Estelí

When the water and electricity went out, Sarah and I decided it was a great time to take off as well. So we headed North to the mountains into Estelí. Actually this trip was planned a while ago, so we really weren't abandoning the barrio. Seriously. (And, the light didn't come back on until Saturday at about 5p. Water is still out most days and comes on a bit at night.)
So Saturday morning we were Estelí bound. We got a nice bus (with a movie playing!) and relaxed the entire two hours to the North. We got into Estelí, found our hostel and took showers. Sweet, sweet showers.
Esteli:

We headed out onto the town to get a look and find some dinner. Estelí is not quite as quaint as Matagalpa, but still very northern mountainly and cowboyish. I might have to get some cowboy boots from here before I leave. So we pretty much lazed about all day Sunday. They had put a TV in our room which I literally gasped at. And then we happened to see that there was a Miami Ink marathon. Eh... :)
Monday morning bright and early we got ourselves to CECALLI. And CECALLI is the most amazing organization I have seen here in Nicaragua. CECALLI (means "Family" in Nahuatl) is a Nica organization working in the campo to promote herbalism as a means of self-sustainability, economic boost, and community building. The CECALLI site in Estelí has a full on clinic with acupuncture, massage, a gym, auriuculture, phytotherapy.. the list goes on, a farm, a training and education center, offices, a lab for processing.. so well put together.
So we start off talking with Alejandro, the director. HE is a nice guy and gets us in touch with Angelita, the education lady. We have a nice long chat with her and I get lots and lots of info. Then she shows me their herbarium! Over 800 plants are collected and mounted. They are only medicinal plants. How awesome. We go now to the museum area, where they actually have artifacts from the areas they are active in. Yes, this little museum had all sorts of artifacts resembling Maya carvings and tools. Woah! Then they also have a wall of snakes (in a wet collection) whose bite can be cured with herbal remedies. Cool!
Then we go around the back, to the processing area. They have at least 4 different kinds of solar dryers! I was swoon in love. I will be posting pictures of these dryers soon, so keep an eye out.
Dryer:
Another Dryer:

While we were oggling the dryers, one of the guys from the office came up to me and asked if I could help him out when i was done with the tour. Como no? Of course. So we finish up the tour and go up to the office. He is writing a grant to the European Union, and could we help translate the last of what needs to be said and double check his English. Let me tell you, this grant was BEAUTIFUL! We helped him out (it was a lot of fun) for an hour. We said goodbye, said I would be coming back (hopefully to volunteer a bit) and smiled all the way to the bus station.