After checking in I laid down for a nap before venturing around the town. Although the town is large it seemed like a very small village. There was a mix of types of travel in the city, everything from horse-drawn carts to motorcycles. I found the little trucks that ran through the town picking up people very interesting because it’s not something you would find in the States, and it was cheaper than a taxi. I had a take one of these trucks to catch a chicken bus to Las Playitas (the beach about 45 minutes from Leon).
While I was in Leon I met a group from Norway (70 of them in all – 62 girls and 8 guys) who were there to study Spanish as part of their University programs. Of these people I enjoyed hanging out with Mari, Sofie, Mia, and Trinnie. Mia had a birthday while we were there and we all celebrated it on the beach in a private home owned by Edwardo’s family as a weekend house. It was nice to hang out with some local people (all men), the four girls, and Ben from London. We spent the day playing in the pool, walking along the beach, swimming in the ocean, and enjoying a great meal towards sunset (prepared by the local men). Las Playitas is one of these up and coming spots and the tourism is now being developed. However, the big draw for Leon is Volcan Cerro Negro.
Volcan Cerro Negro is Nicaragua’s newest volcano. It’s only a 45-minute hike to the top and another 5-minute hike to the crater. It’s an active volcano and has been erupting every 7 years, but hasn’t since 1999. This fact only led to the excitement about going on the trip up. Our trip was led by Kim from Australia and girlfriend of the owner of the Big Foot Hostel. After hiking up to the top we dropped off our bags and boards and went walking to the crater and to enjoy the surrounding views before returning to get ready to board down the volcano. Kim instructed each of us about how to stay on the slender boards, how to keep our balance, and some other useful information. We all dressed up in our orange jump suits, put on our goggles and prepared for the trip down. The women all went first and did very well. The men followed based upon whether they wanted to go slow or fast, with the faster ones going last. I was next to last, but the man after me went much slower than I did. You can see the video in my Blog about my crash, which was caused by me leaning a bit too much and losing my balance.
Although I was very sore the following day, the adventure was fun and provided some excitement, not to mention some interesting conversations for others and myself. The time in Leon was short because I wanted to see other parts of Nicaragua.
