View of the El Calvario Church in Leon.Leon was the heart of the Nicaraguan revolution. It stands in stark contrast to Granada, the seat of the conservative ruling party of several generations past. Leon is non-touristy, where Granada is all Irish Pubs and mojitos, Leon is cuba libres and buckets of Victoria beer on ice. Leon is for locals. This is our day to be city people. This is our day for 1,000 photographs. Leon is also known for being the city of churches and along with markets, I love churches. We wander the streets of town, visiting what is hailed as the best coffee shop in the country (agree), an art gallery boasting some of the best from artists around Central America, and 4 or 5 different plazas. We are both drawn to the city. I have been boasting about street food vendors and we find a few ladies selling from a hot cart in the local market. We each buy a huge plate of food and sit down to eat. The bill comes to $5 total and it's the best meal we have during the entire trip. I'm surprised by how good the food is. When I lived in Guatemala, I wasn't overly impressed by the local cuisine, but Nica food some a bit more developed, using more spices, it's more complex. Ian finds a pair of boots he can't part with and we continue to wander the streets, photographing everything that is unique to the country: the horse-drawn carts careening through the streets, the 3-4 people riding on motos at the same time, two men playing chess next to a street food vendor, the murals scattered everywhere depicting scenes from the war, couples making out on park benches in the dark. I'm starting to realize that I love this country and it might be the most under-rated place I've come across. I don't know whether to shout about how much I love it when I come home or keep it as a secret to myself. I think I'll do a bit of both. Today is Ian's birthday, so we eat in style! The best dinner of the trip, without a doubt, is at Meson Real. The restaurant earns rave reviews on Trip Advisor for a reason. The owner is the head chef and he runs an intimate, jovial establishment. We feast on shrimp and succulent beef and buy two bottles of wine on special. Chef Gustavo chats with us for awhile and asks after our travel plans. I really can't say enough positive things about the food, atmosphere, etc. LOVE IT!
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 day ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
2 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
4 days ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.