Leon is one of my favourite cities in Nicaragua. The colourful façades of the Spanish colonial era buildings are all covered in a layer of grime and dust, unlike the picture-perfect streets of Granada. This grungy spirit, remnants of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, invites you to explore the walls within. And there is so much to discover!
- Start your day by getting a coffee and croissant in the garden at Pan & Paz (the sandwiches are very good too). I know it’s not local food but it might be a yummy welcome change from the daily diet of rice and beans through your trip. It’s one block east of Supermarket La Union 1, on 1ra Calle NE.
- If you’re still hungry, walk to the Mercado Central. There are loads of comedores and food stands around here where you can find typical dishes such as gallo pinto (fried rice and beans), which you can have with your choice of protein and plantain.
- For art fans, spend a few hours after lunch at the Museo de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Gurdián, one of the cutest and most peaceful galleries I’ve ever been to. There are two parts to the museum and you have to go across the road to get to the second half. In the first section there was a little courtyard and pond, with tortoises relaxing by the water’s edge. They had a great exhibition of Chagall, Dalí and Miró works on display when I visited, but also a really fine collection of work by 20th century Central American artists. A must-see in Central America, not just Leon.
- Head up to the roof of the Leon Cathedral (Catedral de León) . The entrance is round to the left side of the cathedral via a little door, you pay a few cordobas to the guard and you can climb the stairs. Once you get to the top, you have to take off your shoes, for reasons that become clear once you actually exit out onto the roof (and once you read the next sentence). The entire roof is pristine white, including the domes of the cathedral, so it feels like you’re walking on clouds. Other than keeping to a few basic rules (no stepping on the domes, no jumping off the building etc.) you can take your time to do whatever you want up here. There was nobody else around when I visited, and sitting in shady areas was surprisingly breezy. There are amazing views over the whole city and the volcanoes in the distance, as well as of the other churches in town. I also stumbled across the university students’ graduation going on in the hall of the cathedral downstairs, very festive.
- For dinner, lots of food stands are set up near the cathedral (on the east side of it) with a tasty variety of EVERYTHING on offer. I found this place with two guys I’d met on the very long bus trip from El Salvador. We’d just gotten in to Leon, it was probably around 11pm, and all the restaurants near the hostel were closed. I asked a man on a street corner if there was anywhere to get food at this time. Looking somewhat surprised at what seemed a pretty obvious question, he told us to turn the corner and we immediately saw/smelt the open-air stalls. I don’t eat meat and didn’t expect the grills to have many options for me but the ladies managed to load my plate up with a heap of different veggies, root vegetables, beans and rice. Definitely the best dinner option and no secret.
- I stayed at Blue Hat Hostel and Bigfoot Hostel, just down the road from each other. They were both decent. Bigfoot is much bigger so there’s more going on. If you end up staying at Bigfoot and go to their beach hostel in Las Penitas for the party, go down the road if you get bored to the hotel next door (turn right along the beach if you’re facing the sea). They serve food and have a bigger pool. Be very very careful if you walk across the beach to get there. There are no lights at all so it’s completely pitch-black and there are loads of really shady characters who follow you and approach you out the darkness. Don’t walk on the beach alone at night.
NB: You’ll probably see lots of hostels and tour companies offering volcano boarding trips down Cerro Negro. I didn’t do it as I was short on time and nobody I’d spoken to had been that exhilarated by it. I thought it would be like sandboarding; quite fun if you happen to be doing it, but not worth sacrificing an entire day for. My younger sister, speed demon, actually took a bad tumble down it back in March (see below for her diagram sent to our family WhatsApp group) and ended up in hospital for a day or two.
