Leon, Playa Peñitas and Volcano Boarding at Cerro Negro

The city of Leon and the surrounding region is next on my list of Nicaragua must sees.



The original city of León, in Nicaragua (one of the oldest European cities in the new world) was established in 1524 by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba about 20 miles east of the present site. After the 1610 eruption of the Momotombo volcano, located only a couple miles away, caused extensive damage, the inhabitants of this old León decided to move to the city’s present location.



As a colonial city, León has many fine examples of Spanish Colonial architecture, including the grand Cathedral of the Assumption, built from 1706 to 1740, with two towers added in 1746 and 1779. I personally have a slight preference towards Granada as a colonial city, but for each their own. What makes León such a great destination to me are some of the places and adventures that await you outside the city. In particular I love the relaxing atmosphere at the beaches of Playa Peñitas and Poneloya, and the Volcano boarding at Cerro Negro.



In León, we stayed at a little hostel call the Bigfoot which I really liked (They make a delicious Mojito). One of the activities that they offered was Volcano Boarding. Naturally, when something as unusual as volcano boarding is an option you sign up. The next day a group of eight of us jumped in the truck with the hostel owner, Darryn from Australia, and headed off to Cerro Negro. From there we proceeded on a short hour hike up to the top of this smaller volcano each carrying a wooden plank that they has built custom for descending this particular volcano (see photo below). While on the Volcano we went for a quick spin through the crater. This volcano is very active and you can feel the heat protruding from the ground that you are standing on.



I found this promo for the Bigfoot Hostel on YouTube. It gives a pretty good feel for the Volcano boarding.



This is the same place where the world mountain bike speed record was set (see video). This guy is completely insane.



At the opposite end of the spectrum you have Playa Peñitas. This is a quick bus ride or cheap taxi west of León.



We stayed at the the Oasis (above) which was recommended by our friends at the Bigfoot in León, but we also spent some time hanging out at the Playa Roca (below) and found the owner, Cookie, to be very nice. She even drove us back into León one evening when we missed the bus.



The beach at Peñitas can be a little dangerous for inexperienced swimmers, but you can also get some good surf if you catch the right tide.