When we were researching our Central America trip, we talked to several people who recommended visiting Leon. Most of these people had also visited Granada, which they said was nice too. Based on our own reading, we had initially decided to skip Leon entirely, so when the opportunity arose to spend a night there, we happily took it.
Our shuttle arrived quite late, around 10:30-11:00. I had emailed the hotel the day before to make a reservation, but they never responded, so I was a bit worried they would not have any rooms available. Fortunately I needn't have worried, they had plenty of rooms. We put the boys straight to bed and all slept in late the next morning.
We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel's restaurant the next day then headed out into the town to see the sights. We were immediately disappointed, and it just kept getting worse.
Leon is a city that is falling apart. I realize Nicaragua is an extremely poor country, but whether from lack of money, lack of interest, or lack of will, the people of Leon just don't really seem to give a shit about their city. The main square is a barren wasteland, nearly devoid of vegetation, with a broken fountain full of nasty green water. Their cathedral is falling apart and badly in need of repairs and paint. Every street we walked on was filthy and full of disintegrating buildings. There were drifts of garbage on every street, graffiti everywhere, piles of human and dog feces on nearly every street, and we even saw a dead dog that someone had stuffed into a trash can that had obviously been rotting there for days.
The people we encountered were all somewhat standoffish at best and in other cases downright hostile. We encountered far more frowns and scowls then smiles.
The few sights we were interested in seeing were all closed, even when they were supposed to be open. After about two hours of walking around in the roasting heat, we decided to get the hell out of there and got on a bus for Managua.
Our shuttle arrived quite late, around 10:30-11:00. I had emailed the hotel the day before to make a reservation, but they never responded, so I was a bit worried they would not have any rooms available. Fortunately I needn't have worried, they had plenty of rooms. We put the boys straight to bed and all slept in late the next morning.
We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel's restaurant the next day then headed out into the town to see the sights. We were immediately disappointed, and it just kept getting worse.
Leon is a city that is falling apart. I realize Nicaragua is an extremely poor country, but whether from lack of money, lack of interest, or lack of will, the people of Leon just don't really seem to give a shit about their city. The main square is a barren wasteland, nearly devoid of vegetation, with a broken fountain full of nasty green water. Their cathedral is falling apart and badly in need of repairs and paint. Every street we walked on was filthy and full of disintegrating buildings. There were drifts of garbage on every street, graffiti everywhere, piles of human and dog feces on nearly every street, and we even saw a dead dog that someone had stuffed into a trash can that had obviously been rotting there for days.
The people we encountered were all somewhat standoffish at best and in other cases downright hostile. We encountered far more frowns and scowls then smiles.
The few sights we were interested in seeing were all closed, even when they were supposed to be open. After about two hours of walking around in the roasting heat, we decided to get the hell out of there and got on a bus for Managua.
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| Amy and Liam in front of the crumbling cathedral |
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| Gnarly mural depicting the 1959 revolution. Yes the streets are literally running with blood. Whee! |
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| Another revolution mural |
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| Good times, good times |
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| Now that's refreshing! |
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