Volcano Boarding

Ever heard of volcano boarding? Well it is a new activity developed by this Aussie guy who owes the hostel Big Foot in Leon, Nicaragua. About three years ago he opened a popular hostel in the center of the colonial city of Leon, Nicaragua. He and his girlfriend take tourists on daily trips to the local Cerro Negro volcano. Cerro Negro is a unique and young volcano. It is about 23 km away from Leon and erupts every few years. As you could guess from the name is a black and full of rocks ranging in size. There is no vegetation which provides great views of the surrounding countryside and other volcanoes. The hike is not too difficult, with the exception of some steep areas and the fact that there is no real path leading to the summit. The biggest challenge is the heat. During the short hour hike there is not escape from the beaming sun. Once on the top you can tour the surrounding around which includes two craters and sulfur raising from the rocks.

The volcano is only about 150 years old, making it the youngest in Nicaragua. Before the arrival of the volcano it was used as farmland and still to this day is private land. However, tourists are able to hike and use the volcano for a small entrance fee. But strangely enough the entrance fee doesn’t go to the family, rather half goes to this organization I still not understand, and the other half goes into fund to help the surrounding communities rebuild after the eruptions. Last time Cerro Nergo blew (1999) it covered houses as far as Leon. Keep in mind there are houses within a half mile of the active beast. So you can image that fund goes to good use.

Now to the fun part…volcano boarding. This is straight out of the Jackass TV series. After years of trail and error, mostly error the creator of volcano boarding finally developed a functional board that goes fairly straight and fast as hell down the slope of the volcano. Aiding in the speed is a plastic strip on the bottom of the board. This plastic strip must be replaced after each use. After a brief lesson its go time. My group was 9 people, all nervous as hell staring down a 450 meter slope full of rocks that got to the size of apples. Most of the instruction was highlighting how fast you could go and how the slightest movement of your hands or body would throw you off your board crashing on the black rocks. All of this was very comforting knowing that it is possible to go over 70 kmp. You can control you speed through a number of technical movements. But the most basic form of speed control is to lightly place your heals in the ground to create friction. The girls were forced to go first. Apparently previously guys would go first and they would have crazy crashes and the girls would be too scared to go. With that said all the girls went down slowly but successfully without too many crashes.

I was next and decided to go for it. As I sat on my board I look down and saw the others on the bottom of the volcano. Although they were tiny dots I could easily make they out due to the bright orange colored jumpsuits we used as minimum protection. I was ready to go; I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and said… READY. The guide then counted 3…2…1 GO!!! And gave me a huge push and I was off. I was cruising for about 10 seconds going fast as hell, doing great. I was going straight and in my head I though I had it is the bag. Then out of nowhere. I started curving to the right and within a split second I was flying in the air, off my board and my body crashed to the mass of the volcano. I shook the dust and small black pebbles out of my hair stood up in the middle of the slope grabbed my board and continued on. I never quite got my rhythm back but I had a good finish. Amazingly I only ended up only with cuts on my legs and hands. If anyone is coming to Leon, Nicaragua make sure you check out volcano boarding.

The rules of dancing

Salsa. Latinos eat, breathe and live it. Before my arrival I thought this was an exaggeration portrayed by countless movies and stereotypes. I was sure not everyone fueled themselves on the rhythms of Salsa in the vogue discos. Well, I was wrong. Everyone DOES dance salsa and they’re damn good at it too. Actually, they’re quite intimating if you aren’t the natural dancer as many here are. Most locals grow up listening to the music as a baby. During my homestay, and various parties at Ana´s house, I would see babies who would barely stand moving to the music with much more success then me.

Slasa to a foreigner can be quite a confusion form of communication and entertainment. Although it is all in the spirit of good fun, the very essence of the dance art is sensual and at times very intimate. It is common to see a couple dancing in what appears to be a very provocative and suggestive matter, only later to find out they are siblings or cousins. When it comes to dancing with girls you’re interested in, the confusion continues. The following is my first experience. It was around 11pm on Saturday night in Granada. Some buddies and I from the hostel headed to the disco. After a few Fora de cana (local rum) I got the courage to ask this cute girl to dance. The girl accepts and we head to the dance floor. Things are going good. The disco is pumping, the floor is full enough for me to subtlety filter in and utilized the few hours of dance classes I took. The girl is feeling the music, lots of body contact…things are good. The song finishes, the DJ spins another and this progression continues. After a few songs the DJ takes a break and everyone leaves the dance floor headed for a rest, or the bar. In my head although little words, English or Spanish were spoken I felt I could at least buy her a drink get her name, blah blah. As soon as the song finished she sat down at her original table with no vacant seats and that was it. All is good when it comes to dances, but man I was confused. But it was a good lesson, people down here just love to dance.