Mis viajes en América Latina: I Felt a Little Bit in Love with Leon

I crossed the border into Nicaragua from Honduras at Las Manos. Little did I know... It is also recognized as the point of crossing for the maras. Nicaragua is very protective of it's "safety" and I guess they fear violence spilling over from other Central American countries. Which is probably why I was interrogated and made to wait for what seemed and exaggerated amount of time. The immigration officer seemed to be particularly interested on my trip to El Salvador. After questions that only got short of asking the color of my underwear, the officer told me to wait outside and made as many calls as there are volcanoes around Leon (9, 4 inactivos y 5 activos). They finally told me to get copies of my passport id page, all the stamps on it and of my green card. An hour and $12 later I was free to go wait for my bus to Esteli. I meet a cool Nica named Haniel on the bus, who workes in a coffee processing center which made my bus trip after the interaction with immigration much more enjoyable.

Esteli is pretty much cowboy central located in north central Nicaragua. The town is not huge... shaped like a very long rectangle and gained it's place in history as it was bombed during the 1979 Revolution. I stayed at a hostel and across from it was a charming restaurant where a guy was playing and singing with a guitar. As I went sight seeing before heading to Leon; I got to visit the local museum which has some indigenous artifacts and information on the role of the city during the Sandinista Revolution. People are hard core Sandinista here, they fly the Sandinista flag proudly and have a very intense feeling of their role in history.

I love how this horse was the only vehicle parked outside the university

Nacatamal

León

I probably spent more time in Leon than any other place I visited so far. While here, I got to appreciate a part of Central America, that I haven't seen before. People are charming and nice. I felt like I finally got to connect to some people and learn about the local social aspect of a place. Leon has massive monumental colonial churches and very well preserved houses. It also has awesome wireless internet, and one of the safest night-lives I seen. As it gets dark "guardias" patrol the blocks on their bikes and whistle when they see people.

However, heat in Leon is not just heat, it is calor del infierno.I remember a couple of times when I went outside and came back to my hostel three hours later smelling of sweat with my t-shirt soaked in it. I felt like I could only do so much and found ways to escape the heat as much as I could. You also get this sensation that you are going to be eternally thirsty. I drank so much that it ruined my appetite.

Museums are awesome here. Ruben Dario's house has been converted into one and it has many of his belongings including the bed where he died and a crucifix given to him by a Mexican poet that he carried his entire life. people are proud of Ruben Dario as well. His tomb is located in the right side of the Gran Catedral and is next to el leon triste (sad lion). The cathedral itself was pretty impressive. Well it needs to be renovated on the outside but the inside is majestic and grandeus. I was a little bit perplexed by seeing a man with a bicycle inside and a dog trying to stay in the shade. I was also pretty impressed by the roof tour. From there one can see all the volcanoes around the city, that are pretty much off sight from the ground. My guide Adan was pretty cool and later also took me on a tour of less seen parts of the city.

I will miss Leon, we will have to see if Granada (its rival city) can keep up...