Part Two

The fun weekend continued on Sunday when I took off for Leon. For this trip I went with the other exchange students and students from UAM. Again Leon is only about an hour away from Managua, so we got there in no time. The city resembles that of Granada, colorful buildings and security. BUT, we were not there to look at the city. We were there to sandboard! 

We pulled up to Bigfoot, the official sandboarding company to grab our gear and get started on this crazy adventure.

 

The truck we got to ride in through the jungle for an hour!

 From the truck, we got the first glimspe of how crazy we were for agreeing to do this.  This is Volcano Cerro Negro. It is still active, but when it is not erupting, Nicas use it for entertainment.

Let me take a second to describe sandboarding. We were going to climb up the volcano carrying our board (basically a piece of plywood with a rope attached to it). Then once at the top we sit on the boards and slide down the side of the volcano. It sounded fun, but as we got closer, I had my doubts!

Here I am all ready to go with my board and everything!

 

We began our climb up the mountain quickly becoming exhausted. At first, the footing was certain and easy. However, as we got higher the ground changed into loose rock and sand that tired everyone. 

We did make it to the top in a little over an hour. The views were amazing!

 

 After messing around on the top of the volcano, it was time to face our fates. Haha we put on these lovely orange clown suits and lined up to head down!

The anxiety built in me as I sat waiting for the signal to go. However, after a quick prayer for safety, I felt much better and was even getting impatient that the person in front of me was taking sooo long. Finally, I was able to launch of!!!

Here is what it looks like:

 At the bottom, a man records your time. I clocked in at 44 kph (about 27 mph)!(The record time at Bigfoot is 90kph)  It was exhillarating. I was covered in sand and rock and had a mouthful of dust by the time I reached the end, but it was all worth it.

It was a great experience and definitely something I will have to tell the grandchildren when I am old and crimpled.

"You think I am old and boring now? When I was your age, I slide down an active volcano on my behind!"