Tucked away in a barrio in Esteli, Nicaragua, on the edge of a dry, dusty stream bed, is the family-owned coffee processing company of Abraham Enrique Castillo, Beneficio Centro America. It’s not a large facility, although at one time it was twice its current size, before their land was seized and inhabited by others. Nor...
Category Archives: Travel Photography
While in Esteli, Nicaragua, I’ve spent several days working with a non-profit called Instituto de Formacion Permanente. Among their many programs, INSFOP offers a Saturday day camp for marginalized youth. They pick the kids up by bus in the city, and drive everyone just past the outskirts of Esteli, to their camp. (Do you remember...
Alberto Gutierrez could be called many things: hermit, farmer, eccentric, recluse, sculptor, folk artist, walking piece of history, national treasure. I don’t know that all of these would be accurate descriptions, but I do know this: he is a talkative, friendly fellow, who loves art, loves poetry, and loves his property in Cerro Jalacate, in...
Now, here is a man who appreciates his craft. I’ve spent a few hours in the Nica Libre cigar factory here in Esteli, getting to know the process of cigar making, and photographing it. While I don’t care for cigars myself, nonetheless, I find the process to be fascinating and the product to be beautiful. ...
The other day, while photographing in a Nicaraguan cigar factory, I noticed in the courtyard several cages containing exotic animals. One contained a cat of some sort, perhaps a lynx or bobcat, pacing his 4-foot square cage. Another contained several parrots. And the third contained 2 capucin monkeys. Monkeys are pretty cute creatures, and strangely...
On the Road Again So I’m sitting on an American Airlines flight between Dallas and Miami, on the way to Nicaragua, reading Nexos, their Spanish-language in-flight magazine. After twenty minutes, my head is already spinning, as I try to recall the meaning of words I haven’t studied in 20 years. I made my way through...
Thailand has a plethora of beautiful islands off of its coasts. Some are well known and filled with tourists, such as Phuket or Koh Chang. Others are much less touristy, where the slower pace of life is preserved and enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. Koh Maak is an island in the Gulf of Thailand,...