Léon, the Travel Bug Trigger

Months ago, I decided that I had caught that itchy travel bug and needed to start seeing the world; I started planning this trip and the bug shut up for a while, satisfied with the promise of two months of completely uncharacteristic adventure. After flying by the seats of our pants in Ometepe, horseback riding in Catarina and hitchhiking in the pouring rain, I was beginning to feel as if I was going to get enough excitement to last me a long time – like maybe forever. I could already tell that I’d come home more relaxed and spontaneous, but I didn’t think I’d want to try anything too crazy for a good while.

However, as a wise friend once told me, that itchy travel bug never goes away. The second we walked into the Hostel Sonati in Léon this weekend, I suddenly realized that there’s a whole world to travel and a whole world of people with whom to do so. More surprisingly, I realized that I want to do that! (This is a big step considering how convinced I was that people like me simply couldn’t do things like stay in hostels and have no plans.)

It’s no wonder I discovered this startling desire to explore the world and meet its people in Léon; our main motivation for visiting Nicaragua’s old capital was the fact that it’s supposed to be full of students and internationals. It didn’t disappoint! We spent less than 24 hours in the city, but in that period of time we met people from the US, Israel, Germany, France, Australia and Honduras – not to mention a fair few Nicaraguans and a Québécoise! It was so cool to engage in conversations in all three of my languages in the same night, and even with the same person. In the end, we were really happy that we’d picked the dorm in the hostel because otherwise we may not have connected at all.

The visitors to Léon are really special, but the city itself is also quite incredible. While we were there, it was impossibly hot but there was also a gorgeous blue sky that made every photo of the enormous churches just that much better. We were impressed with how clean the city was, how easy it was to get around and how soon after arriving we’d already decided that it would be really cool to come back. There is so much history in the churches, museums and murals. They even have a Legends and Traditions Museums that I will definitely visit if I return – and I plan to.

Before I came here, a few friends asked me if I was planning to travel around the country after my placement but I had hardly considered it – I thought I’d have nothing to do but work hard at my placement and take the occasional day trip. Now, I understand that a person really could spend months discovering the beauty of Nicaragua! When we were in the minibus from Léon to Managua today, Brianne asked which volcano we could see out our window. We couldn’t remember, but the point is that we were just driving along when a steep, dark, smoking, active volcano casually appeared on the horizon and we thought nothing of it. It’s a volcano! It’s so cool and they’re everywhere! There is so much natural beauty here and it’s just waiting for us to appreciate it. (This led to a discussion of Canada’s natural beauty. What do you think is the coolest or most beautiful aspect of Canadian nature?)

Nicaragua’s geology, flora and fauna can be fascinating, but so are the people. When we were sharing plantain chips with the guys from Israel before heading out, we mentioned the continuous fiesta going on in Jinotepe. Roy was laughing when he said, “In Nicaragua, they are celebrating every day that they are alive!” He’s right, though. Shouldn’t we all?