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After a good night sleep in Somoto, we had breakfast at the farm and relaxed for a little while.
Bryan gave us a ride back to the bus station. He was even kind enough to reserve our tickets for us so we had assigned seats on the 7:40 AM bus.
On the bus, we made research to find where we would sleep that night. We found the hostel on Google Maps and jumped off the bus at a stop that was maybe 500 meters away from there. We walked to the hostel but it was not even 10 o'clock so we thought it wouldn't be possible to do our check-in but they gave us the key and we dropped off our bags in our room.
The goal for the day was to visit a local cigar factory and apparently, the best way to do it was to show up to a little café that was also offering tours so we went there, had a delicious coffee and shared a very yummy brownie. Then we asked the waiter about the tour and he said we just had to come back at 1 PM and our guide would be there. That was easy!
So we went back to our hostel and sat in the inner courtyard to decide what we wanted to do next in León and where we would sleep. We are well organized! I searched online for lodgings, Steve searched online as well but for things to do and Youppi looked for options and tips in the book.
We also had a look at the weather forecast for León as it's the city with the highest temperature in Nicaragua and we wanted to have an idea of what it would look like and it will be between 37 and 39°C! And we are supposed to walk the city and hike volcanoes! Wow, we really need to find a laundromat or something to properly wash or clothes after that otherwise, I think that people will stay away from us!
We went for a bite at lunchtime and went back to the café for 1 PM. Our guide was there and, of course, he didn't speak English… but I told him we were not too bad at understanding Spanish but we couldn't really speak the language.
I asked him his name in Spanish and said a few things. He saw we were making an effort and, the entire day, he was very kind, helpful and patient with us. He spoke slowly with simple sentences and we were able to understand most of what he explained.
So he started by explaining that the factory is a small but renowned workshop using traditional authentic Cuban techniques to create perfect cigars, entirely handcrafted, from the fermentation of the leaves to the packaging. And I trust him because we saw the entire process and it's very serious and each step is cautiously inspected for quality control. He also said that depending on the aroma they want, the origin or the leaves as well as the texture they need, the leaves ferment, in different rooms, for up to 8 months and finally, the step of rolling the cigar is an art that is mostly mastered by women.
After this interesting introduction, we walked a few meters to get to a first building. On our way, I found this gigantic beetle! I never saw something that big on a sidewalk! Even Nelson, our guide, seemed surprised! He picked it up and started teasing a little girl and her mom who were passing us. I could only imagine the reaction that Steve's mom would have had if someone had done that to her! Rachel, if you read this blog, I'm sure you will agree with me!
We entered the building and the smell of fermented cigar leaves was quite strong. In the rooms where the leaves were resting for months, it was so intense, it burned our eyes, nose and throat. Nelson made us smell different leaves with different level of fermentation and the difference was very surprising. We could smell some that had more of a floralish aroma and others that were very bitter and strong. There were several rooms for the fermentation process and the main area is where the leaves, once ready, are carefully unfolded, the stem are meticulously removed and they are triaged by color.
Once leaves are ready, they are pressed and packaged. Here, they don't have an hydraulic press, it's all muscle powered. Nelson wanted to show off a little bit so he took the place of the young man who was in charge of the press but the thing is that the handle is quite high and our poor guide was particularly short. So instead, he ended up being laughed at.
Since boys will always be boys and his ego had taken a shot, of course, it turned into this…
I can't tell you who won, they stopped before anyone was pronounced champion...
We then walked a few blocks to the cigar factory. It is a very serious process and it's very impressive to see how fast they can go. They are all working in pairs. The man is in charge of selecting a precise mix of dry and moist leaves and form the interior of the cigar with a magic quantity of leaves for the cigar to have the perfect density. Then he puts the cigar, that all look exactly the same size, between 2 pieces of wood to press and shape it. It rests for at least 20 minutes. Then the woman inspects the cigar to see if it's ready and measure the circumference with a stencil. If she is not satisfied, she discards it or puts it back in the press. Otherwise, she rolls the cigar in a perfectly uniform leaf. In about 1 minute, she forges the ultimate cigar.
Then, a supervisor walks around and examines the cigars one by one and removes those that he thinks are not good enough. He brings all the ones that passed his inspection to a general manager at the front. This person is in charge of the 3rd and final inspection.
And, the final step in this room is to separate all the cigars by color to have perfect packs of cigars that are all the exact same color and split them into piles of 25. It will then be sent in another room and sealed or put in boxes, depending on the quality... and price.
Nelson, our guide, asked the manager for a cigar that didn't pass the final control and offered it to us. It was actually quite good! But you can totally tell, by the way I smoke this cigar, that I'm not a smoker.
Neither Youppi!
After the visit, we went back to the café with Nelson and had a beer with him. We had a very good time with him. He made me practice my Spanish a lot and we had great conversations. I was very comfortable talking to him in Spanish even though I knew my sentences were very goofy and not sophisticated at all! It was rewarding to be able to "chat" with someone in Spanish.
It was too early for dinner but not for a beer! We found a cozy bar so we spent a couple of hours there and enjoyed a few beers.
This is how you chill out in Nicaragua. A good beer, loud Spanish pop music and Shazam, the application to identify songs and show lyrics. With our tan getting darker, our big Toña and with us singing those songs in Spanish, we looked like true authentic Nicaraguans! At least, that's what I thought after drinking our first Toña!
We finished our night in a restaurant we saw earlier. After all, drinking beer is nice but our bodies needed food too!
You know the expression "Don't judge a book by its cover"? Well, the restaurant we chose that night was the exact definition of this expression. It looked cool and cozy and definitely seemed like a place that served yummy food. In fact, there was no alcohol at all, just commercial drinks, like this little juice box that Steve got after he ordered his drink, and the food was very average… and I'm being kind.
But, no matter what, it was another wonderful day in Nicaragua!
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