From the beach I took the shuttle to Leon. There are three ways that I could have gotten to Nicaragua from El Salvador. I could have taken a boat for $75 that would have dropped me at Potosi and then a chicken bus from Potosi to Leon, a shuttle bus from the beach straight to Leon for $45 or a total of 6 chicken buses for probably around $10. I choose the bus, simply for convince. I liked that it dropped me off right at Leon. We also had a good group from the beach hostel that I could travel with. Unfortunately I had decided to have an overly fun night the last evening at the beach, so the 8 hour squished bus trip was far from pleasant, but it was definitely worth it!
The bus trip started at the beach in El Salvador, crossed through Honduras for a total of two hours, then crossed the border of Nicaragua, and finally dropped us off in Leon. In line with the expectation in Central America for everything to be late and take twice as long as it is scheduled to, we arrived in Leon after 10 pm. I have to say I was quite concerned when I didn't yet book a hostel and it was the weekend during the busy season, and not only that, but most of the bus didn't book a hostel yet either. Right when we got to Leon, we tried to book the nearest hostel to the bus, but it was full so a couple of us checked the one down the street. With the name on the sign of hostel laundry, we didn't expect much. For 5 dollars a night we got a clean bed, plenty of fans, and filtered water so I was happy. Outside the room there was really no area to hang out, only a small tv where the children of the Nicaraguan family running the hostel watched sponge bob, but that worked out ok because there was a nice bar across the street. With a place to lay our heads solidified, we all gathered to try the Nicaraguan beers and have a chat with great new friends!
The next day was spent wondering the streets of Leon and getting a taste for the city. The market, although much smaller than the one in San Salvador, still had rows and rows if vendadores selling anything and everything you could possible need or ask for. We did a little souvenir shopping and organized a volcano tour for the next day. I was actually not planning on doing a two day trek in Leon, in fact, I was not planning on staying there for more than 2 nights, and before finding out that Leon was where the bus dropped us off, I was not planning on going to Leon unless I had some extra time at the end. But, that is the beauty of travel. Plans can change in seconds, you can meet great people and change your trip all together for great company. It is amazing how fluid you can be with your time when you are traveling, something that is much harder to do once you return to the daily grind of life.
That night, Alizee, a girl from Luxenberg and I, met with another friend we had met at Playa Esteron, and we all went out for dinner and drinks. It is funny how there are many people you meet along the way; some you don't get past surface questions of where are you from, how long have you been traveling, etc, some who are great for fun at the moment, some whom you can have a really nice conversation with, and then some who you connect with right away and feel as if you have known them for a long time. For me these girls were the latter case. That night, we had wonderful conversations of fears, feelings, and the processes of re-finding oneself. The human connection is such an amazing thing, and if you open yourself up, the possibilities are endless.
Tomorrow, we will hike an active volcano!
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