October 23-25
Hello everyone!
I was expecting to have to dedicate an entire blog to crossing the border into Nicaragua. We had been told various stories about paperwork, X-ray machines for your bags and that it would take many, many hours. We thus approached the frontier with Honduras with mild trepidation (and stomachs filled with a large pizza from Little Caesars’ to make sure we didn’t become hangry).
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| View of the market and distant volcanoes from Central America's largest cathedral |
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| A long line of trucks waiting to cross - driving on the wrong side of the road was helpful here! |
As no one else was crossing at that time and our paperwork was all in order, we ended up getting through in 75 minutes. This was partly due to flashing our green books and saying ‘Si’ when they all thought we were diplomats. The people who had made us empty our car and put everything through an airport-style scanner seemed particularly embarrassed.
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| In what looks like a circus font...welcome to Nica! |
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| Green book - helping us ooze 'diplomacy'... |
After a two-hour drive on what were once again surprisingly smooth roads, we arrived in the colonial city of León, our first stop in Nicaragua.
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| This part of the country has many volcanoes |
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| León is named after the Spanish city with the same name |
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| The home of Toña, one of the better beers you can get in El Salvador |
As you’ll see from another blog later on, this isn’t the original location of this city. However, it was moved here in 1610 and has since grown to be known as Nicaragua’s academic and more enlightened city. It’s also become known as a place of protest.
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| Possibly the place of Central America's first university, established either in 1812 or 1814 |
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| Some medical students were killed in a protest here in 1959 |
What the people of León did extensively after arriving was build churches. Lots of them. They each seem unique, from the mustard-yellow Iglesia de la Recolección to the neoclassical and baroque mix of Iglesia El Calvario.
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| This church dates from 1780 |
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| This one is located a bit away from the main square |
The most famous was actually finished only seven years before Nicaragua - and the rest of Central America - declared independence from Spain in 1821. León’s cathedral, which has the ludicrously long official name of Real e Insigne Basílica de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María, is the largest in Central America.
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Up to 13,000 indigenous people helped to build the cathedral |
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| This version was constructed between 1747 and 1814 |
It is very picturesque, with its gleaming white facade glistening in the sunshine. You can also go onto the roof for some pretty views: terracotta tiles in the foreground and volcanoes in the distance, with a smattering of greenery in between.
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| The roof has 34 domes |
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| Volcanoes in the distance |
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| The cathedral is actually connected to many other churches in León by secret underground tunnels |
I mentioned sunshine just then. León itself was sometimes sunny - when it was, it was scorching. Films of sweat would develop from just sitting down. And this is October! This might be connected to its proximity to many volcanoes and being in a sort of basin. It wasn’t always sunny, however…and boy, does it rain hard here…
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| There were quite a few bicycle taxis in the city |
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| We had to hide in this restaurant, called Sua, for a while as it started raining heavily halfway through our meal |
It was particularly hot when I went on a walking tour of the city. This served two purposes: to explain a bit of the history of this country, and to showcase some of its interesting food. The guide made it very clear, very early on that he couldn’t talk about the current president, Daniel Ortega. I found that quite interesting!
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| This street has signs celebrating martyrs to 'the cause' both domestically and abroad, such as Che Guevara |
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| The city is very walkable and has some pretty, tree-studded pedestrianised roads near the plaza |
It seems that León and the other main colonial city of Granada have been rivals since both were established by Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba in 1524. They have had wars (I’ll talk about these more in the Granada blog) and had to collaborate to eliminate enemies (namely a man called William Walker). They have both witnessed different important events in Nicaragua’s history.
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| They both have many churches! |
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| León is seen as more radical than Granada |
One such event in León was the assassination of President Somoza Garcia in 1956. Ruling as an unelected military dictator, he was murdered by a poet dressed as a waiter. His family continued to rule the country and did so for a total of 42 years until a revolution in 1979.
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| Silhouettes of a rebel called Sandino are prevalent throughout the city. This artwork has him squishing Somoza. |
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| Didn't get much of a tip for his service that night |
This revolution pitted the Somoza ruling elite against a group called FSLN or Sandinistas. The resulting civil war became a major proxy battle in the Cold War, with FSLN being supported by the Soviet Union. I’d heard of it through the lens of the Iran-Contra affair, in which the US government illegally supplied arms to Iran and used that money to fund the Contras in their battle against the Sandinistas. León was seen as a Sandinista town, and some scars are still evident in terms of bullet holes and murals. It was apparently bombed by the Somoza government.
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| Black and red are the FSLN colours. These are the four medical students who were killed in the 1959 protest. |
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| Sandino was against American influence in Nicaragua - here he is squishing Uncle Sam |
We were told that Nicaragua won a case against the United States for impinging on its sovereignty, with the latter being forced to pay compensation of about $12 billion. Though I’m not sure how much they actually paid, that might explain the good roads!
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| Quality Italian food such as this pesto pasta in Sua probably wasn't available during the civil war |
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| We were told that 145,000 people were killed in the country between 1978 and 1990 |
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| Our guide handing out morsels of food. I came back to this family joint two more times on my own. |
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| These are called nuegados in El Salvador - a German woman on the tour told me she'd had them there. It's like a yucca doughnut which then gets dipped in a sweet, sticky syrup. Lush. |
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| Views to warm the heart. Not that we needed more warming! |
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| First Nica sunset - accompanied by the standard deafening music you'll hear below |
Love you all,
Matt
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