A visit to a working cigar factory is a rare opportunity. We visited the Mombacho Cigars factory which is located in an old post-colonial mansion. The building from 1925 was designed by an Italian sculptor and architect. The Case de Mario Favilli is painted marigold yellow and has an exceptionally beautiful, architecturally unique staircase.

On the tour in the factory, we learned a lot about all stages of cigar production. From the selection of leaves of the wrapper and filler, hand rolling, to aging in an air-conditioned room. The most interesting information, however, concerned cigars, which do not pass the quality control due to defects. Mombacho Cigars sells them to small cigar producers. They are later sold by street vendors under different brands. I am not a cigar smoker at all, but we could not resist buying some of their products. Aged rums and cognacs perfectly pair old cigars.

Granada is a typical Spanish colonial city with church towers rising high above the residential houses. Granada Cathedral in a neoclassical style the most dominant. Colonial houses with tiled roofs and internal landscaped courtyards give the city a unique character. They also recall the times when Granada was a gold and silver trading center. The nearby Mombacho Volcano stands ominously above the city.