León
After landing at the international airport in Managua, I took a cab to Leon. This was a 2.5 hour cab ride north to Leon, which is considered the intellectual capital of Nicaragua. To be honest, when I first arrived in Leon, all by myself, I felt a little skeptical. It was nearly 95 degrees outsi
de, but with the humidity it felt like 110, and one of the hottest places I've ever been. (L.A. is hot, but doesn't have that humidity!) The streets looked poorly maintained, and there were half clothed men loitering on the sidewalks and crosswalks, but no women. After checking into my hotel, I decided I had to make a choice of either cowering in my room, or going out to take a stroll!
It was a good idea I decided to leave my room because after I started walking around, I realized it wasn't as bad as it initially seemed. There were plenty of people out and about on busy streets, including plenty of outdoor markets selling fruit. However, Leon was a lot more underdeveloped than I had imagined from my albeit very brief research. I knew it was considered the intellectual capital of the country and a major student city, but I couldn't really tell that from my time there. The main part of the city is very small, and I admit I didn't wander too far outside the central areas. I pulled out my Nikon a few times, but this definitely isn't the place to use a large camera on your own because it attracted quite a few stares.
View from the plaza below of Our Lady of Grace Cathedral.
View atop Our Lady of Grace Cathedral in the main square.
View from the very top of Our Lady of Grace Cathedral. You have to take your shoes off before walking up here.
More colorful buildings around every corner. Although this particular corner I had wandered to was a little bit out of the way, and a little sketchy.
After a long, scorching day of walking around, it was nice to come back to what was probably one of the nicer hotels in Leon, to cool off and relax in the courtyard. I stayed at Hotel La Perla Leon. http://www.laperlaleon.com/
While you're here, or anywhere in Nicaragua for that matter, you have to have their local dish, Gallo Pinto, which is rice and beans, often served with plantains.
So this is a thing here. If you're a thrill seeker, then you may want to do something not many people get to do - hurtle down the side of a volcano strapped to a tiny board.
Some tips include leaning back rather than trying to sit upright as you hurtle down, and realizing that resistance is futile. Some people have gotten pretty badly scraped doing this so be careful! Also, the trek up the volcano is pretty brutal. I signed up for volcano boarding at Bigfoot Hostel, which I recommend. It's got a really cool vibe too so if you're looking to meet people, I recommend staying here. The shared room with a/c will run you $10/night, and a private room with a/c will run you $35/night.
I also made the trek to Volcan Telica, which starts in the day but ends at night. This is not a volcano boarding site. The ride to this volcano involves some pretty rough off-roading, so prepare to be tossed around quite a bit. It is a pretty arduous trek up the side of this mountain, and you come down in the evening when it's almost pitch black using flashlights.
Rewarded with successfully reaching the top of Telica. Amazing cliff face off the side of the volcano.
I got to sit on the edge of the volcano! The smell of sulfur was pretty strong. At certain times, when the wind and sulfur dioxide cleared, we could get a glimpse of the lava below.
After summiting Volcan Telica, we also took a little side trip to a bat cave!
