León, Nicaragua

León, Nicaragua is a colonial town with just over100,000 inhabitants. It is less touristy than Granada, but in my opinion, more showy. The climate in Granada is cooler, with a location on Lago Nicaragua, while León is inland--warmer and more humid.

León and Granada have been political and economic rivals since their founding. León was the capital of Nicaragua until 1855, when the capital was moved to Managua, situated between the two cities. The re-positioning of the capital was in large part to cool the rivalry between the two cities. Both cities are beautiful and tell the architectural history of their colonial past.

León, Nicaragua map

Detail of left-hand tower of the largest church in Central America (León, Nicaragua)

I couldn't help taking all these pictures! The church is STUNNING! (León, Nicaragua)

Looking down the hall of the León Church

In León, every time I got the camera out, kids got excited. These three were playing on the church steps and practically DEMANDED I take their picture.

Opposite the church in León was this sentiment. No translation required.

I can´t acutally see this photo in my preview, so I will give it this generic caption, "I used to think of Nicaragua as only war-torn former territory of the Contras"... I had no idea it was one of the SAFEST central-american countries, one of the cheapest, and one of the most beautiful.

WAIT WAIT! I can see it now! This is a picture of the hostel--which is a typical Leónese house... Sala (Salon) with roof inside the entry from the street, then a "living room" with three walls, and the rest of the house opens up onto a beautiful garden. Indicative of the climate.

The church in the German Village (I kid you not!) outside of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Right after I took this photo, a family of hobbits scurried out of it to go find second lunch.