We had a very easy drive today. The roads were all paved and in mostly good condition with very few topes in the villages. Because we started out so early in the morning the air was cool even though we left the high lands and drove through a mixture of farm lands. Near Estila we saw fields and fields of bright green seedlings with broad leaves. It wasn’t until I saw a more mature field that I realized it was tobacco. Indeed, Estila is a big producer of cigars.A bit further along we began to see rice paddies interspersed with sugar cane fields.Then the temperature got warmer and the terrain drier anduch rockier. The land was being used mostly for grazing cattle. Also the housing began to look a lot poorer. We saw towns that pretty much had no cars, only home made 3 wheeled motorbikes. And many men on horseback. Cowboy country.We stopped for the day in San Carlos on the shore of Lake Nicaragua and checked into Hotel Gran Lago.Our hotel room is adequate but expensive at $40.US. The proprietress’ name is Alejandra and she is really a fun lady. The shower is cold and so is the air-conditioning. We showered and went in search of a vegetable soup Alejandra says is available across from the Malecon.The soup was good- filled with cabbage, zucchini, corn and a couple of unidentified root vegetables. Partly cloudy 23
