Cross Country Voyage..

Our cross-country trip to Montelimar was fantastic. I´ll give you a little runthrough.
Although the final destination was Montelimar, we stopped at an additional 3 destinations to sightsee. These stops ended up being the highlight of the trip.

We set out from Somoto at 4:ooAM, beginning a long treck across Nicaragua to the historic city of Granada. We arrived in Granada at 8:30 or so and were given about an hour to wander. Granada has been the Nicaraguan destination which I have been the most keen to visit, and it was easily the most disappointing. VERY touristy. I saw more white tourists than I did local Nicaraguans. All the prices were in American dollars. It made me feel like a tourist, which I hate. All this aside, Granada is a beautiful city (The little that we saw). We started our sightseeing at the large Cathederal and finished at the massive Lake Nicaragua. Lots of statues, canons, and ancient buildings along the way.

We continued on to the town of Catarina, elevated over Granada and the Lake. Another tourist destination, but definitely one worth visiting. The streets are lined with artists selling their goods. Lots of tacky stuff among which is some cool pottery and woodwork. The town´s Mirador (lookout or viewpoint) faces Granada and a gigantic lagoon directly below Catarina. Very picturesque.

We left Catarina for our primary destination, Montelimar. The resort was huge. We spent all of our time feasting on the free food and swimming on the beach. It was amazing to have such a variety of food. Surprisingly, there isn´t much to say about Montelimar itself, beyond the fact that it was a very relaxing experience.

We left the resort at 2:00PM the following day. On our way to the final destination, Leon. The road was very rough. Sometimes the bus drove on the shoulder because it was in better condition than the road itself. We arrived in Leon at 4:00, with little sunlight remaining in the day.

Leon and Granada are the two of the most historically significant cities in Nicaragua. Their significance in history was primarily political : Leon being the most liberal concentration in Nicaragua, and Granada being the most conservative. The two cities were constantly opposing each other. Whenever there was a change in government the capital city changed between the two. Both of the cities have been the capital of Nicaragua several times. Eventually, in the mid 1800´s, the neutral city of Managua was chosen as the permanent capital city.

Anyway, Leon has easily been my favourite location in Nicaragua. It has the history of Granada, without the tourists. The city gave off a friendly, welcoming vibe. We spent the spare time we had viewing the breathtaking Cathederal, and strolling through the streets. The Cathederal and its grounds were littered with large lion statues, which seem to be the cities primary symbol. My best pictures to date have come from our visit to Leon (it helped that we had a beautiful sunset).

We left at 5:30 to suffer the remaining 4 hours of our trip, with the bus arriving home at 10:00.
What a fantastic trip. Spanning western nicaragua, we were finally able to experience the geographical diversity which the country has to offer. I would love to come back and spend some more time in Leon and Granada. Granada deserves a second chance, and Leon is a city which simply needs to be explored.

The Drive itself was an interesting experience. Spanning from the mountainous area of Madriz to the picturesque region around Granada, along the Pacific ocean, and back up to the volcanic lowlands of Leon. I feel much better knowing that my time in Nicaragua was not limited to Madriz and the mountainous highlands, however beautiful they are.