Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Buses to León (US$2.50, 2½ hours, 5am to 4:30pm, six daily) leave from the market,
downhill from the sanctuary. Note that although the 28km road from the León-San Isidro
Hwy is beautifully paved, the El Sauce-Estelí road (shown as the same 'level' of road on
most maps) is 4WD only in the dry season, if you're lucky.
WORTH A TRIP
DIY EXPLORATION IN NAGAROTE & LA PAZ CENTRO: QUESILLO
CONTROVERSY
The towns of Nagarote and La Paz Centro don't receive much tourist traffic - there just ain't that
much to see or do. Sure, La Paz Centro has a few monuments and a lovely 1600s adobe church,
El Templo Parroquial Santiago, and Nagarote has its Mercado de Artesania across from the bus
terminal, fun swims in nearby Río Tamarindo, and a tranquil plaza and cultural center, but really,
it isn't enough to hold your attention for very long.
But, if you are passing through, you won't want to miss trying Nicaragua's most famous na-
tional dish, the
quesillo
(a thick, steaming corn tortilla topped with a pancake of mozzarella-like
cheese, then loosely rolled into a cylinder and fitted into a special plastic bag). They cost just
US$1 and normally include an optional topping like onion chutney (do it!) or sour cream (think
twice!).
Two towns have a legitimate claim as the
cuña
(cradle) of
quesillo
culture: Nagarote, birth-
place of innovator and originator Señora Socorro Munguía Madriz; and La Paz Centro, where she
came up with the culinary triumph. In 1912, along with the Rueda sisters, she began selling
quesillos
- at both the Nagarote and La Paz Centro train stations, further confusing the issue.
As
quesillos
proliferated across the country, this original crew opened what's now an almost
pilgrimage-worthy destination,
Quesillos Guiligüiste
(quesillos US$1-1.50),
pronounced kay-
see
-yos
wil-ee-
wee
-stay. It's so popular that it has its own freelance car-parking personnel out front.
This, of course, is in La Paz Centro. But, as Nagarote natives note, Doña Dalila Lara, another
early
quesillo
adherent, moved to Nagarote in the 1970s, where she opened Quesillos Acacia,
also pilgrimage worthy, especially if you're still hungry.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Chinandega
POP 133,000
Sultry Chinandega's never going to end up on anyone's Top 10 list. Sorry. It's just not. It
isn't that the town's ugly (it's OK) or that there's nothing to do (there's some stuff), it's
because Chinandega's the gateway to some of the most breathtaking spots in the entire
