VOLCANO BOARDING in NICARAGUA
- Sabrina Shen
- Mar 23, 2016
- 8 min read
Cerro Negro. The youngest volcano in Central America and a unique destination for thrill seekers all around the globe. It ranks a solid #2 on CNN's top 50 big thrills list... right under their much deserved #1. Jet Fighter pilot for a day, with the company MiGFlug based out of Russia (Ummm... looks like the D&ME bucket list just got a major addition!) But still...number 2 out of 50 of the worlds most dangerous activities? That's pretty high, right? Well, if sliding down a 750m high volcano at speeds of up to 95 km on nothing but a piece of plywood and fiberglass doesn't convince you, here's the kicker and why it's #2. The volcano is very, very much active. In fact, it's one of the most active volcano's in Central America with the latest eruption in 1999. Crazy huh? Seriously though, you shoulda seen D and me climbing the ridge. We were totally ready to throw down our boards at a moments notice, safety gear be damned and slide down at the first sign of ANYTHING happening. I'm talking rumbling, smoke, crazy lava explosions, wind change, birds changing direction mid-flight...I mean anything. But of course, none of these things happened :) Instead the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the ground stayed where it's supposed to, firmly under our feet and we even saw the most beautiful yellow butterflies fluttering around and chasing each other to the top :) God blessed us with a perfectly beautiful day for a perfectly wonderful adventure.
WHERE: LEON, NICARAGUA
PAY: BIG FOOT HOSTEL
COST: US $30 PP
TOTAL TIME: APROX 5 HRS
BRING: CLOSED TOED SHOES, bandana, SUNBLOCK, HAT, US $5 (ENTRY FEE), H2O, SMILE :)
WHAT'S PROVIDED: TRANSPORTATION, JUMPSUIT, VOLCANO BOARD, GOGGLES, BEER & COOKIES (AT LEAST ON OUR TRIP!), AMAZING TOUR GUIDE, COMPLIMENTARY MOJITO'S & LOADS OF FUN :)
The whole adventure starts at Big
Foot Hostel in Leon, Nicaragua.
They pack you in a huge open
truck and when I say pack, I mean PACKED. We seriously looked like a big orange tin of
human sardines. But on the plus side we were a bunch of happy sardines! Everyone's excited and looking foward to the adventure :) As far as the ride itself it's about 40 min and lemme tell you, Indiana Jones (my favorite ride after Space Mountain :) at Disneyland's got NOTHING on this ride. No wonder the suspension on this truck's insane! It's gotta be. It was like, pay for Volcano boarding, get a roller coaster ride for free! Super fun ( but make sure you know a good chiropractor :)
After about 40 min of offroading craziness you arrive at the entry point to Cerro Negro, a small blue building where you can buy snacks and drinks (small selection). At this point you pay the $5 entry fee (make sure your US bills are PERFECT. No one in Nicaragua will take any $ that has the slightest tears or rips, trust me on this) and then also sign a ledger book. They basically ask for your name, nationality, gender, age and date. After everyone's payed and signed... off you go!
FYI, while we were waiting for everyone else to finish up, I noticed a sick rope bridge to the left that looked like a platform for a zipline. There weren't any signs...so of course I climbed up. Wow. The view from the platform was AMAZING. Way better from the ground. If you get a chance and no one stops you...check it out for sure. Everyone else stayed by the truck, it was like our secret spot. D and me got our first real view of Cerro Negro from that little platform. Awesome.
After a short ride, you're finally there. At the foot of Cerro Negro! The Volcano is aptly named, it looks exactly like what J.R.R Tolkien had in mind when he was imagining Mordor. A large, towering mass of blackness rising right in front of you. You really have no idea the large scope of it until you're actually standing there at the base looking up... then you realize you're gonna get on piece of plywood and slide down that thing...and you start to get really, really excited.
You get one orange bag with a jumpsuit inside, one board and a pair of safety goggles. You will have to carry all three along the 1 hour trek to the top. At this point there is an option to pay a porter to carry your board up for US $5 ( for obvious reasons you only have to pay him for one way :) Then... you climb...and climb...and climb. The guide stops a few times on the way up to give everyone a chance to rest, grab a drink and take some photos. He also gives you some really interesting history about the Volcano and the origin of Volcano boarding. As you climb higher, not only do the views get more amazing, the intensity of the wind gets crazy. I saw quite a few people struggling to hold on to their boards. And then...
