14 day Panama Canal Cruise...part 5...Nicauagua and the Colonial City of Leon.

Good morning.
We arrived the next morning in Corinto, Nicaragua. This is what greeted our ship....

There was music and dancing. Adults and children. The warmest welcome we've had on the entire cruise! Here's a pic of me on our balcony as we waited to disembark.

There were children handing out gift bags as we came off the ship. Below, Craig, Carmen, and Pat.

The tour we booked for this stop was the Colonial City of Leon. It was founded in 1524.
Became the capitol when the United Provinces of Central America broke up in 1839, and Nicaragua became a separate country.
The capitol was moved to Managua in 1852.
Anyway, the main building in town is the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary built between 1747 and 1814.

A massive structure for such a small town. It dominates a square in the middle of the city of 200,000.

Up on the roof, you can see more detail in the arches.

And of course, the sounding area.

Around the square are government buildings, shops and cafe's. This is a very popular tourist stop.
And believe this.... They had a McDonald's just sown the street! We wandered some shops and had a beer at one of the cafe's. Didn't buy anything here.
The town was about an hour and a half bus ride to and from the port.
So far, we've had great weather, although quite humid.
Next stop....Guatemala.