León Nicaragua – Volcano Boarding 3

Once we reached the top, he instructed us to put on the jumpsuits and goggles. After taking some group pictures in our silly outfits, he gathered us around for further instructions on how to make it down the mountain fast or safely.

“There are two sections to this slope,” he began. “You will start off at a slower speed and then half way down you hit a 45 degree angle where you will pick up a lot of speed. You won’t see it approaching, but you will feel it. To keep from being thrown off your board, you must keep it straight by taping your heels on the gravel one at a time. Once you hit the 45 degree angle, if you want to go for gold, just hold your legs up and hope for the best. If you want to slow down, continue to tap your heels on the ground in an alternating rhythm.” He also reminded us the top speeds were around 75km/h for females and 85km/h for males. We were all a bit nervous, some more than others. In groups of two we began to volcano board down the black volcanic gravel.

Aracely Castellani

(to be continued)

León Nicaragua – Volcano Boarding 2

For $25 per person Big Foot Hostel offers Volcano Boarding trips any day of the week when they can get enough people to sign up. The group got picked up at 9:00am in the morning and everyone piled into the back of a pickup truck for a bumpy 45 minute ride to the base of Volcano Cerro Negro. Along the drive we passed several settlements and waved to the workers leading their cattle to the farms.

Climbing Volcano Cerro Negro

We arrived to a small ranch styled building where each person paid another $100 Cordobas or $5 US dollars entrance fee to the volcano park. Everyone was then handed an orange bag and a wooden board with a laminated piece on the bottom for speed. The board was large and a bit awkward to carry so I gave mine to Jason and I offered to carry his light orange bag and our daypack. Our guide, Danny from England, led us up a rocky path to the top of the volcano’s crater. As we walked he educated us on Cerro Negro and about Nicaragua’s volcanic chain which we could see in the distance.

Aracely Castellani

(to be continued)