Volcano Boarding

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Time to go volcano boarding! Today I woke up fairly early to get a good day in. For breakfast I wandered next door for some beans and rice or gallo pinto as it is called here. After a relaxing breakfast I headed downtown to get some fruit and bakery goods. The town was bustling in the morning heat and I quickly got what I needed and headed back to the hostel. We got our bags and cameras ready then headed out. There was 20 of us so we packed into the back of two pickup trucks and drove off. It was a bumpy ride, by many locals who hooted and hollered at us, but not too long. When we arrived at the base of the volcano a local had caught a huge Boa constricter. Before we knew it, he was passing the two meter snake around, allowing us to hold it on our shoulders for some pictures. When at last Matt got his turn, the local let the snakes head go and the reaction was pretty good. I think Matt didn't expect it so he got the snake by the head and stood there clueless. Afterwords we went to an iguana pen to take some more pictures then it was time to hike the volcano. Forty minutes later and we were on top of Cerro Negro, the most active volcano in the world. It had erupted twenty times since the 1700's. We walked through the crater and around the top with our boards on our backs. Then it was time for the ride down. We all put our coveralls and goggles on and waited for our turn to ride down and try and break the speed record. The record was 82km/h by a German, so we were planning to put a Canadian name on the top. The first guy to go messed up badly and wiped out hard halfway down. I think that shell shocked the rest of us because he almost broke his ankle and was limping pretty badly. Justin and Jeff raced next and were neck and neck before Jeff passed Justin at the very end for the win. Then it was up to Matt and I. There was no way I was going to lose to a Fraser so I was ready from the get go. The first half of the course is gradual then it turns steep for the final bit. I got a good lead off the start and was feeling really confident right up to the edge of the steep section. That's were I bailed hard, losing my board and tumbling a bit. Luckily I was alright and ran back up to get my board. By this point Matt had passed me and was well on his way 😞. I lost the race but it was great fun. At the bottom we all watched the rest of the people race down and packed our gear to go back. The radar gun had been broken so none of us got to see our speeds 😞. When the goggles came off it was a comical sight, as everyone was covered in a black dust except for the eye area. We drove back to the hostel where free mojitas (lime/mint alcoholic drink) awaited us. After those we ordered pizza then hit the sack. The heat here saps energy fast so it is hard to do much. The volcano today was well worth it. Not only was
It fun to board down, it is a spectacle in itself. A black mountain between green hills makes it stand out boldly against the colored background.   

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