We checked out one more surf spot called Las Flores near El Cuco before attempting to cross two of the most difficult borders around in the same day! On our way there we watched a dump truck t-bone a car and go crashing into one of the numerous fruit stands on the side of the road. Oranges were flying through the air. We pulled over, grabbed the first aid kit, and Niccole got busy. One girl had a leg fracture of some kind and a little boy had some minor bleeding. I was thrilled that someone didn’t get killed. We were back on our way shortly once the policia showed up.
The Honduras crossings were truly annoying, but not as horrible as most had made them sound. It’s really the same process at every border: locate immigration and get your passport stamped, then locate the vehicle import/export office(s) and take care of the van. The hassle comes in trying to deflect the countless and persistent offers from locals trying to “help” (for a fee of course), and also in dealing with bureaucratic nonsense. Honduras was no exception but rather the perfect example. We were making good time until we encountered the vehicle import office. Between chatting with her coworker, texting, taking personal calls, and her printer running out of ink, the official was able to import our van after about a gazillion (or maybe 2) hours of us patiently watching the redundant form stamping and running several photocopy missions to nearby copy shacks. We’ll be adding a detailed crossing information page to our blog when we get the time that should assist those coming after us in regards to what each entails – stay tuned!
So we made it through Honduras, into Nicaragua, and on to city of Leon in one long day. Drinks and great conversation with some locals ensued before getting a good nights sleep in anticipation of the highly gossiped over sport of volcano boarding, which of course we had signed up for through Big Foot Adventures for the following morning!
Volcano boarding is pretty wild. Niccole, though a bit nervous did great and I, having reviewed the video, apparently chuckled the entire way down? The tour guide and group we went with were all quite awesome as well. After the transportation, the shirts, the drinks, and beta I can tell you booking through them rather than winging it was a wise investment – a mere $27 per person for an epic outing.
After riding in the back of a truck for about 45 minutes on a single track dirt road you grab your jumpsuit, goggles, and board, and hike about an hour to the top of the very active Cerro Negro. It has craters inside of craters and is the youngest volcano in Central America – less than 200 years old! You can dig a mere inch into the soil, watching smoke and fumes escape as you do so, and then literally burn your hand on the hot dirt beneath.
The all time record to beat was 95 kph. While I was happy with my 52 kph I could easily do better with a second go.
Not to be taken lightly, one of the group panicked, tried to stop prematurely, and crashed about half way down, cartwheeling and face planting down the 40 degree rocky slope for several meters. She got pretty messed up and, in my opinion, was lucky not to break anything — though she did smash her face up pretty badly.
After that we high tailed it back to the ocean! Despite several dips in the Pacific and a shower we were both still exfoliating little pieces of volcano debris! We think we’ll be hanging here for a bit until we fully recover from all the awesomistness… that’s right, you read correctly, awesomistness (you have to try this someday Jeff & company)!
More to come from Nicaragua soon!
