Friday afternoon, Kaine's staying in Guatemala, and I am make the taxi journey to Guatemala City airport on my lonesome for a one hour flight to Managua, Nicaragua, from where I get a taxi to Leon (rather more pricey than catching a public, but does airport to hotel and a lot less hassle). Incidentally, Managua is the capital of Nicaragua and is probably one of the smallest airports I have ever been to, although this does make it incredibly quick to get through customs and get your bag (from one of the two tiny carousels). The first thing to hit me in Nicaragua is the incredible heat. After the relative coolness (both literally and figuratively) of Antigua and Guatemala City, it's back to sweatbucket of Central America.

My guidebook states that Nicaragua is most known for years of revolution, civil war and natural disaster in the 20th century, offers little in the way of tourist attractions, but contains a beautiful landscape of numerous volcanoes, lakes, mountains and rainforest. There's a very good, short summary of the recent politics of Nicaragua in this blog:
http://brookegonzales.blogspot.com/2009/06/leon-nicaragua-viva-la-revolucion_08.html

Leon is said to be the intellectual capital of the country due to the presence of the National University, and is also the birthplace of the Sandinistas (see history article above). The town was the scene of several key battles during the Revolution years of the 1970s.

We have a free day in Leon which I use to wander the town looking at the various sights - Cathedral (climb stairs to top to wander around roof and great views over Leon with volcanoes in distance), Parque Central, Mausoleo Heroes y Martires, wall murals dotted around the town. There are also many attractions associated with Ruben Dario who was a renowned local poet from the 1800s and is considered one of Nicaragua's most famous sons.

I found Leon an excruciatingly hot and dirty town, but one which rewards those willing to look beneath the surface and show interest in its history. There are other bugbears though: From early in the morning, cars patrol the streets with ludicrously loud sirens blaring out advertising some tat, there is a public air raid siren at 7am and noon in Parque Central which can be heard all over town (stated to be a throwback to the days when workers flocked into Leon's cotton factories), many of the bars shut early, food takes ages to be served in restaurants as they can't seem to cater for large groups. However, I would recommend a visit to CocinArte who do a lovely vegetable curry in coconut milk.

On Sunday, we have a short journey in the morning to Granada, situated on the shores of Lake Nicaragua and one of the oldest Spanish-built cities in the region. Interestingly, in the mid-19th century, American adventurer William Walker gained control of the city and by default, the whole of Nicaragua. He has overthrown by an international force, but whilst retreating, ordered the city to be burned to the ground. Today, Granada has been rebuilt as a tourist town, many colonial buildings being rebuilt, bars and restaurants springing up, and tour operators offering varied activities in the area.

At 4pm, most of us have a trip to Volcan Masaya NP. I thought this tour was pretty good, the NP comprises 2 volcanoes with 5 craters. The last eruption was in 2001, when rocks rained down on the car park, one fell on a bus and set it on fire! Now there are warnings, eg. vehicles must park facing away from the volcano for a quick getaway! We look into the volcano, spewing sulphurous gasses (stinging throats and eyes, and causing coughing), walk along a crater rim to the highest point (scary if you're afraid of heights like me), view the sunset, view a crater lake, and visit some small caves and tunnels to see some bats.

I spend Monday, our free day in Granada, wandering around looking at various sights: the Cathedral, La Merced church (climb for views over Granada), Parque Central, Convento de San Francisco (Cultural Centre alongside is interesting). Eating recommendations in Granada: Kathy's Waffles (burger and curly fries, iced chocolate drink is heaven, also good for those who like waffles), Jimmy Three Fingers (I loved the Filet Mignon stuffed with mushrooms and gorgonzola), Zoom do good burgers but be prepared for a loooong wait if a big group.

On Tuesday, we travel to Ometepe Island, an island on Lake Nicaragua formed from 2 volcanoes, largely covered in jungle (or so it looks as we're nearing the island), but home to about 40,000 people in isolated communities. A tranquil island, it could be the land that time forgot. We're staying at the Hotel Villa Paraiso, and my "room" must be the penthouse suite - it has 2 floors, 2 double beds, one single bed, sofa, fridge, TV, etc! I buy a bottle of rum in the shop beforehand, and there is so little to do in the afternoon that I end up drinking it by dinnertime!

The next morning, I have a jungle walk at 6am, a few litres of sweat lost hiking through clouds of insects, carpets of ants and spiders, see a few monkeys and birds, and some other fauna and flora. At 8.30am, I have a birdwatching boat trip. For a lake, it's incredibly choppy, and the actual boat trip resembles an adventure speedboat ride, the boat crashing off waves and the landing sending a shockwave up your spine. I don't see many birds that I haven't seen before on other boat trips during the tour and it's very hard to take photos from the unsteady boat anyway.

On Thursday, we have a massive travel day to San Jose in Costa Rica. I'm up at 4.15am for a 5am start, ouch!