We ended up staying in Leon several days during which time John spent several hours frankensteining a repair of his chaco sandals which were about to fall apart. Bet you didn't know that dental floss has so many useful purposes. Luckily his seamstress skills were successully implemented along with the help of a few zipties and he could rest easy knowing he would not be forced to buy some blister inducing imitation tevas in Nicaragua.
A side note on options not taken: another big adventure attraction in Leon is to go sandboarding down a volcano. Sounds like fun. We considered it - until seeing the backside of a woman who had taken a tumble. You sit in these cart like things and go careening down the volcano. Well she tipped over and had the nastiest roadburn I have seen in ages. Appartently there is no protective gear - and its hot so people are showing a lot of skin. Ouch!!! Hopefully that volcanic ash burned into her skin doesn't scar!
D r e a m B i g - - L i v e L a r g e