Tomorrow is our last day in León, Nicaragua.
We almost didn’t come here. We figured we’d covered the colonial city thing well enough in Granada. But the description of León in our Lonely Planet guidebook as “a city of awe-inspiring churches, fabulous art collections, stunning streetscapes, cosmopolitan eateries, fiery intellectualism, and all-week, walk-everywhere, happening nightlife” convinced us to change our route to take in this fascinating place.
León is the most politically progressive Nicaraguan city and the traditional rival of conservative Granada. It’s the Sandinista heartland, and reminders of its role in the 1979 revolution are everywhere you look.
The city is also proud of its literary heritage. León is the home of Nicaragua’s most famous poet, Rubén Darío. I’ll admit to being not well versed (haha) in Latin American poetry and hadn’t heard of any of these guys before coming here, but there’s no way you can leave this city without at least learning their names. They are everywhere… especially Rubén Darío.
Lorna of Arabia 