Condega

Went to Cotran Norte, the old bus station in Esteli. It´s the one behind the 2 story "strip mall" with the small sign that says something like "Estacion de Autobuses Esteli Coca Cola".

I missed the Condega bus which is supposed to run hourly but it didn´t matter because the bus drivers for the other routes yell out thier intermediate stops, so I ended up on an Ocotal bus. 10 cords to Condega.

Going north on the Panamericano the terrain is increasingly lush now in the wet season. As the bus enters Condega you can see the famous "We have a plane but don´t have an airport" plane, a local war trophy shot down by rebel forces during the revolution.

The bus dropped me off at the Park, which seemed very large and nice for a small town. I had no particular goal for going to Condega except to see soom scenery and stetch my legs, so I walked almost all of the paved streets in the center. My general impresion, based on a limited background in Managua and Esteli, was that Condega was a very charming little town, much nicer and cleaner that Esteli. Autos don´t dominate and the locals seems to stroll down the middle of the well maintained streets, with bicycles also much in presence.

The 2 guesthouses across from the south end of the park looked good from their entryways, and there are plenty of pulps and fritangas downtown, and a snack bar in the park. Not much for restaurants or hotels in town. There are several sitdown restaurants 2 blocks away on the carreterra.

The pottery museum by the park appeared to closed for the weekend, but the stores in the several block long commercial district were open.

My only problem with Condega was the heat. It appeared to be 2 pegs hotter than Esteli, probably because of the humidity and the comparative lack of wind in the little valley. I suspect that houses on the outskirts of town or in the fincas are a little breezier and dryer.

Net, net: a very cute town but a little hot for me.