I was on my way downstairs when I saw Gustavo Cura of Oliva Tobacco Co. trying to find his room. Like many, he had been moved around in the hotel, something that occurred because of the lack of hotel rooms in Managua during the festival, a great sign for the growth of the festival. I’m told that there are around 200 paid guests for the festival, which I imagine is more than five times what there was in 2013. The growth has been great, although it definitely seems like hotel occupancy is already becoming a problem, which leads me to wonder what it’s going to be like in Estelí, which has far fewer hotels than Managua. As for Gustavo, he offered to let me ride with him to Estelí instead of the tour busses, something that would be a lot quicker (as Gustavo was ready to leave and the busses were not there) and more importantly would allow me to sneak in another factory visit before the scheduled lunch. We made it to Estelí in a bit over two hours, great time coming from Managua (it’s about three hours by bus), and that included some entertainment by Abdel Fernández of A.J. Fernandez ...
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