Nicaragua

Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua
June 7th 2009

Published: June 7th 2009

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Ludwig

Volcano boarding

Volcano boarding on the slopes of Cerro Negro, close to Leon

It was a long drive up to Granada where I arrived in the middle of the night. I saw my first gunned guards patrolling the streets while I was walking towards my hostel. I felt a certain sense of security, but then again…why all these guns, is it really so dangerous? Anyway, so here I am in Granada, Nicaragua’s oldest colonial city, founded in the mid sixteenth century. Hiding from a ferocious sun, I relaxed during the day on my hammock in the comfy courtyard of my hostel and enjoyed the carved colonial portals, elegant churches, colourful houses, fine plazas and Lago de Nicaragua, Central America’s biggest lake, in the late afternoons, when the temperature started to fall.

After a couple of days in Granada, I took a boat ride to Isla De Ometepe, an island formed by twin volcanoes rising out of the lake in two almost perfect cones, rising 1,600m and 1,400m above the water. On the island, I slept in a converted coffee plantation farm with gorgeous views on the hillside, on the foot of Vulcan Maderas which I set to climb. Pretty proud and happy afterwards, the climb was seven hours of pure suffering on a

Granada - Parque Central

This is where people meet under the shade of trees to have a chat and an ice cream

tough, muddy, very slippery, scramble through rainforest. After several days on the island, I said goodbye to the hilarious Argentinean friends I had made during my stay and continued my journey through the most volcanic region in Central America, to Leon.

Leon is considered to be Nicaragua’s second colonial jewel even though I did not find it as charming as Granada. A strong Sandinista/ leftist heartland, Leon boasts dramatic murals around town that serve as a reminder of the Revolution. Not that interested by the city itself, I left for a day trip to do something pretty special: Volcano boarding!
You need: a good pair of shoes, sun cream, water, a wooden board and a volcano with plenty of dust covering one of its slopes. So, after two hours of hiking through lunar landscapes, fumes and a strong sulphur smell, we arrived at the top of the Cerro Negro volcano. Then it is pretty simple: you sit on your board, pose for a couple of pictures and rush down the volcano for about 600m at top speeds of up to 40km/h, trying to brake by sticking your feet in the volcano dust. I fell from the board near the

Granada - Parque Central

Granada's Cathedral on Parque Central

end while braking, rolling down the last couple of meters…trust me, it gets your adrenaline shooting up!

After Leon I moved upwards to Esteli, a city surrounded by an agriculturally rich highland valley, and then Honduras.

Nicaragua is way less touristy than Costa Rica, it is the cheapest country to travel around in Central America, and, last but not least, it is the safest country in the region. So, if you don’t know yet where to go on holidays, Nicaragua could be a good option!

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