You're there!!! It's truly, absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. The view from the top is sick as you can see from my friend Alex's superman pose here. OK ladies, at this point I am totally gonna go off tangent, although for a much deserved rant. Gentlemen, you may just wanna skip to the next paragraph :) This guy was AMAZING. No joke. I didn't think men like this existed anymore. So about two-thirds up I got really lightheaded and nauseous ( I think it was a combo of being out of shape, having skipped breakfast, and the altitude). MAKE SURE you do the OPPOSITE of me. Get in shape and ALWAYS eat breakfast! Anyway, D and I step off the trail to rest a minute and "poof" like a freakin Chippendale lookin GENIE, this guy Alex is right there by my side. He asks me if I'm ok, I stutter that I'm fine. He tells me he was a medic in Afghanistan and asks me if I have a bandana. I stammer yes, that it's in my turtle. He takes my turtle off my shoulder, takes my bandana, takes out his water bottle, pours cold water over it, gets behind me, wraps it over my head and ties it. THEN he asks me if he tied it too tight or if I'm comfortable. Are you SERIOUS?!? Like a mute child I mumble something like...it feels good...thanks. He asks me if I have a hat. I shake my head no. So of course, he takes off his hat and puts it on my head. He doesn't hand it to me, no, that's what normal people do. This complete stranger takes his hat and puts it on my head for me, takes it off, adjusts the size and puts it back on my head. He tells me with a smile, it's his favorite hat so if I could please be careful of the wind. I tell him I'm not comfortable, it's so windy and I don't want to lose his hat. He smiles, leans foward, takes the hat off my head and switches it around so the bill is in the back, smiles and says now I don't have to worry about the wind. THEN he takes the orange jumpsuit bag off my shoulder and starts to take my turtle as well to carry them for me. I let him take the jumpsuit bag but I draw the line at the turtle. I mean geez at this point the tomboy in me is screaming, "YOU TOTAL PANSY!!!" while the girl in me is like, "OMG BEING a DAMSEL IN DISTRESS FREAKIN ROCKS!" I let them fight it out while I stare at Alex wondering if he's a real person. THEN he walks behind me to the next stopping point where he finds a rock for me to sit on. I mean COME ON. FYI, Damsel in Distress won this battle. Hands down. So I know that was quite a tangent but you know what? A human being like Alex totally deserves the shout out, hence the picture above and the extra post. Thank you for being such a perfect gentleman, Alex. You're kindness and thoughtfulness is not only rare and appreciated, but much, much needed in this world :)
Once at the top there's ample time for pictures while the guide goes and digs up baked potatoes he buried the tour before. He buries them raw and the heat from the volcano actually bakes them...What?!? He rubs them with salt and rosemary, then wraps them in aIuminum foil. Lol, D follows the guide to go dig them up and about 5 min later I see him full on running towards me with a potato in his hand and a huge smile on his face. I can't help but laugh and I'm like, why are you running? He starts laughing while panting and says, there weren't enough potatoes to go around so the guides like, we have to share these and hands me the first one. I grab it and take of running cause I knew you wouldn't want to share. LOL!!! We seriously looked like crazy people, standing on top of a freakin volcano, cracking up, laughing our %&#*'s off, eating a potato baked inside a volcano. Seriously. You can't make this stuff up. Here's a shot of me after my first bite. Best potato ever!
Allright, allright...now we get to the whole reason we're all here. Everyone changes into their jumpsuits which is a feat in itself cause the wind is really INSANE at this altitude. We all head over the ridge to the edge and that's when you have a real whoaaaa....moment. It's steep. Way steeper than you imagine it'll be. You go one at a time and everyone laughs and jokes while waiting, especially when you hear the yells and screams on the way down...
And there I go!!! Looking like some weird pregnant asian minion pumpkin :) The fastest speed clocked was 95 km which is CRAZY!
The one thing that really suprised me was how far up we were. I mean, it really felt like I was sliding forever. It kept going and going and going...and the whole time you're smiling like an idiot while simultaneously praying like a monk!
And then there's D. Of course he tries to get the fastest time and completely wipes out about two-thirds of the way down. He literally flew head over heels about 30 ft down the volcano.
And this is the magnificent result. Of course, he's proud of it :) I swear D's not happy unless he has some sort of bodily injury he can show off at any given moments notice. It didn't help that he's 6'6 and the suit that came past my wrists didn't even make it past his elbow :) Moral of the story? This is what happens when you try to break the fastest record going down the side of a 750m Volcano.
And THIS is what happens when you tie with 4 other people for last place :)
YAY!!! ICE COLD WATER after a hot, sweaty day of adventure? Sounds more like a reward than a punishment. BRING IT!!!
CHEERS! When everyone's done and all jumpsuits are off the guide suprised everyone with a cooler filled with beers and cookies!!! Needless to say, it was a huge hit with this crowd. Perfect preparation for the off-roading adventure back home :)
Everyone winding down, talking story and enjoying complimentary mojitos (courtesy of Big Foot Hostel) after the crazy ride back :) BTW, see the blonde girl in the back? That's Emma and SHE got the fastest time of the day at 83km!!! How sick is that?!?
And last but not least, I absolutely have to give a shout out to this guy. This is Ryan and he was our tour operator & guide. He's amazing. He totally made the trip fun, exciting, and suprisingly informative. From stopping the truck along the way there to pick local plants for us to try, to trivia games on the way back with extra beer and cookies as prizes, he handled the group like a pro and made everyone's experience that much more memorable and enjoyable. All in all an amazing day filled with lots of fun, laughter and adventure. Feel free to comment below with any additional questions and either D or myself will definitely do our best to answer them :) Hope Cerro Negro's in your future and and we look foward to hearing about it soon!
Watch all of the fun craziness via our youtube video above! If you haven't already, please subscribe to our YouTube channel after watching and feel free to leave any questions or comments about the blog or the video below!
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