We ran up to the bus as it was pulling out of the lot. They swung the back door open and threw our bags on, ushering us in quickly to the last remaining seats, scattering us throughout the bus. I was in the very last seat on the bus - next to a nice lady on my left, the aisle on my right, and a couple, presumably in their 40's, across from me. One of the bus workers planted himself in the aisle, leaning on the back door of the bus...perfect position for talking to me. I used this as a good opportunity to practice my spanish:
"I'm from the United States"
"Yes, that is my boyfriend up there"
"No, thank you. I have a boyfriend"
"No photos, please"
He finally accepted my rejection and eventually chatted up S, apparently trying to figure out which of the gringas was available. The back door of the bus also kept randomly swining open as we were driving 80 mph down the road. No big deal.
4 of us (us and a couple from Holland) continued on to Leòn via collectivo, similar to a van-type shuttle which takes a direct route to the destination, unlike the popular chicken buses. We were dropped off and refused a taxi ride to our hostel, where all of us would be staying. My American map reading skills came in handy, figuring out exactly where we were..which at that time happened to be on the corner of 3rd and 3rd. We made it the 1.5 miles to our hostel, Lazybones, and got settled in before heading out for dinner and a night time walk with the Holland couple.
The city is full of gorgeous churches - apparently several of them are connected by a tunnel systel under the city. The Cathedral of Leòn is the largest cathedral of Central America.
...and the bells are still rung by hand...
One of the things Leòn is popular for is the volcano boarding. We couldn't come here without trying it! We decided to go with a tour company (Quetzal Trekkers) that is run completely by volunteers...all profits made go to locally run projects working with desadvantaged youth. The guide even RUNS down the mountain instead of boarding, to save on the cost of renting a board ($4). Plus I got a "free" shirt. We set out with our guide and a Canadian couple for the hike up the volcano, Cerro Negro - a black, rocky volcano surrounded by a lush green landscape.
The 45 minute hike to the top was a bit of a challenge - the rock was quite slippery in places, the sun was blaring down, and the path was on a constant incline, and we were lugging boards up with us. The top provided gorgeous views of the surrounding valleys, as well as the several surrounding volcanoes.
A volcano in the distance with steam coming out of the crater..
The heat coming out of the ground was intense! Cerro Negro errupts once every 8 or so years...but despite being closed down several weeks ago because of earthquakes in the area, the last erruption was 14 years ago.
After taking in the scenic views, we headed over to "suit up" for the volcano boarding. Protective suits, goggles, and gloves. It was nothing short of attractive.
The steep-ness from the top made the mountain seem a little intimidating, but the ride down was awesome! We sat on the back of the boards, grabbing the rope and leaning back as far as possible for speed. It took a little getting use to - balance, lean back, steer, get up and dump the rocks off, try again. The first run was a rush! The wind (dirt) blowing through your hair, rocks in your shoes, sand in the mouth...it's the stuff dreams are made of and it HAD to be done again. We made our way up the mountain again and went for a 2nd run....this time we were well practiced in the proper methods and flew down the mountain without problems! By the end of it, Sean and one of the Canadians looked like they had spent the day in the coal mines...and my hair felt like I had used an entire can of hairspray. Totally worth it! We had lunch (delicious veggie burritos) and headed back to town.
I can now check volcano boarding off the bucket list...eventhough I was unaware it was ever there in the first place!
~Jac
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