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León – Nicaragua – Berceau de la révolution

Leon – Nicaragua – Cradle of the Revolution

January 20, 2022

Crossing the Honduras - Nicaragua border

THE FAR WEST
Los Naranjos - Pena Blanca

With the car of Alex, an employee of the D&D Brewery who is just going there. Very good ! Otherwise a tuktuk can take you for 15 HNL

Pena Blanca - La Guama
15 mins - 20 NHL

Chiken bus
La Guama - Tegucipalpa
3h15 - 300 NHL

Chicken bus. There are a lot of them, I did not even have to wait until I was already in this old, ramshackle bus, really out of date. At this stage, we have concretely exceeded the old level. And given the state, no need to talk about viruses because I can assure you that this one is not ready to be sanitized😂. 😂. Microbes have settled there so well for decades that they have become entrenched. I am fed up with these "we're fighting a bad virus" stories. Ma ! Well it is not won! Ah ! I have the right to be read the Bible this time. Good Samaritans come to preach the good word to us poor little lost sheep. As far as I am concerned, it is nothing to say so 😂. 😂. I have no idea where I am and even less where I am going to sleep tonight because obviously my old clunker is dragging its carcass. Go find out which city I will manage to reach today. He is going to have to double his prayers for me to find my way back. I sympathize with the locals, surprised to see a foreigner among them. Jose, in front of me, goes to the border. Great it will help me ! Something tells me I am going to need it.

Tegucigalpa - Choluteca
4h00 - 100 NHL
Classic bus. Barely arrived, bam my luggage is ejected in the next bus and me with. No time to say phew that I am already gone. Jose was waiting for me and making sure everything was good for me. I have not had time to see what the terminal looks like as I am already on my way to the next step. They always amaze me with their organization. Less old bus but ladies cockroaches keep us company. Not sure if I was right to take off my shoes 🤔 I may find people in them when I put them back
Choluteca - Gasaule

30 NHL, 10 minutes byTuktuk

 Ahhhh! And here is the border. Ohhhh! There is a 3 hour queue. I ask the tuktuk where I can sleep because it is late. By the time I cross the border, there will be no more buses on the other side. He finds me a room with his daughter, which I negotiate at 5 euros per night. A double bed stands in the middle of a huge room. Nothing else. It is simple but it will do the trick. No water supply in the bathroom built at the bottom of the garage. Here, we get wet with a pitcher that we plunge into the washhouse. The adventure… When you hold us.

I then go to drink a beer in the bar opposite. The Gentlemen present are fooled to see a woman alone in this Wild West. Here, riders on horseback, carts, tuktuks, trucks form a surreal setting. It is noisy, dusty, and I would say quite dangerous. But hey, I deserved my beer after this day of travel. 1 hour goes by, my tuktuk (I forgot its name) asks me to come home for my safety. Too cute ! The next day, 6am, he comes to pick me up and takes me to the checkpoint again. Unbelievable ! Same queue as the day before. No way am I squatting here for 3 hours in full sun. 20 dollars to a security guard, I skip the line through the back of the building. Of course, I hear ouhhhs and ohhhs in the queue. I am uncomfortable but too bad. I finally get my Honduran exit stamp. On 3 occasions, I was offered to cross to Nicaragua illegally by the river. Don't bother, no need. I pass the bridge that leads to the checkpoint on the Nicaraguan side. And there, what do I see? The parade of tuktuks crossing the stream in full view of the policeman posted there. I observe the scene laughing out loud but I abstain from taking photos.

On the Nicaraguan side, system D to pass without a PCR test (a few dollars slipped into the passport and you are done). I pay the 13 dollars to enter the territory. Attention ! Each ticket must be impeccable. No nicks or tears or anything else, or they will refuse them. I FINALLY get my sesame. This new country is mine. I do my currency exchange with a guy sitting at a bar. I walk along the road when I see on my right, a parking lot with buses. I get on the first chicken bus that leaves for Leon.
Guasaule - Chinandega
2h30 - 50 cordobas

arely arrived, 1st immigration control on the bus. The cops here wear hat bob, it makes me laugh. We already see that the country is poor. The landscape is splendid. There are volcanoes all along the road.

Chinandega - Leon
1h00 - 70 cordobas
Not comfortable but it is the last straight line. At the terminal there are buses that take you all over the city for 5 cordobas.

This border crossing was truly an epic. I had a good adrenaline rush. It is adventure. I love that.

HISTORY OF LEON

Santiago of the Knights of Leon or simply Leon was founded on June 15, 1524, the day of the Holy Trinity, by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba on the banks of the Momotombo volcano. This place is about 30 kms from the present city of Leon and is known as old Leon, whose ruins have become a tourist attraction. It was decided to move the town to a new location near the old indigenous town of Subtiaba following an earthquake and the eruption of the volcano in 1610.

