Day 3: In praise of Esther...(Esteli)

So I've found myself in the posh end of town staying with Esther who has set me some serious life goals.

Esther is Dutch and a former bank manager who, after 10 years working for The Man, decided to take redundancy and head for Latin America. After two years in Cuba and six months in Ecuador, she came on a visit to Esteli and never left. Six years later she's living in a fabulous house which she's built up from a shell and is running a 2-room BnB, where I now have the pleasure of staying.

As I'm writing this in her beautiful outdoor living room, I'm surrounded by a series of grand houses which are all owned by cigar barons. All I can hear are the birds, the windchime and the voices in my head saying 'bloody hell, you've nailed it, you lucky cow'.

Esther is fabulous company, speaks Dutch, English, German and Spanish, and sings Opera and Country - what more could you want in a human being?

Travel tips:

1. Esther's place is called Bed and Breakfast Villa Riveria and my room is $35 a night including breakfast
2. It's a 20-30 minute straight walk into town down the Pan America Highway