Leon

Overview

Introduction

Located in northwestern Nicaragua, about 90 minutes northwest of the capital city, Managua, and just 12 mi/20 km from Pacific coast beaches, Leon, Nicaragua, was first established in 1524, though it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1610 and rebuilt in a different spot. To the north and east of Leon are several prominent volcanoes.

Leon served as the capital of Nicaragua throughout most of the Spanish colonial period until 1857 and was the center of politics, education, culture and religion. As a result, the Spanish built many grand government buildings, Catholic churches and city blocks full of smaller colonial buildings. Thousands of original colonial buildings fill the city—many have been restored and others are still undergoing restoration.

Universidad Nacional Autonomo de Nicaragua (UNAN), Nicaragua's first and most important university, is located on a huge leafy campus just south of the city center. Today, the city has a large university population and is considered the intellectual capital of Nicaragua. Long Nicaragua's liberal hub, Leon was one of the strongholds of the anti-Somoza forces during the revolution. The Sandinistas still remain a powerful force in the city.

For a glimpse of Leon's revolutionary spirit, visit the monument to the "Martyrs of the Revolution" across from the cathedral, where a fascinating mural portrays the history of Nicaragua, from pre-Columbian times through the present. Other colorful murals can be seen throughout the city, along with pro-Sandinista graffiti.

One of the city's greatest attractions is its spirited street life: Mariachi bands and marimba players often stroll the streets. Children often go door to door with 10-ft-/3-m-tall puppets, reciting humorous poetry and beating on drums and trash-can covers. One fun way to observe the activity is to take a ride on the inexpensive open bus that cruises the city on warm nights.

Overview

Introduction

The industrial city of Leon, 240 mi/380 km northwest of Mexico City, is the largest in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It has little of interest to most tourists, however.

Shoe factories abound in Leon, and several specialized malls offer good prices on footwear (especially boots, which they export to the U.S.), purses and other leather items. The main bus terminal is right across the street from a collection of more than 1,000 shoe shops, making this an easy day trip for shopping from San Miguel de Allende or Guanajuato City.

The Explora Science Center, a hands-on science museum with an IMAX theater, is quite informative and fun for families. There's also a nice city park and zoo.

Overview

Introduction

Even in a region that has known considerable turmoil, Sierra Leone stands out. The United Nations has named it the least developed and least livable country in the world—a sad irony for a nation that is endowed with large deposits of gold and diamonds. But then, it was in large part a struggle for control of those resources that fueled some 10 years of conflict between corrupt officials, rebel insurgents and renegade government soldiers.

Although its years of civil war and anarchy show signs of having ended with recent peaceful elections, the toll has been enormous. During most of the fighting, the country's rich mineral deposits either were left untapped—or were controlled by rebels who used the profits to buy weapons. Reports of atrocities committed by the rebels include mutilations, rapes and conscription of children. Thousands of civilians died in the fighting, and hundreds more perished trying to escape the country in flimsy boats. Entire cities have been devastated. Some rebuilding has begun, but Sierra Leone faces a long period of recovery before it will be a welcoming destination again.

Geography

History

The country has a history as complex as its present. The Bulom people are believed to have been the earliest inhabitants of Sierra Leone, followed by the Mende, the Temne and then the Fulani. Sierra Leone was not colonized until the end of the 18th century when it was settled first by former slaves who had fought for the British in the American Revolution and later by others who had been freed from slave ships on their way to the Americas. (The national capital is named, appropriately, Freetown.) The country remained under British rule until independence in 1961.

In 1985, Sierra Leone became the first country in Africa in which the military took power without a coup (when the president retired and handed the reins over to the military). The government, however, was never able to take control of the entire country, leaving the countryside at the mercy of marauding bands of rebels and undisciplined soldiers. Confounding all observers, Sierra Leone experienced an abrupt turnaround in 1996. The military was kept in check, fair elections were held, and a peace agreement was reached with the rebels. All that dissolved a year later when rebels (the Revolutionary United Front, or RUF) again seized control of the country, forcing elected President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah to flee the capital. A multinational force, the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), was brought in to oust the rebels. By 1998, ECOMOG had retaken Freetown and arrested rebel leader Foday Sankoh.

