Panama Canal 2015 1 Mar. Day 10

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If it's Sunday, it must be Nicaragua. We have arrived at Corinto, Nicaragua's commercial port on the Pacific. The closest city of interest is Leon, and that is our destination today on our bus tour.

Our guide Jorge is a fount of information about his country Nicaragua, "the land of lakes and volcanoes." He spins through the history of the Spanish conquest, the era of pirates and privateers, and the long decades of the Somosa dictatorship. The revolution against Somosa by the group that came to known as the Sandinistas started in fact in the University of Léon, our destination.

The constant backdrop to our journey is a series of tall volcanos in the distance. Nicaragua has 19 volcanoes, and three are still active. It's an almost forgotten fact that Nicaragua was under serious consideration for a canal through the isthmus, but one of the factors against it was its active volcanoes. (Panama has none.) Just recently, a Chinese billionaire has proposed to build a new canal through Nicaragua in as little as five years. Jorge is optimistic about the plan and the benefits it would bring to Nicaragua. I hope he is not disappointed.

Nearing Léon, we stop first at the Chorotega Archeology Museum. This is a teaching museum when students from the local university study and prepare artifacts and also serve as interpreters. The focus of the collection is pre-Colombian Maya, and it is small but spectacular. As readers of my blog may have gathered, I really love old things. All of the signage is Spanish only, but I find that it is not too hard to follow the gist.

Across from the museum is an elementary school. The tour description mentioned visiting the students in their classroom, which was a major draw for us. But today, of course, is Sunday, so unfortunately there are no students. However, we enjoy a brief visit to the empty classrooms. The furnishings and teaching materials are rudimentary, although imterestingly they are using whiteboards instead of blackboards.

Back on the bus and a short drive into Léon. Jorge completes the history lesson by recounting the terrible years following the success of the revolution, when the U.S. enforced a choking economic embargo on Nicaragua and illegally funded and supported the opposition Contras. The story has a happy ending, however, as despite these travails, the country eventually found its way to democracy. In fact, Noriega, the Sandinista leader during the revolution, will shortly assume the presidency in a peaceful change of power.

Léon was founded in 1524 by the Spanish. It was completely destroyed in an earthquake and re-established in its present location in 1609. It was Nicaragua's capital for more than 200 years, and today it the most important city in Nicaragua after the new capital Managua.

Arriving in Leon, we drive past the old National Guard headquarters. Here Somosa's fleeing National Guard set fire to the facility, leaving some 20 students locked in overcrowded cells. Across the street is a bombed-out church that has been preserved in that state to remember the time when the country's own government bombed its citizens.

A little further on we alight at Léon's Central Park. At one end stands the largest church in Central America, La Asunción Cathedral. It's a beautiful day, and the church's gleaming white steeples and cupolas are dazzling in the brilliant sunlight. But our goal is not simply to admire the church but to climb to its roof. This takes us up a series of extremely narrow staircases. Before we step out on the lower roof, we have to remove our shoes so as not to damage the restoration under way. As I mentioned, the roof and all its towers are bright white and the end result is to create an oven in which we pilgrims are slowly cooked. The unfortunates who had to discard sandals and who are now in bare feet find it impossible to proceed very far. However, your intrepid narrator of course keeps climbing to the very top. The view is worth it. The city and its charming cobblestone streets are laid out all around in a drunken grid pattern. Leon sits at top a small hill, so beyond the town, farmers' fields are clearly visible, stretching into the distance. Here are there are curtains of smoke arising as farmers burn their sugar-cane fields, a regular practice at the end of the crop. Extinct Momotombo stands to one side. And further away the majestic cones of other volcanoes, living and dead, stand in silent vigil.

We have some free time to explore the square. There are some shops offering handicrafts for sale and, because it's Sunday, several families are enjoying the beautiful day, some playing games with their children, others eating picnic lunches. A raised gazebo is an attraction for the youngsters, who chase each other up, down and around it, squealing with delight. A group of young boys has a life-sized puppet that fits over the entire body, leaving only the legs visible. They take turns putting it on and dancing, while the others bang tambourines and sing. I think they are supposed to be busking, but they're getting more enjoyment out of their activities than money. Several groups of young men and women are sitting on benches, but their focus is their smart phones, not each other. Bored policeman stand in the corners of the park, clearly wishing this was their day off, too. In the very centre of the park stands a statue of Maximal Jerez, a local hero in the civil war, according to Jorge. The park is a delight and the sunlight perfect for photographs.

Since Vi is busy with the shops and there is still some time left, I strike out on my own. I want a better look at the old National Guard headquarters and the bombed-out church I mentioned earlier. I've memorized the turns and find it successfully. In the centre of the building is the figure of a man stretched in a painful pose. Jorge tells me later that this is a life-sized puppet like the one I just saw in the square. It is used on anniversaries of this painful event.

On the bus and back to the ship. On the way, we stop for a photo op of the volcano San Cristóbal, which erupted last in 2012. This very brief visit to Léon and Nicaragua leaves us optimistic about the country and its prospects, poor and underdeveloped as it may be now.

On-ship entertainment tonight is a flamenco/pop guitarist named Fabio Zini. He performed on our previous voyage on the Veendam in 2011. He uses pretty much the same schtick as before, which is mildly amusing. However, even though his repertoire is lightweight (ranging from the Flight of the Bumblebee to Hotel California), he is one hell of a guitarist.

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Photos

View from La Asunción Cathedral, Léon, Nicaragua
Volcanoes in the distance