All citied out

So into Nicaragua I went (I'm actually in Costa Rica now, but lets pretend I'm updating this properly eh?) Travelling between Perquin in El Salvador and Leon in Nicaragua took about 11 hours, required 2 border crossings, and possibly most impressively, required me to take 8 buses. That must be some kind of record, if anyone can beat it I'd be most interested. But anyway, I did arrive, so we continue the tale from

Leon

As expected, the first thing that struck me about Leon was suddenly seeing lots of gringo faces again. And going to a hostel and not being the only person staying there. However, that first night, I might as well have been, as after the day I'd had, it didn't take long before I called it a night.

The next day, I woke up fresh faced and bushy tailed, and headed out to explore Leon properly. I hadn't gone far, when I got stopped by an elderly Leonese woman trying to sell me her city tour. At this juncture, I politely declined, saying I'd rather wander round on my own. Over the course of my time in the city, this same woman would manage to find me wherever I may be trying to get me to go on her silly tour. She even took to jumping out from behind cars at me. On my final morning in the city I cracked and paid her for her tour. Suffice to say, it was pretty terrible, she managed to find possibly the worst museums possible, and other nondescript places. Which was pretty impressive, considering that on my own, I'd found some really interesting museums and places in the city, and found the history of the place quite fascinating. I got the last laugh on this tour though, as I was actually having a secret Spanish lesson by talking all the time round, getting her to correct me if I got something wrong. Stewart 1-0 rip off tour woman. Oh, and unsurprisingly, after paying her for the tour, I never saw her again. Funny that.

Aside from this, I also successfully turned 23 in Leon. Whilst I was looking forward to my birthday, I always kind of knew it was a day I'd feel a bit homesick. Which probably explains why I decided to spend the morning of it sitting on a board going down an active volcano at 60km/h. We spent about 45 minutes walking up the volcano Cerro Negro, with amazing views over Nicaragua's northern volcano range, and the Pacific coast. From here, after a brief visit to the crater, we donned suitably attractive orange boiler suits, making us look a bit like a Slipknot tribute act/ Guantanamo bay inmates. Then 2 at a time, you pointed your board down the volcano, and off you went, racing the other person going down with you. I'm happy to report I was triumphant, but I think the other guy took the idea of letting me win because it was my birthday a bit too seriously, as when I reached the bottom he'd hardly set off. However, I did have a face full of volcano by the time I reached the bottom, I looked like I'd just finished a hard day working down t'pit.

I didn't do too much for the rest of the day, although I did treat myself to a king size snickers, which I would like to report was very enjoyable. However, whilst eating it in the central park, I got hassled by 3 or 4 kids that just wouldn't go away, despite me telling them in my best Spanish that it was my birthday snickers and no they bloody well could not have it. Later on, I got a pizza for tea, then went out to an open-mic night for a few drinks with folks from the hostel. And I'd like to put it on record that I got more free drinks from people I'd met 2 days before at the earliest than most people back at home! Although to be fair, they are quite a lot cheaper here.

And that's Leon kind of covered. I really liked the city, it was an interesting place, nice buildings, lots to do, and in general the locals were all really nice aswell, apart from the couple of folk who I've (not) named but shamed already. If I was a bit more active, I could have gone and climbed another of the volcanoes nearby, but I wasn't, and instead went to...

Granada

Now I must apologise to Granada, because it's going to come in for a bit of a slating here. And as a city itself, it probably doesn't deserve it. In itself, it's a nice place, the cathedral and main park are nice areas, the market is pretty cool, and it's got great views over Lago Nicaragua. What might have been something that didn't help my enjoyment of it was it's another colonial city, and I'd just spent nearly a week in Leon, which for me is a lot more interesting, but that wasn't the real problem for me. The problem was the people.

You see, Granada is a tourist trap. Not just backpackers, but bunches of rich Americans called Barbara and Duane who've paid for their all inclusive tour. So when you just go for a walk around the centre, you're seeing more foreigners than locals. On top of this, all the businesses around there seem to be owned by ex-pats, which meant it was harder to find the cheap comedors which I've quite taken to on this trip. But that didn't bother me too much, as I've been travelling for a bit now, and knew that if I went for a wander a bit further out I'd find something to eat, and sure enough I did.

But food is kind of where the problem started. One afternoon, I was really quite hungry, bought myself an empanada, turned round from the stall, and there was a guy there just put his hand out for it. No words, just a hand. I said sorry, and carried on, so he followed me for a bit. Eventually I lost him, and sat down to eat it, whereupon two other guys came to ask for it. They were persistent aswell, to the point where I felt I had to get up and sit elsewhere, where it happened again. Now, I know I'm a tourist in a poor country, so you've got to expect a bit of it, but in Granada it was just ridiculous.

However, there was some good stuff to do around Granada, and I went on a really nice day trip to Volcan Masaya (another volcano I hear you moan!) But every volcano is different, and this one gets marks for being the smokiest so far. Indeed, they recommend that you don't spend more than 20 minutes around the crater, because of the amount of sulphur in the air. There are various stories about the place, one being that looking into the crater was like looking into the gates of hell, and another about a priest who thought there was liquid gold down there, and walked into the crater and survived. I'm not sure I believe that though.

Aside from the crater, there was also some pretty cool caves formed by lava flow to be explored (well, when I say explored, I mean get led by a guide through). Apparently these were the only lave caves in Central America, and after my attempts at caving were foiled in Semuc Champey and Rio Dulce, it was nice to finally get a hard hat and torch to call my own. The afternoon downpour had just started, so it was also good to get out of the rain!

More than anything though, I enjoyed having a day out in the open, away from cities and the like. I decided I wanted more of them, so after the slowest bus ride ever back to Granada (chicken buses stop for anyone at anytime, unless you're a gringo), I packed my bag to head the next day for Laguna de Apoyo. And that's where we'll pick up next time.

Until then, I am still

Stewart

Photos at Nicaragua cities

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Part of trip: Stewart gets very lost

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