G’day all, hope today’s post finds you well! I’ve been going along through my ‘Round the World Adventure’ of earlier this year, and today’s post sees myself and my travel partner in Central America in Leon, a town in the north of Nicaragua.

Not just a town though, Leon in its present location dates back to 1610, however the original Leon was founded in 1524 but it was moved in 1610 to its present location due to volcanic activity, it seems a common complaint in Central America. It was the old capital of Nicaragua too until the mid-1800s and was the main town in the country’s revolution – a slow moving one that began in the early 20^th century under the figurehead of Augusto Sandido. A country that for a long time was under the thumb of the USA finally broke through in 1979 when the Sandinista revolutionaries took government in Nicaragua. A far left Socialist Party, this ended decades of rule by US backed dictators.

They lost government in the 1990s via elections, but won office again in 2006 and the FSLN have been in power ever since. They also have a reputation as a brutal regime. As a tourist I arrived with very little knowledge of the political history of Nicaragua I must humbly confess, but the current government certainly draws a lot of criticism from abroad especially. I drew some criticism too on a YouTube video for even visiting Nicaragua. Having said that, most of the tourists visiting come from the USA and there are many coming for adventure tourism – hiking volcanoes, zip-ling and the like. There was clearly a stronger and more complete tourist infrastructure in Nicaragua when compared to El Salvador which has just been opening up recently. And yes, more foreign tourists were noticeable, more English spoken and understood.

Leon was our first of two stops in the country. I am not sure where I got the recommendation from but a lot of people clearly loved the city, it was in the north so not too far from the Honduran border, and we also established that our other stop, Grenada, you could get the main airport of Mangua the capital from it in an hour or so. Managua’s reputation was less favourable than these two places and didn’t seem to have much to recommend it, so with a week in Nicaragua we decided on Leon and then Grenada. There was even a shuttle service to Granada from our hotel so we didn’t need to change buses in Managua.

We decided to give a free walking tour a go, run by “The Original”. Our guide was a great guy, very chatty and there was just Graham, myself and one other on the tour which they run daily (or possibly twice daily?) so this was a great way to get to know the city. So the first few items of things to see here were part of the tour, then in the afternoon we lazed about and had lunch and a drink, visited the museum of the Revolution and the highlight of Leon, Leon Cathedral – not so much for it being a church but more about climbing to the rooftop for sunset views!

Mercado Central

(Visited on the tour) So this was a bustling food market worth visiting in Leon. “The Original” also do food tours, and our tour started off as one of sorts as we tried a number of different things at the market. My favourite was the raspberry sort of … I am not sure it was like a wobbly but semi-solid custard slice? Anyways that was really nice. The last thing we tried there was a sort of cinnamon milk drink with ice. And this is why I am not super adventurous when it comes to food when travelling – I had to run to McDonald’s to find a loo an hour later! I just don’t have a strong stomach! But the tour part was awesome because with a guide who knows the people working the market you get more opportunities for photos of people.

Iglesia de la Recollecion

(visited on tour) This old catholic church had a silent sort of grandeur to it. It feels very gothic although it was built in 1786. The orange façade is crumbling a bit, only adding to its grandeur.

Avenue of the Students/Revolution

(visited on tour) Our guide showed us around this part of town, near the centre (Central Park). There are monuments/paintings/plaques to students who died fighting for the Revolution. Not a single street, but you’ll see the art and memorials just wandering in the centre of town.

Hotel El Convento

(visited on tour) Last stop of the tour, we also spent time in a café and wandering the streets, we came to this charming hotel in central Leon with a stunning courtyard. At the time I was under the impression that it was a convent that had been repurposed as a hotel, but in fact the convent was destroyed by bombing in the 1980s and the hotel built around 1995. Worth a stop and a look!

Museum of the Revolution

After the tour we headed to the Museo de la Revolucion housed in an historic building next to the Parque Central. It was used by the Revolutionaries in the 1970s that eventually brought down the dictatorship, and the building itself is very cool. Two rooms at the front are filled with photos and an English-speaking guide who really knows his stuff talked us through the whole history. There was so much information to take in a lot just went ‘in one ear and out the other’ I fear but he details history from the time of Augusto Sandido who was born in 1895 through to his assassination in 1934, through the decades of dictatorship that followed to the final victory of the ‘Revolution’ in 1979. There are murals out the back, parts of the building feel quite abandoned and then there’s the rooftop for excellent views of Leon.

Parque Central

Between the museum and the Leon Cathedral sits the charming Parque Central. A few vendors, a couple of statues including one of Sandidio, historis buildings flanking every side, it’s quite nice and there’s this rather historic, liberal café there too called ‘Restaurant El Sesteo’ which is a Leon institution and great stop for a drink with a view, or perhaps a meal. We had the former.

Catedral Leon

Finally, the Leon Cathedral is grand and was constructed over a long time period from 1747 to the early 1800s. It’s baroque at a guess in design, although what do I know? But the true pull of it is to take the stairs up to the very top for views of the cathedral’s domes and of course, of Leon. You can see mountains and the peaks of volcanoes in the distance, it’s really something. The tickets for the climb to the roof are sold from sort of an underground crypt at the back of the church – that is the far side from the Parque Central. Once the sun is low in the sky, it’s truly magnificent and the best way to cap off a day of sight seeing in Leon.

And that was the day that was back in April this year in Leon. I should add it was 36-38 degrees back in April and September to December MIGHT be a better time to visit as March to June is the hottest time of the year. Still – not much in the way of clouds! Thanks for joining me today and take care wherever you are in the world right now! Have some photos and more coming from Granada I believe, and then I’ll be winding down to Christmas with some retrospective posts on 2025, before a break altogether and then starting back up with content in the second half of January 2026! May the Journey Never End!