Gems: Leon (Nicaragua) and Antigua (Guatemala)

We were on the HAL Amsterdam's April 28 trans-Panama sailing from FLL to Vancouver and then Seattle. What attracted me to that itinerary were stops in ports that allowed visits to the medieval Spanish towns of Leon and Antigua. I want to go back.

In doing research we encountered all kinds of warnings. Someone claimed that Leon was uninteresting and that road work makes visiting Antigua a mess. But when Susan, one of our CCers, contacted Julio Cesar Pineda for a Leon tour, I was in. Eagerly. And Julio did not disappoint.

I am not going into Nicaragua's tortuous history with the U.S., which at one point wanted to annex the country. But during the relative recent Sandinista uprising, Julio was a captain in the army. His English may not be the greatest but I think he did a terrific job. At a price cheaper than HAL, he offered essentially the same itinerary, with a lunch option. The unexpected dessert was a visit to an old fortress and prison overlooking Leon. In doing so we passed shantytowns of corrugated iron lean-tos that informed us about the lives of the country's poor. Another reminder were horses that still are being used for transportation.

I'm glad that I took the lunch option. The food was tasty at a restaurant that had a wonderful shady traditional courtyard. In fact, without Spanish it probably would have been impossible to find a better option. $10 pp. including drink, even a beer.

The tour visited a couple of historical landmarks, including a cathedral, and an excellent museum of mostly Central American art. It was displayed in open air under the covered corridors of a series of courtyards. Some images showed climate damage; there was no humidity control.

I chatted with Julio quite a bit. At the end of his tour, he wanted advise on how to improve his service. I gave a couple of tips, including offering complimentary cold water on the return leg. http://www.juliotoursnicaragua.com.ni; email: juliotours2000@yahoo.es

Because of all the alarmist stories about Antigua traffic, we took HAL's transport to that terrific city. Since the road work was less than advertised and the area's freeways are superior, complete with U.S. styled destination signs, we could have easily used a cheaper outside contractor. However, I must say that the company HAL uses offered a great service in that we actually got a narrated tour.

In contrast with the less developed Leon, Antigua is a place where one could stay for a while with all creature comforts available. Great shopping, particularly Nimpot, Centro de Textiles Tradicionals at 5a Avenida Norte No. 29, tel. 7832-2681. It's a cooperative of some sort selling everything from trinkets to coffee to serious souvenirs. All prices are fixed; U.S. money accepted and change given in U.S. to the closest dollar.

Antigua is one of the relative undiscovered gems of Central America, as is Leon. The main difference is that Antigua has more to see in terms of shops and boutiques, including several chocolate makers, whereas Leon has little to offer in shopping. The public market was clean but quite pitiful. Similarly, whatever stores offered seemed to be overpriced cheap stuff.

They offer an interesting peek to the past. I want to revisit both them.

I went with HAL's narrated bus shuttle to Antigua, glad I did because we were there on Good Froday, a major holiday with a major traffic jam near the port. Antigua is a gem! We loved it!

Leon has just been put on my bucket list thabnks to your report. Nicaragua is already on it. Although I do shop and have a collection of colorful bags and scarves from various countries, I don't really care if there is no shopping at all.

Thank you for the report. We are looking forward to visiting Antigua on our Panama Canal transit next year.

Great report. We just stopped in both Nicaragua and Guatemala as well on our recent cruise.

We also used Julio in Nicaragua, and I echo your comments. He was great, and it was so interesting to hear about the troubled history of the country, and Julio's personal experience with the Sandinistas.

Like you, we had also read about the traffic nightmares going to Antigua, and we also took the cruiseline (HAL) shuttle. It was nice to have the commentary along the way. (As a side note, we really didn't experience any traffic woes).

For Antigua, we actually made arrangements in advance for a guide, through http://www.antiguatours.net . I think it may have been a few dollars more than the guides who were available on a walk-up basis at the drop-off point, but we felt it was worth it. The only problem is that they didn't meet us at the drop-off point. We had to walk several blocks to the square with the cathedral to meet the guide, and ended up getting lost at first.

Update: We'll take the Amsterdam's Christmas/New Year cruise from San Diego to FLL between Dec. 18, 2015, and Jan. 5, 2016. Although pricey, this works for me because I am working on a book. Also, I wanted to start in San Diego, which is a favorite, and visit both Antigua (port Quetzal) and Leon (port Corinto). There are not may cruises that meet those demands.

Instead of Carthagena, we'll visit Curacao, which is fine by me. And the last day before FLL is a beach day, which also is fine.

I have not told Julio yet about our new visit. But I am glad he received a copy of a book I wrote. It took four weeks, and I was getting worried. Now here is the address, as he instructed me to write it (but in Spanish):

From Parque San Juan 4 block down.. it

is office of XXXX.