Mucho calor in Leon

It is just about high noon and I am seated directly in front of a fan in the lobby of my hostel, hiding out from the intense heat of the streets of Leon. I had approached Leon with some trepidation due to its reputation for being always hot and steamy. Even Nicaraguans, who are known to be able to withstand some heat and humidity and regularly wear jeans when the temp is 90 degrees or so, get a little antsy at the mention of Leon. Usually, they will immediately take on a slightly pained expression and begin shaking their heads and possibly even using the famous Nicaraguan hand-snapping technique used to give particular emphasis to something, while saying something like, "En Leon, hay mucho, MUCHO calor...siempre." So I can't say I wasn't warned.


Still, I find myself a bit surprised by the intensity of the heat and humidity here. This morning, I paid a visit to the Museo de Tradiciones y Leyendas (Traditions & Legends) at about 8:30, thinking I would beat the midday heat, and still found myself dripping sweat as the guide opened the door for me and collected my 20 cordoba. When I asked why no one else was there (since the museum reportedly opened at 8), he said it was likely due to the 'calor'. I resisted the urge to ask how, if the calor was prone to keeping people away, the museum ever did any business, since as far as I can tell, it never lets up here. But anyway...

Despite the heat, I like Leon and can understand how so many extranjeros come to visit and end up staying a while. The city is a little bit gritty, full of activity, easy to navigate and is accessible to the Maribios chain of volcanoes as well as some reportedly lovely beaches. I've enjoyed strolling the city and checking out a few cathedrals, museums, the mercado, etc., but I will be ready to go tomorrow! Speaking of which, I think I'm going to head to Las Penitas - a beach about 40 minutes out of Leon - and take a day and night to stroll the beach, read some trashy novel in a hammock and enjoy some grilled fish and cold beer while gazing at the ocean. I may even get to see some sea turtles laying eggs at night, which would be icing on the cake.

I spent the last couple of days hiking Volcan Telica, one of the active volcanoes in the Maribios chain. I signed up with a group called Quetzaltrekkers, despite my misgivings about being able to haul a giant pack up the side of a volcano (since I haven't done any serious hiking in ages). Monday morning, I got a 5:15 wake-up call at the hostel and headed to the office to have breakfast, meet the group, pack up and head out. We got to the trailhead by first taking one of the camioneta buses in Leon, which involves climbing onto the back of a covered truck and (of course) smushing up against a bunch of other people including, in this case, a woman transporting a large bucket of giant live crabs to sell on the street. After that, we switched to one of the large 'chicken' buses common throughout Central America. This consists of an old school bus, usually painted in festive colors, which is used to transport people from point A to point B. We handed our packs to the attendant to haul on top of the bus and took a 30-minute ride to the trailhead.

The hike in was actually less strenuous than I imagined, as a lot of it involved simply getting to the base of the volcano, meaning that it was a relatively flat walk. There were some lovely views along the way and we crossed paths with several local people riding on horseback before stopping to enjoy some veggie burritos under a huge tree. The latter half of the hike was definitely more strenuous and the last stretch totally kicked my butt, but it felt great to reach the crater and pitch our tents in the shadow of the steaming volcano. After some r&r, we hiked to the lip of the volcano and looked into the crater, which smelled like sulfur and sounded like a roaring ocean. We returned to the crater after sunset and were able to actually see glowing seams of lava inside the crater, which was pretty awesome. We even made some faux s'mores after dinner using some chocolate- coated cookies from the super in Leon, which was an unexpected treat. Here is a shot of a very sweaty me at the edge of the steaming crater:

In the morning, we rose at about a quarter to 5 to hike up again and try to catch the sunrise over the hills. Unfortunately, the cloudy sky kept us from seeing a real sunrise, but it was still lovely to be sitting up so high and enjoying the cool calm of the morning. And, we did get a nice view of the sun's outline behind the clouds once it was up. After breakfast, we packed up and hiked down the mountain, which was relatively pain-free except for the blisters on my feet. We made a final stop at some bubbling mud pools in the little town of San Jacinto, which were reminiscent of the paint pots in Yellowstone but made me a little nervous since the pools were loosely cordoned off with some yellow caution tape and I could feel heat rising and a low rumbling from the ground underneath me. I took a quick look before making a beeline to more stable ground.

I wish I could say that I was charmed by San Jacinto, but what I will remember of the place is the children running up to us repeating the phrase, "Cookie for me?". The place is tiny and probably doesn't see a ton of tourists beyond the backpacker groups that pass through on the way back to Leon, so I can only assume that some group or other has handed over leftover treats in the past, along with the explanation that they are cookies. It caught me off guard, though, especially since it's the first place in Nica where I've encountered any of this type of behavior. At any rate, we grabbed lunch at a local comedor before boarding the chicken bus back to town.

Later in the evening, after getting spiffed up a bit, I met up with the rest of the group for drinks at a local bar. I had a good time, but the place is definitely a tourist favorite, and it was a little strange to be surrounded by so many extranjeros, including a group doing shots of cheap tequila at the next table. Hard to imagine that happening back in lil' old San Juan...

Anyway, I realize I'm working in reverse here chronologically, but such is the flow of my brain at this point. This past weekend was when I said goodbye to all of the folks in San Juan, which was sad. At least I have the comfort of knowing that I plan to pass back through in another week or so, but it was hard to say goodbye to the teachers and Mariposa staff that have become so familiar to me over the past six weeks. Saturday night, I went out with a group of students and one of my teachers for beers in San Juan, which was a nice, low-key send-off. Sunday morning I said goodbye to my family, which was particularly hard since I've grown quite fond of them and will miss being a part of their family. Here is a photo of me and the infamous Bergman, with a couple of farewell sentences in the background which use the subjunctive verb tense. A teacher until the end, that one!

Ok, I'm afraid I need to go tend to a stinky pile of laundry that, unfortunately, won't do itself. Next post will likely be from the mountainous Northern territory, where I hope to have ample opportunities to use the fleece that I brought from the States and which has up until now mostly been gathering dust. Adios for now!