At the independence of Nicaragua, Leon became the capital of Nicaragua until 1858, then replaced by Managua.

Leon lives and remains under the threat of several volcanoes including Cerro Negro which exploded at least three times in the second half of the 20th century (1968, 1971 and 1992), pouring its ashes on the city. 

Leon became a true bastion of the Sandinista revolution. In September 1978, Nicaragua rose up against Somoza, the dictator. A Revolutionary Student Front (FER) was created in Leon, a large university town in the country. The Somozista National Guard manages to keep control and many rebels take refuge in the surrounding countryside of Leon. Some students unfortunately do not leave the battle in time. The inhabitants are witnessing a real massacre, that of the “insurgent children”. Despite everything, the insurrection continues. The Sandinista front experienced a real victory in Leon in July 1979, the beginning of the end of reign for the Somoza family in Nicaragua.

What to do at Leon ?

  • Visit the Cathedral
  • Visit the Ruben Dario and Art Fundacion Ortiz-Guardian museums
  • Sandboarding on the Cerro Negro volcano
  • Telica Volcano: It continuously emits gas and ash and you can see lava at the bottom of its crater.
  • Momotombo Volcano; it is one of the highest volcanoes in Nicaragua, an active volcano with an almost perfect conical shape. His ascent is a real challenge.
Leon Nicaragua

With a university founded in 1812, Leon was the intellectual seat of the nation.
It is also an important industrial, agricultural and commercial center of Nicaragua, exporting sugar cane, cattle, peanuts, bananas and sorghum.
The city is home to one of the largest and most diverse historical heritages in Nicaragua. This colonial city is warm due to its climate, its history and the close proximity to its inhabitants. You quickly feel at home there.

Tip: do the free walking tour. Leo is a goldmine of info on this town. Click here

Click on a photo to start the slideshow
Leon Nicaragua
Click on a photo to start the slideshow
Leon Nicaragua
Click on a photo to start the slideshow

The Cathedral of Leon: a jewel

A World Heritage Site, Leon Cathedral is the largest in Central America and the third largest in Latin America. It can only be compared in beauty, scale and capacity to the Cathedral of Mexico (1st) and the Cathedral of Peru (2nd). Its atrium is decorated with impressive lions, which are also found around from the fountain in the central square. . .

It was built between 1747 and 1814, it expresses the transition from baroque architecture to neoclassical architecture. It is characterized by the sobriety of its interior decoration and by the abundance of natural light. Due to the robustness of its walls, it has withstood tremors, volcanic eruptions from the Cerro Negro volcano and wars. In 1824, several cannons were placed on its roof during the siege of the city by conservative forces and then during the uprising of June and July 1979, against the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle.

There is the tomb of the poet Ruben Dario, at the foot of the statue of Saint Paul, father of modernism and considered the prince of Castilian letters. In its crypts, illustrious figures of the nation are buried, such as the poets Salomon de la Selva and Alfonso Cortes, the hero Miguel Larreynaga and the musician Jose de la Cruz Mena.

Visit to the roof of the cathedral: ticket that can be purchased at the cash desk located behind it. Price 105 cordobas. The roof consists of five terraces, from which one can see the cupolas, the domes, the bell tower, the historic center of Leon as well as the volcanic mountain range of Marrabios to the north. To do absolutely at the end of the day in order to watch the sunset. Just grandiose !

Click on a photo to start the slideshow

Memorial church

Its construction began on December 5, 1786 by Bishop Juan Félix de Villegas. It is due to the collector fathers of the San Francisco de Neri congregation. It is baroque with a beautiful facade, considered the most important in the city. Its altar, also baroque, is one of the best altarpieces. The paintings and wooden carvings with which it is decorated stand out.

Click on a photo to start the slideshow
Memorial Church Leon

ANECDOTE

Small electrical problem? No worries actually. Tigidigidigidi we cross the street, grab the thread that is causing the problem, patch it all up in half. And hop ! Everything is fine.
I am walking down the street when I see this waitress nonchalantly crossing in front of me, grabbing a wire from the electric pole and fiddling with it all to make it work. I hallucinated😂

Sandboarding Volcano Cerro Negro
Click on a photo to start the slideshow

Sandboarding Volcan Cerro Negro

Price: 750 HNL (22 euros)

If there is one activity you absolutely must do in Nicaragua, it is tobogganing down Cerro Negro.

At my hostel, we form a small group of 4 to get there. Leo and Clarisse have chosen a small agency that is new to the field. Perfect ! Rania joins us. 

