks and struck out because of limited transport to the parks or the parks were closed.  I then went to the missiones the biggest tourist attraction in all of Paraguay and they were nice but do not take much time.  The best part about the missiones is that I saw only one other tourist it was a family from Paraguay and other than that I had the missiones to myself. I did both the Missiones in Trinidad and Jesus (where there was not another tourist) but they are about 15 minute ride from each other.  Though transport to Jesus is not very frequent and taxis if they can be found are worth it.  I spent about 5 days in Paraguay mostly on buses.  I saw one other tourist (from England) who was just as frustrated as I was as she was not able to get where she wanted due to lack of transit.  I did enjoy abundant chipa (a type of cheesy bread, and sopa paraguaya a type of cheesey cornbread) and had probably the best empanada I have had which was filled with a soft cheese and creamed corn.

Jesuit Missions in Trinidad Paraguay

Jesuit Missions In Trinidad Paraguay

 Back to Argentina.  Since I couldnt make it to any parks in Paraguay I went to Carlos Pellegrini inside Esteros Del Ibera.  The park is very nice though only has transport there once a day.  I went camping for 45pesos but the camping facilities were nice.  I saw so many birds as well as monkeys, carpinchos, and otters.  For some reason the night tours and the boat tours werent running while I was there but I would have done them if I could have.

Lots of these birds taht would walk right up to you in Park Esteros Del Ibera, Argentina

Lots of Parrots in Park Esteros Del Ibera

Lots of birds Park Esteros Del Ibera

Lots of woodpeckers in the street or you can hear and see them  ¨pecking¨ the trees

Lots of birds by the lake Ibera

Carpinchos were everywhere

They let you go right up to them

Lots of monkeys on the trail

The otters were very curious

Very peaceful.

Too bad its blurry but it kepts popping out of the water to come and look at me. 

Birds everywhere in the park. So many different kinds and colors

And a beautiful sunset over the lake of course.