Léon sights

We were in Léon on a cultural field trip (and to climb up then sled down a volcano!) over the weekend. The oldest cathedral in Central America is there. It took 113 years to build it. It's amazing, especially the roof.
Across the street is a museum of the Sandistan rebellion, which overtook the dictator Somoza. It is in an old building that had minor damage during the war. A man who may have fought himself in the 1970s guided us, providing history and personal stories about the war, how the university students and everyday residents took up arms for their beliefs.
It was really interesting to hear the Nicaraguan history from a local, and not filtered through a media line or politician. Everyone has their own bent but this way we have the local one too.
People are very proud here that they freed themselves from the Samoza rule. He was elected but then wouldn't leave. His family kept power until the people took it back. It wasn't what they imagined for their democracy.
There were elections, said Yacarely, but only for requirements. They weren't legitimate. She said her grandmother explained it to her this way:
"You would go vote, but people would know if you voted for Somoza because they would put a brown ink on your finger. If you voted for someone else they would put blue ink on your finger. Then you'd be in trouble."
The view from on top of the museum of the cathedral was one of the best I've seen.
At night, families, teenagers, everyone hangs out in the streets. There is not a lot to do and it's cultural. Even at the Eskimo ice-cream store, it's a sea of humanity. Families out for a snack, sitting on benches, a Muslim family smoking a hookah on the sidewalk — a parade of Nicaraguan life.
Here are some photos of Léon.