After some time in the nations capital we decided to head to the oldest city in the country - Leon - about 90 minutes away and also the former capital. The bus trip was quick but the windows were down and the road was dusty so we were very dirty by the time we arrived. It took some time to find out where we were on the city map and then walked about 30 minutes into the center of town. We checked out the Hospedaje Via Via but didn't like it and ended up choosing Hotel America for US$13 a night.
Leon is another very Spanish city with some fantastic old churches including the biggest cathedral in Central America. It was incredibly hot during the day so we were forced to keep our sightseeing to small doses. The bus from Leon back to Managua ran out of gas about half way through the journey so the driver had to wave down the passing traffic until someone let him siphon some gas from their tank.
Lion outside the Basilica Catedral de la Asuncion
A couple of really beautiful churches in Leon
GRANADA
We were relieved to finally make it to Granada after a couple of taxing bus journeys. Most of the bus windows are kept open so that the breeze can keep the passengers cool but it also means that everyone gets covered with a layer of dirt as well. Granada is much more vibrant than Leon, with far more tourists too. The town square is flanked by a beautiful old church and filled with the typical food stalls and shoe shine kids. Today we ate lunch in the square for less than a dollar and Sara drank her Coke from a plastic bag so that the vendor could keep the bottle.
The town square in Granada
Scaling a palm on the shores of Lake Nicaragua
CANOPY TOUR
Today Sara stayed in the town while I ventured out toward the nearby volcano to do a canopy tour. The tour involves climbing high into the trees to a platform and then flying from tree to tree via a cable and a harness. The experience was fascinating as we flew over coffee plantations surrounded by howler monkeys. It was all over too quickly though, covering the 800m course in just over an hour.
MOUSE
One morning in Granada I woke up with a mouse in my bed. It wasn't the best way to start the day but after I got over the initial shock it was pretty funny. In the bleary eyed first glance it looked for all money like a cockroach so I grabbed our can of fly spray and started chasing it around our room, much to Sara's entertainment. It wasn't until after she moved her backpack out of the way that we saw a tiny brown mouse, cornered, wrinkling his nose at us. So I sprayed it some more - probably blinding it - until it scurried away never to be seen again.
BILINGUAL
Sara is busy at the terminal next to me looking at the horse treks available at our next port of call - Ometepe. She's just found one that has bilingual guides and horses.
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