Maybe Not the Next Olympic Sport

Two days ago Lauren and I went volcano boarding, an activity that my friend Cait highly recommended after she tried it in Leon. It sounded to me like it would be something along the lines of snowboarding or sand boarding, but just on a volcano. I was mistaken; I guess I didn't examine the photos closely enough. After riding in the back of a pickup truck for close to an hour on pothole-filled dirt roads, we began our ascent of the volcano. The hike took about a half hour, not too bad, but doing it while carrying a tobbogan-like piece of wood, a backpack, and an orange jumpsuit that can only be described as belonging to a Guantanamo Bay prisoner (all of this in 95 degree heat mind you), I realized 1. How out of shape I am and 2. How much I really don't enjoy hiking. But then we got to the top and I completely forgot about the agony of the hike, wiped the dripping sweat off of my face, and took in the amazing view. From the top you could see a giant hole plus a combination of ash, sulfur, graphite, and calcium from when the Cerro Negro volcano last erupted (in 1992 and 1999). Supposedly it erupts every 7 years, but it didn't erupt in 2006 so they're still waiting...
After oohing and awing at the spectacular views, it was time to put on our jumpsuits and goggles and "fall off" the volcano as our guide put it. Being the only girls in the group, Lauren and I were made to go first because, as our female guide said, it's more fun to see the boys crash and burn from the bottom (sidenote: she was totally right!). Lauren was terrified, and I was a bit nervous but not admitting it. We were both going good at first, but we were given instructions to eventually put our feet out on either side and lightly tap the surface to break, but we were goign so fast (68 km/hr) that it was too hard to pull our feet back up on the board and we ended up spewing rocks all up in our faces and body. It was thrilling for about 5 seconds, until I ate so much volcanic ash that by the end of it I was about 3 skin shades darker. One guy we were with got so much momentum and couldn't slow down that he ended up flipping head over feet multiple times down the volcano, cutting his head and nose up. Perhaps the most worthwhile part of the trip was upon arrival, when our free mojito was hastily handed to us.


The rest of our time in Leon was spent lounging around the hostel, meeting fellow travelers, walking around the city, and trying to find the best street food for the best deal. Oh, and we did get in our share of culture by going to the house where Ruben Dario grew up (Nicaragua's most famous poet), which is now a museum.