- COwanderer
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Cerro Negro
- February 27, 2007
- Rated 4 of 5 by
ext212 from New York, New York
After a long search for breakfast in Leon, we met up with Hector at the Va Pues Tour office inside the Cocinarte restaurant-cum-artist hangout. It was a last-minute arrangement and we couldn’t risk just asking one of the locals for a much cheaper ride to Cerro Negro, so we ended up shelling out $90 for the two of us to hike the crater.
We got on the pickup truck and our driver negotiated the dry mud along the way while Hector told us about his life. He was young and energetic and seemed really thrilled that Chinese-looking people like us could speak Spanish. It was a long drive and we only saw one sign directing us towards the volcano. We tried to convince ourselves that we made the right decision in paying so much money to get us there.
As soon as we started our hike up Cerro Negro, I knew it was going to be a completely different experience from Volcan Mombacho or Apoyo. The small stones crunched as we stepped on them. It was like hiking on powdered snow: step up, crunch, slide down, repeat. From afar, we could see how much damage the lava from its last eruption affected the valley. There was no vegetation; only hardened asphalt. Steam was coming out from some of the rocks. I scooped up some to take home as souvenir and was amazed at how hot they were. One section of the hill was completely covered in yellow sulphur.
It was really windy when we reached the top. But the crater was right below us and it was an amazing sight. (Okay, so the $90 was worth it.) Now, this is a crater, I thought. Weirdly enough, crickets and grasshoppers were hopping all over the place. The heat attracted them, but they would die instantly when they would land on the steaming rocks for too long.
After several photographs from the top, we readied ourselves for what was to come next: sliding and surfing down the other side of Cerro Negro. If we paid a little more money, we could have rented mini-boards to suit up and ride down like snowboarders. But we just decided to slide down without any props. It was longer than I expected, but it was so much fun. The stones gave easily and I couldn’t help but squeal every time I slid without interruption.
I imagined our entire surrounding was how the moon would look like. Everything was black and pure. I’ve never seen anything like Cerro Negro before and I’ve definitely never slid down a volcano in my life.
From journal A Detour to the Black Hill
La Casa de Cultura
- September 2, 2006
- Rated 4 of 5 by
COwanderer from fort collins, Colorado
The Culture Center houses art, outdoor murals and space for artists. Admission is free and Nicaraguan history books and videos are for sale. I mainly went to see the painting of Ronald Reagan on the shoulders of a Nicaraguan woman with her wrists slit and Henry Kissinger as a jester looks on. Large paintings and murals depict mythical Nicaraguan characters. A small collection of black and white photographs show important players in war history.
From journal Languishing in Leon, Nicaragua
Murals
- September 2, 2006
- Rated 5 of 5 by
COwanderer from fort collins, Colorado
The artists of Leon painted murals around the city on concrete building walls to honor the heroes of the wars and show animosity to the dictator Somoza and the United States. The colors are fading but the message of the CIA snake coming down on the people is still clear. Two murals around a doorway show the hero Sandino stomping Somoza and Uncle Sam. Others show the strength and determination of the Nicaraguan people. Outside of a museum someone spray painted an anti-Bush message. People were anxious to show me this and wanted me to take pictures.
The murals can be found by walking around the park towards the basketball courts.
From journal Languishing in Leon, Nicaragua