The Volacano Cerro Negro  is located about 20 kms from the city of Leon. It is part of the volcanic chain named Cordillera de los Maribios . Born in 1850, it is both le volcan le plus jeune et le plus actif d’Amérique centrale (728 mètres de haut) . La dernière éruption s’est produite le 5 août 1999 et a donné naissance à une pente de lave qui, maintenant durcie et recouverte de cendres volcaniques, a rendu possible le sandboard.

L’activité consiste en une petite randonnée entrecoupée de fumerolles et d’odeurs de souffre. Son sommet vous donne accès à des vues spectaculaires sur d’autres volcans de la cordillère. Si vous le faites en fin d’après midi, vous assisterez en prime au coucher du soleil. Rien de très physique et ça vaut vraiment le coup. Par contre, il souffle un vent là-haut bababaaaa.

Cerise sur le gâteau, la descente en luge. C’est franchement impressionnant. Je l’ai joué à la Balasco dans les Bronzés font du ski (J’y vais mais j’ai peur, le sable est trop mou pour moi mouahaha). Le personnel de l’agence vous fournit tout le matériel adéquate et toutes les explications quant à la conduite à tenir. Prévoir un foulard ou autre pour se couvrir le nez et la bouche. Bon ben Vive le Masque. Pour une fois, il va m’être utile. Ok c’est parti. Leo part comme une fusée, il va battre le record s’il continue comme ça.  Vient mon tour, morte de trouille (pétard! ce que c’est haut !) je me lance. Je freine je freine je freine mais elle prend de la vitesse quand même. Evidemment je jure tout le long. Mon petit cœur est au taquet, l’adrénaline au plafond, J’arrive enfin en bas, je crie de bonheur. Je n’ai pas battu de record du tout mais je suis fière de l’avoir fait. Tous les 4 nous en sommes bien sortis. C’était top ! 

Housing

-  Hostel Casa Lula   -

Casa Lula Leon Nicaragua
Casa Lula Leon Nicaragua
Casa Lula Leon Nicaragua
Casa Lula Leon Nicaragua
Casa Lula Leon Nicaragua

Pour réserver Hostel Casa Lula, cliquez ici

Lit en dortoir de 4 lits réservé sur place. Nous sommes 2 dans la chambre. Top ! Chaque lit dispose de son ventilateur, d’une prise près du lit et d’un placard qui ferme à clé.

L’établissement dispose d’une cuisine ultra équipée digne d’un chef, d’un jardin agréable, d’une salle à manger, d’un coin lecture, d’un billard. 

Strengths of the establishment

  • Comfortable room and bedding
  • Excellent Wifi
  • Excellente localisation: à 2 blocs du centre ville
  • Très calme
  • La meilleure cuisine jamais vue dans un hostel
  • Impeccable cleanliness
  • Lavoir et étendoir à disposition

Weaknesses of the establishment

  • Beaucoup de moustiques mais ils ont une rackette électrique

Bars & Restos

Here are some addresses on which I had a crush
sua-cocina-mediterranea-leon

Sua Leon Cocina Mediterranea

  • Leon

Des pizzas excellentes. Des pâtes aux fruits de mer délicieuses. Le tout dans un jardin agréable. A faire. 

Pan & Paz

  • Leon

Boulangerie Patisserie francaise, Ils ont un menu quiche salade pour 100 NIO. Belle variété et sont à tomber parterre. Après des mois à sillonner l’Amérique centrale, je suis ravie de retrouver ce type de cuisine. Ils ont 2 établissements dans la ville dont un avec jardin intérieur. 

Leon-Pan-y-Paz
Leon-Pan-y-Paz-2
IMG-20220116-WA0001
IMG-20220116-WA0000

Toit terrasse qui offre une vue sympa sur Leon. Bonne ambiance. Bons cocktails pas chers. Service fluide.

  • Leon

Des pizzas excellentes. Des pâtes aux fruits de mer délicieuses. Le tout dans un jardin agréable. A faire. 

Assessment

En arrivant, je pensais rester 3 jours. je resterai finalement 1 semaine. J’aime énormément cette ville. Il y règne une atmosphère de bien être, de calme dans laquelle on se sent vite chez soi. Cette ville vous capte et vous garde. Beaucoup la préfère à  Managua peu appréciée et à Granada plus bruyante. 

La chaleur peut y être quelque peu écrasante, mais elle reste une ville agréable à découvrir à pied et où l’on mange très bien.

Next destination:  Granada- Nicaragua. 

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2 Comments

Emmanuel
reply
June 28, 2022 2:53 pm

Comme toujours un régal de te lire ma chère 😜

Marjorie Guillaume
reply
June 29, 2022 9:35 am

Thanks my friend 😁

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