President Kabbah and Sankoh eventually signed a peace accord, but Sankoh failed to honor the pact. Instead, he sent RUF forces rampaging across the countryside, killing anyone who dared stand up to them—including U.N. peacekeepers. ECOMOG finally gained the upper hand, and a lengthy disarmament process was followed by yet another round of peaceful elections. Yet, though the conflict itself may be over, its reverberations continue to be felt. With more than half the country's population now living below the poverty line, Sierra Leone has been listed by the United Nations as the "least livable" country in the world.

As U.N. peacekeepers prepare to leave the country in late 2005, travelers to Sierre Leone are advised to maintain a high level of vigilance.

Snapshot

The foremost attractions of Sierra Leone include tribal culture, bird-watching, diamond mines, beaches and game reserves.

Sierra Leone's infrastructure remains in a state of collapse, tourist facilities are nearly nonexistent, and power outages and shortages are a problem. Until stability can be assured, only the most adventurous and self-sufficient travelers should consider going, and extreme caution should be exercised by all.

Potpourri

A member of the British Commonwealth, Sierra Leone fielded a team of athletes 30-strong to the U.K.'s Commonwealth Games in 2002. But when the games ended, only nine athletes went home—the rest had slipped away, apparently to seek a new life overseas.

Despite a movement against it throughout the rest of Africa, the practice of female genital mutilation, often known as female circumcision, is prevalent in Sierra Leone. Reports indicate the practice is endorsed by 90% of the population, including women.

Many of the characters in the movie Amistad, which was based on an actual series of events, were from the Mende tribe of Sierra Leone, including the film's hero, Cinque.

Life expectancy in Sierra Leone is 42 years.

Unlike the rest of Africa, signposts give distances in miles instead of kilometers. Of course, this information will be applied sparingly—you'll rarely see a signpost.

During the darkest days of Sierra Leone's recent troubles, the government recruited a patchwork of mercenaries to help fight the equally fragmented rebel groups. Soldiers-for-hire included former British commandos, Nepalese Gurkhas and a South African mercenary firm called Executive Outcomes. The government began recruiting foreign fighters after it became aware that an estimated 20% of its army was also operating as freelance rebels and bandits. In one crackdown, more than 400 people were arrested in the Freetown area for impersonating military personnel. Rebels had been known to dress up as government forces and ransack towns for money and supplies. The rebels were so successful that some corrupt soldiers began to copy them—they ransacked towns pretending to be rebels pretending to be soldiers.

The Krio language spoken by the Creoles of the Freetown peninsula is a peculiar and humorous-sounding language to English speakers. Based partly on archaic English, some of the recognizable words include tifing (thieving), Piskoh (Peace Corps) and orinch (orange).

For a taste of local music, check out Fire Dombolo, the CD by Abdul Tee-Jay's Rokoto. It includes a mix of styles including highlife, soukous, makossa and palm-wine music.

During the war, large refugee settlements sprang up in Freetown's cemeteries.

Sierra Leonese divide themselves into 18 different ethnic groups. The two largest are the Temne (in the north) and the Mende (in the south), but the Sherbro and Lokko are also well represented.

Secret tribal organizations still play an important role in society. Among them are Bundu and Sande (for women) and Poro (for men).

The cloth a rural woman wraps around her waist is called a lappa.

In December, the only relatively dry month, you may find that your clothes are quickly covered with red laterite dust.

Sefadu once was a relatively wealthy town in the country's diamond-mining region, about 165 mi/265 km east of Freetown. Unfortunately, its bounty attracted marauding rebels and soldiers, who periodically ransacked the city. When conditions improve, a side trip to Mount Sakanbiaiwa will interest naturalists—there are also some interesting waterfalls nearby.