Let's just be honest. This is not going to be a glowing report of how much fun my volcano boarding experience was. It's just not. I hate roller coasters and with the exception of volleyball, I don't care much for activities that cause me to break any sort of sweat. I also value my life.
So what on earth was I thinking?
First, some basic information:
Location-Cerro Negro, just outside of Leon, 728 meters tall, and the youngest volcano in Nicaragua.
Cost-$28 US dollars. A cheap price to possibly shorten my life.
State of mind: Panic mixed with resignation. The pictures you see in this post belie the fear within.
My state of mind was not improved when my first encounter of the day was with a girl who had just an accident the day prior, involving the very same volcano. Hmm. She had a rather scary looking bandage wrapped aroud her head, a very large black eye, and blood in her retina.
Wonderful.
I was considering giving it up, but I didn't want to be a quitter and supposedly volcano boarding was the thrill of a lifetime. I also need good stories to tell my students and my future children, so I determined to tough it out. Upon arriving at Cerro Negro however, I began to reevaluate my life. Although not the steepest volcano I have ever seen, it is nevertheless, a giant volcano. And I wanted to sled down it? Right.
So began the trek up the incline. As I am not in shape whatsoever, and I am also lugging a giant board, I quickly fell to the back of the pack. The rest of the group trotted merrily on past me, not breathing hard at all. I considered hating them. Then I spotted my new best friend, a fellow climber who just so happened to have asthma. If she can do it, I can do it. She stopped every 10 steps or so to breathe, and so I gladly waited behind her. She kept apologizing to me, and I assured her that I was completely fine. Then when our guide realized he was missing two climbers, he came back for us, took our boards and carried them for us to the next resting spot.
Not what I had intentionally planned, but perfect nonetheless.
Upon arriving at the top, I was completely pleased that I had made it, and resigned myself to the task of getting down in one complete piece. The company (Tierra Tours) provides a hot looking jumpsuit, elbow, knee, and wrist protection, and goggles. No helmet. Siiiiigh. As if heading to my execution, I slowly don each piece, biding my time until the last minute. When I can wait no more, I get on my board and proceed to..........
Inch down the volcano. Yes! Just the speed I like. I literally dug my heels in to the volcanic rocks the entire way down. At two points, I came to a complete stop as I felt myself hurtling out of control. I should probably clarify "hurtling." By this, I just mean that I was going approximately 3 mph, instead of 2 mph.
As I am inching my way down, the thought crosses my mind that this is probably not how it's supposed to be done. If I could compare, it would be like a grandmother driving to Sunday church in a nice big Buick.
But I don't care. I arrived alive and unscathed.
And I will never do it again,. Once was enough! I do wish I had enjoyed it more, because it certainly looks like tons of fun. I just didn't have any.
If you have been volcano boarding, what was your experience? If you haven't, would you do it?
Great post glad to see you didn't decide to quit! $28 isn't that bad to go volcano boarding but it looks like it was really hot out there and to add that protective suit. Wish there was a photo or video or you actually on your way down.
ReplyDeleteWow, that looks like super fun!
ReplyDeleteBahaha. That's so funny: like a grandmother driving to Sunday church in a nice big Buick. When I took the luge-thingy down the Great Wall of China, that's pretty much how I treated my descent, too.
ReplyDeleteWe went volcano boarding with Quetzaltrekkers and had a quite good experience. The boards were not as fast as the ones from Bigfoot (where people ended up with major wounds) but not as slow as the boards from Tierra. We probably wouldn't do it again, but we're glad we did... it's a very unique experience after all :)
ReplyDeleteBluegreen Kirk, it was crazy hot.
ReplyDeleteRoy, not so much fun.
Odysseus Drifts, you can LUGE down the Great Wall now? Wow. I took the old fashioned way, ha. The cable car.
Globetrotter Girls: I agree, won´t do it again, but it was definitely an experience!
Thanks everyone for stopping by!
i would hope to try to do that...i def wouldve done it with you, but i dont know that i wouldve done it alone. i would be scared about having my loved ones find out i had a head injury skiing down a volcano hahah :) i'm SO glad you're safe and sound! congrats on having the cahones! :)
ReplyDeleteSlow & steady wins the race. ;)
ReplyDeleteSuby, I know you would have! Matthew, you got it. I made it, and that's all that counts.
ReplyDeleteLove it!! I've had a crazy week at work so I'm just now getting to reading this. A. - I still want to do this. B. I'll probably dig my heels in too :)
ReplyDeleteYour jumpsuit was cuter than the ones my friends had. And they did not get hurt either (except scrapes from ill-fitting jumpsuits) but they knew it was a big possibility. There's a fantastic You Tube video somewhere I'll have to send to you of someone taking a really funny spill doing this. Glad you're unscathed!
Hey Claire! Glad you're back! This volcano boarding looks A W E S O M E !! I would love to try this. When I was in Indonesia many eons ago, I climbed a volcano on of the islands. My memory is vague now because I visited Java, Bali and Sumatra and I climbed a few volcanoes and I can't remember which one it was...but I remember the coming down experience clearly. We were the only tourists there and this place was untouched. It was an incredible experience and the only way down was to slide down the volcanic earth and ashes. on our butts! I trashed my very expensive jeans. But it was well worth it!
ReplyDeleteLove your stories!
And yes, I do make all my own jewellery, except for the ones labelled: Vintage and those are inherited pieces.
Spread the word. I need it :-)). from an out of work teacher to another teacher. xoxo
Thanks Dana, I thought my jumpsuit was kind of cute too. Better than the orange ones I have seen floating around!
ReplyDeleteReese: Yes, the only way to get down is either to board or slide! It is nearly impossible to walk. Same thing happened to me in guatemala, before the advent of boarding down! Love love love the jewelry, and I will definitely spread the word. I already liked you on facebook, and I will post another link!