December 27
Nicaragua
[Land ho!]
[Welcome to the land of volcanoes. On the Pacific side, along the entire length of the country – a whole bunch of volcanoes.]
[Coming upon Isla del Cardon on the way to the port of Corinto . . . ]
[By some magic sleight hand . . . ]
[The statue moves from the right side of the light house to the left?]
[Rubén Darío, was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo (modernism) that flourished at the end of the 19th century. Darío has had a great and lasting influence on 20th-century Spanish literature and journalism. He has been praised as the “Prince of Castilian Letters” and undisputed father of the modernismoliterary movement (Wikipedia).]
[If you should want to personally visit the island . . . ]
[A majestic statue of Rubén Darío, 5.5 meters high and 3.5 tons of bronze, valued at one million 20 thousand córdobas, made by the sculptor Arnoldo Guillén, was inaugurated on Friday afternoon on El Cardón Island, where the 20 March 1908, the Prince of Letters Castellanas was inspired to make the famous poem “A Margarita Debayle” (www.elnuevodiario.com).
[And here’s the majestic frozen Super, in the ship’s human refrigeration spa . . . ]
[Actually, it was quite refreshing . . . ]
[And something we felt compelled to do since they were experiencing 40+ below zero wind chills back home . . . ]
[Out of the ice and snow for a bit of relaxation . . . ]
[The bus ride to Leon, not far from far from Corinto. Our note taking was nonexistent by now, so we have forgotten our guide’s name. He was a good though; full of youthful exuberance . . . ]
[Window views into the city . . . ]
[University campus . . . ]
[Museum . . . ]
[A good guess would be a produce store . . . ]
[León (founded in 1524) is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. As of 2016, León had an projected population of 206,264. León is located along the Rio Chiquito (Chiquito River), some 90 kilometres (56 miles) northwest of Managua, and some 18 km (11 miles) east of the Pacific Ocean coast. León has long been the political and intellectual center of the nation and its National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) was founded in 1813, making it the second oldest university in Central America. León is also an important industrial, agricultural, and commercial center for Nicaragua, exporting sugar cane, cattle, peanut, plantain, and sorghum. The city has been home to many of Nicaragua’s most noteworthy poets including Ruben Dario (Wikipedia).]
[The Assumption Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Central America, and has been the first episcopal seat of Nicaragua since 1531, making it one of the oldest dioceses in the Americas (Wikipedia).]
[I believe Feliz Navidad has something to do with the season . . . ]
[Based on internet photos, it appears the church has received an exterior scrubbing recently. Looks good . . . ]
[And now we’re in the interior . . . ]
[Which may also have been scrubbed?]
[I can’t even remember if this was our guy . . . ]
[The ceiling . . . ]
[A lion . . . ]
[A supervisor . . . ]
[Back out on the city square. Yes, that is some big senorita . . . ]
[We had to go outside the church for the stairway entrance to the roof . . . ]
[And there goes the Super. Visitors to the roof must take off their shoes. Since it was sunny and hot, one might suspect the roof to be likewise. It wasn’t . . . ]
[The white-painted roof was actually very comfortable to walk around on . . . ]
[And the reason for coming up here – to view the country’s volanic spine . . . ]
[Church of la Recolección in the photo center . . . ]
[The Church of the el Calvario at the far east end of calle Real (Main Street) . . . ]
[‘Twas quite lovely up here . . . ]
[Lotsa selfies going on . . . ]
[Back down on the plaza . . . ]
[A UFO flew overhead . . . ]
[We’re circling around the neighborhood . . . ]
[There’s the UFO again . . . ]
[A church of indeterminate origin . . . or is it a church?]
[The sign says “hospital” . . . ]
[The entire ship’s staff line up to welcome us back . . . ]
[I’m caught trudging up the ramp . . . ]
[We’re hungry from the trudge . . . ]
[I really don’t remember . . . ]
[Then it was a celebration of Edvard Munch for the atrium’s entertainment . . . ]
[Man With Horse . . . ]
[With our Viking Classical Trio favorites . . . ]
[The Super looking as festive as the occasion . . . ]
[Canal At Sunset . . . ]
[Woman With Pumpkin . . . ]
[Woman With Poopies (are you noticing a trend with Munch’s titles?) . . . ]
[Women With Musical Instruments . . . ]
In continuing with the theme of the evening, and of the cruise . . .
[Self portrait . . . ]
I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places. ~ Henny Youngman
Up Next: The cruise . . .
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