It's still warm outside.

And it doesn't look to be getting any cooler.  But first, two particularly poignant photos from apple picking over the weekend.  We're just a bunch of ragtag folk, and we love our apples.

The more I learn about Léon, the more it grows on me.  And that is to say, I know next to nothing, since we didn't really plan this trip, and only last minute decided on even coming to Léon.  I heard something about mumble mumble, colonialism, mumble mumble anti-government, and decided we would go.  

And it's great so far.  Nicaraguans have put up with a generation of war.  During the cold war, they were ruled by a dictatorship, until one day, a Léonese poet named Ruben Dario shot the leader, and he's celebrated like nobody's business for it.  (Read: the extremely abridged version.  For a more detailed and complete history of the Sandinista Revolution, see here: https://vianica.com/go/specials/15-sandinista-revolution-in-nicaragua.html) 

I wouldn't even presume to know the whole of the history these folk have lived through, and my limited Spanish skills means that I know even less than I think.  But the results of the revolution are everywhere in Léon.  Graffiti lines the streets up and down - and peoples political opinions are strong here.

Pardon my Spanish, but something along the lines of "long live Sandino! General of men and women's freedoms!"

"My vote is for Cristo; He is the solution"

Just a bicycle taxi for two.

Today we have traveled the streets of Léon in typical Léon fashion.  Popping from one shady street to another, and from one air conditioned establishment to another.  This morning, after a breakfast of pitaya (they are pink here!  ...and stain your whole mouth.  It's delicious and awful, all at once), and cold showers - which are becoming a twice a day occurrence, we set off...to an air conditioned coffee shop two blocks down, called Lebulula.  In what might be my worst Spanish yet, we ordered dos café de hielo, uno cafe con azucar, no leche, y uno cafe con un poco leche (or, what I was trying to convey: two iced coffees, one black with sugar, one with a little cream) ...and were given two very delicious, double shot espresso iced coffees, one with a lot of sugar, and one with a lot of cream...both with a lot of caffeine.  

After a cool-down there, we wandered around the streets, and headed off to find a trekking tour.  We looked at a few places before deciding upon QuetzalTrekkers, a volcano trekking organization that donates some of their money towards helping kids.  For $69USD each, we booked ourselves a two day, three volcano hike, departing Friday.  ...which actually caused us to move our entire first week around.  So now, we are staying in Léon an extra night, spending two days/nights camping/hiking up three volcanoes, and then heading off for two nights at a local beach nearby called Las Peñitas.  

The hike involves a 7am start, with a hearty breakfast (or so I'm told), and then we will be driven out to Cerro Negro, where we will hike up for an hour, and then sandboard down on these funky, custom made 'snowboards'.  After we've done that, we begin a hike up El Hoyo, which is a grueling (or so I'm told) 6-7km hike towards the top, where we will set up camp for the night.  The next morning, we get up at sunrise to watch the view, and then hike down, following jungle and ending up with a lunch break at Laguna Asososca, a crystal clear lagoon on the side of a smaller volcano, for a swim and a cooldown.  The trip will return us back to Léon Saturday night, and then we'll catch a chicken bus out to Las Peñitas, where we have a hostel booked. 

After that, we are thinking of going to Granada.  

The rest of our day was spent popping in and out of our airbnb place, as water consumption and bathroom breaks dictated.  We got ourselves some Nica sim cards on the Claro network - which was actually one of the more confusing, and then helpful portions of our day.  Nica has two main networks - Claro and Movistar - but the networks don't talk to each other very well.  So if you have a Claro phone, it costs a lot of money to contact someone on the Movistar network, and vice versa.  We ended up with Claro simply because I said 'let's get the red one' ...and we found a place called Celltown where the fellow actually spoke pretty decent English, which was good, because beyond 'nos podemos vender un chip' ...we had nothing in our language arsenal. Alan had to google that phrase for us, because I didn't have a clue how to ask for a sim card.  Un chip.  Who knew.  

This evening, for the first time since we got here, we felt hungry.  So we went to the mercado and got some rice and beans, and cooked them up at home.  It was simple, and a little plain, but actually very good.  We didn't realize how hungry we were - we've been living mostly off of fruit, and small pastries, and coffee, and smoothies.  There's a smoothie place about a block from here that's really good.  

Disturbing.

And that's another thing.  I can't understand Nica spanish AT ALL.  It's so fast, and filled with slang. They might as well be speaking to me from underwater.  I have no idea what anyone is saying.  So that year of Spanish lessons?  Great.  I guess I can still read some Spanish, so there's that?

After dinner, a sudden lightning storm (la tormenta!) started.  Alan and I walked to the Cathedral to watch the lightning, after promises that it usually lasts an hour before the rains start.  It started to rain just as we arrived, and we were soaked right through by the time we reached home again.  Locals were running down the streets for shelter, and there were two Canadians jumping in puddles and laughing in circles.  We love the rain.  The locals probably thought we were loco.

Maybe we are. 

It rained like this for probably an hour straight.  The roads became rivers, and the locals took for cover.  

 I almost forgot: The pet tax.  This is Lengua (the dog - his name means 'tongue' - he has that condition where his tongue can't stay in his mouth)

 And Friday, the cat.