Nicaragua. While the name still conjures up images of civil war for most Americans, today you would be hard pressed to find a more welcoming place to travel. I spent 10 days in the country this January and I can't wait to go back!

Avoiding Managua at all costs, I started my travels in Leon, the old colonial capital in the northwest of the country. This turned out to my favorite of the two beautiful colonial cities I visited, narrowly edging out Granada. No trip to Leon would be complete without a visit to Leon's mighty cathedral. This venerable building has withstood more than its share of earthquakes and still stands proudly, though a bit grimy, in the center of town. The view from the roof is superb.

Other historic treasures are scattered around the city, including the remains of churches bombed out during the civil war and never rebuilt.

Perhaps the best part of Leon is the nearby activities (though I did enjoy the nightlife as well, perhaps too much). How could you pass up a chance to go "volcano surfing" on Cerro Negro? This ludicrous sport involves sledding down the fine volcanic stones of this still-smoking young volcano at speeds up to 50 km/h. I managed to hit only 46 km/h due to a massive wipeout about half way down (not pictured...). Its harder than it looks!

On our way up.

The crater, smoking and smelling like sulfur.

Volcaon surfing!

After all that activity, I spent the next day relaxing on the nearby beach of Las Panitas.

My next major stop was Granada. This is another beautiful old colonial city, with buildings painted in pastel colors and tourists and churches everywhere. I tried a local specialty, yucca, in the Parque Central. The cathedral dominates the skyline.

I spent the next day relaxing at the Laguna de Apoyo, a lake formed in the bottom of a huge old volcano crater, where I met these kids. Don't let those cute grins fool you, that six pack was full an hour ago...

Granada also had some worthy nightlife as well as a vibrant expat and backpacker community. I found plenty of other fans to watch the NFL playoffs with.

After Granada I took a couple busses and a ferry to the island of Ometepe. This island is formed from two huge volcanoes rising up out of the middle of Lake Nicaragua and connected by a narrow isthmus. I opted for the wilder southern part, Volcan Madera, where I stayed in a thatched two-story bungalow called Little Morgan's with about a dozen other backpackers. It was a great community. We played lots of pool and backgammon, and watched cheesy movies in the evenings while we recovered from all our daytime activities.

The first day I rode a loop of the southern volcano with a French Canadian traveler named Vincent who had quit his banking job to go traveling just before things fell apart. The loop, about 35 km over very poor roads on even worse bikes, was definitely a challenge. The roads are so bad here that driving 10 miles can easily take an hour. The scenery made up for the hard work though.

Looking back at Volcan Concepcion, a kid loading plantains onto his horse, still the primary form of power and transportation in most of the country. He insisted that I take his picture.

Volcan Madera, which I would climb tomorrow. For some reason, no matter what the weather, the volcanoes are almost always covered by their own cloud cap. Also, my travel partner Vincent, which after 3 months in Central America can show off his tan.

The next day Vincent, and I, together with a British girl named Nikki, and two local guides, decided to climb Volcan Madera. The climb started well, with good weather. About half way up the was a break in the trees that gave us these great views across the isthmus to Volcan Concepcion. We also passed a group of villagers pulling beans right off the side of the mountain. The soil is so rich that they beans re-grow naturally and can be harvested a couple of times a year (or at least that's what I think the guide said).

Once we passed a certain point in the climb, we entered the cloud cap and things got very, very wet and muddy. At some point I decided that it was a waste of energy to try to avoid getting muddy, you just have to embrace it. By the end we were all covered, though our guides were somehow virtually untouched.

I spent the night after the climb recovering. The next day was my last in Nica, so I headed back to Granada. On the way I took this picture of ladies running a laundry service, by hand, in the lake. Just drop your laundry off lakeside and pick up half a day later.

Overall, Nicaragua was great. Its probably one of my top five travel destinations. I'd love to make it back sometime soon, but then again, there are so many other places in this world to see...