Do you know the way to Leon?

We haven't been in nicaragua very long but it's already a given fact that maps
and road conditions cannot be taken for granted. Our plan on this day was to
head north to Leon do some sight seeing, climb 2200 ft. up an active volcano
and ride a half inch piece of plywood to the bottom.
Choosing a route to anywhere in nicaragua is always a crap shoot. On one hand
we may have already taken one way. On the other hand another way looks shorter
but may be unpredictable. Since we have easy access to an interpreter, we
decided to ask a road side local before committing to either. Her suggestion
was the shorter way, which also has less traffic. Sounds like a win-win
situation. We soon found out why there is less traffic. What started out to be
a nice highway and a brilliant choice turns out to be a dirty ,rutty, rocky
road with horses or cattle standing in the middle.
Bouncing around in the car like the marble in a spray paint can gets old real
fast. The road was so untraveled we started to question if we were even going
in the right direction. With no one around  to ask ,Becky did the next best
thing. The only local in sight was a horse standing in the middle of the road.
This time there was no need for an interpreter. She pulled up and asked " hey
do you know how to get to Leon ". The reassuring look on the horse's face was
enough. We kept on. What should have been a hour trip turned in to three.
The unexpected length of the trip gave us less time for sight seeing and just
enough time for a quesadilla and cervesa. We stopped at one of the hostels to
book our trip to the top of Cerro Negro. Twenty one brave souls. Ninteen of
them under thirty. That left Becky and I to fill the forty-fifty something age
gap. We all ,including our guides, climbed onto the back of a big truck and
took the hour trip to the Cerro Negro Nature Reserve. Seeing the size of these
volcanos made me wonder if they were even possible to climb. Sledding over the
edge seemed insane.
A short stop at the Reserve office to pay our entry fee and we were off to the
volcano's bases. After climbing from the back of the truck we all grabbed a bag
with a full length orange jumpsuit,a pair of safety goggles and one foot wide
by four feet long half inch piece of plywood with a short rope and with a
handle attached.
The climb to the top was intense. The whole volcano is one giant pile of black
rocks and gravel.  The steep incline
and loose footing made travel exhausting and extremely hot. The words "death
march" may have slipped out once or twice. Plenty of breaks to catch our breath
and rehydrate and we were at the peak. The awe inspiring view and sense of
accomplishment made the gruling trip to the top much easier to forget.
Looking down the hill and seeing the
sled path disappear over the edge was very intimidating but there was no way I
was walking back down. As we put on our jumpsuits and goggles
Our guide explained there were two ways to approach this ride. You can get
yourself straight, lift your feet , lean back and go for fast time. My choice
was the Flintstone  method. Steering while braking with my feet.
After watching a few of the younger crowd take their turns, I plopped down on
my board ,grabbed my rope , leaned back and took off. The initial use of feet
is a necessity just to straighten out. As I began to pick up speed the decision
to keep my feet out for steering skis seemed like a good idea. The trip to the
bottom was short but awesome. A hour up for a two minute thrill ride seems like
a fair trade now. The radar gun said 31kmph. Not the fasted time by far but
still in the top five.  Besides a few people loosing control and rolling a
little.LINDSEY. Some minor scraps were all the casualties our group had.
We all received a couple of cold beers for our truck ride back to the hostel.
Upon arrival there were mojitos for everyone. As the rest of the group prepared
for drinking games we decided to make our exit.
There was no way we were taking the same road home that got us there.
We decided on a longer drive and a much better road. We felt bad about our 9:30
return but  Martha and Sergio were happy to accommodate. Grilled shrimp kabobs
, a bottle of wine and off to bed.
I think tomorrow sounds like a good day to stay around here on the beach.All of
us could use a little time to recharge for the next adventure.