Arriving in Leon in what can only be descibed as a tropical storm, a few inches of rain below our feet and drivng terrencial rain pounding us. We ran for cover in our new hostal called Lazybones. A nice relaxing place with lots of hammocks around a courtyard, swimming pool and a pool table. Only downside is the owner is a miserable bloke who is not willing to talk to his guests!

So Leon, A city of around 200,000 people and a sister city of Oxford!

Its a very old colonial university town, very beautiful and very active and bustling place. Its on the Nicaragua lowlands with the Pacific Ocean about 40 miles to the east and a large volcanic chain running along its westerned edge, therefore providing stunning views.

This place is known for its churches, and there are alot !

Everywhere you look there is one, and they have the biggest cathedral in Central America. The story goes that the Architect submitted plans for a smaller more modest church and a bigger one for Lima in Peru, only to make a switch once approval was giving. Therefore they ended up with a very impressive and massive one here!

So our time here has consisting of exploring the town, its churches and museums. We went to the museum of Myths and Legends which was a bit odd, the museum of art which holds the best collection of Latin American art (seeing the range of different styles from different Latin American countries was very interesting). And a insect museum which was actually closed but they let us in to have a snoop around anyway.

We also enjoyed a seeing eye massage, which is a company run by blind people who work as masseures. Very good, as unfortunately other opportunities or access to education are not very common here. Dave and Emily both enjoyed (was sometimes painful) back, neck and shoulder massages. Which should help when carrying our heavy rucksacks.

So with lots of culture taking in, we of course took in some amazing local food and beer, lots of relaxing before we head off to get close and personal with the volcanos............