Tobacco tourism in Esteli

ESTELÍ (NicaraguaDispatch.com) Atop the Tisey mirador, looking west, I lean into a burly Pacific breeze blowing in over an ocean of rolling hills. Barely visible on the horizon, several cone-shaped volcanoes remind me that yes, I am still in Nicaragua.
That’s how faraway and fantastic it feels to hike through pine trees in Central America in the middle of the rainy season. The Tisey-Estanzuela Nature Reserve is only a short drive from the center of Estelí, but the small altitude gain enhances the region’s drizzly splendor.
A few hours by bus north from Managua, the Sebaco Valley gives way to the Segovia Mountains—steep, rocky hills, pine forests, and wide river valleys whose soil is perfect for growing many things, including tobacco. Continued