Rob and Anna's travel adventure

Leon and Ocotal, Nicaragua

Anna´s entry

Did not like Leon at all... It is possible because I was sick at the time we arrived there, and noise and pollution were the last straw... Prior to arrival to Leon, we stopped at the Nicaraguan border town of Ocotal - boy, what a change after Honduras... Anyway, I bought a few local baked "things" from a local stall, and I suspect that la salada had some unpurified water in it -and I got really sick. A few days after that were not fun at all, I had to make numerous trips to el bano, had continuous nausea, weakness all over the body, carrying even a small day pack was a challenge, as well as walking without a break for more then a few minutes. Anyway, that all did not contribute much to my impression about the city of Leon. I even began questioning what the hack I am doing here in Nicaragua - poor Rob had to deal with all of it, and was very patient and caring - so lucky traveling with him!

I knew what to expect from the 2nd poorest in Western hemisphere country, however, Leon just did not feel right for me, and I think it is definitely over-rated in the books. It has a very interesting history, however, the city itself is in a very sad state, locals don´t seem to care though. I completely understand that poverty makes it harder to take care of the heritage, but come on - why do you need to throw another piece of plastic garbage outside the bus window... Also, some manifestations of cultural attitude caused by a poor economic state began getting to me as well. Some people sat down in park with us and started a nice conversation, as as soon as we hoped it was a sincere attempt just to chat with us and learn more, we were hit for $$ donation. Why does it have to be this way. I completely understand that poverty and hopelessness could be the main factors, but at the same type I myself grew up in a poor country and my family among others had to struggle every bit to survive, however, hitting anyone for money never even occurred to us. When we communicated with strangers, it was from the bottom of our hearts, and we appreciated every opportunity to learn something new, never to take advantage of anyone. I seem to have a little different perspective of this compared to other travelers - since I lived in both worlds - Russia and the US - and understand two such different mentalities... I do hope however, that more positive cultural realization is going to be discovered further on the way... Anyway, this is all I am going to say about the city of Leon...

posted by Rob and Anna @ 12:09 PM