Northern Nicaragua, Part 1: Leon, Telica & Cerro Negro

In the middle of September—sandwiched in between a drive across the US and flying to Antarctica—I headed down to Nicaragua on a photography trip.  The trip was through MatadorU where I am taking a travel photography and travel writing course and Green Pathways sponsored the trip to help promote tourism in the northern section of the country.  I've never been on a press trip like this before and it was an absolutely amazing experience.  The days were long and I shot an exhausting average of a thousand photos a day. I didn’t know much about the country so I did quite a bit of research before I left.  Most people travel to the southern section of the country and Green Pathways is hoping to expand tourism in the northern potion of the country.  They are also focusing efforts on promoting tourism to families to come to Nicaragua and spend a few days integrating themselves in the daily lives of welcoming local families. There is less infrastructure and less of a tourist vibe there, which I really enjoyed.  Most of the places that I went I was the only non-local there.  The exception to that was my first day just outside of Leon, Nicaragua where I went volcano boarding and hiked up another volcano to check out the visible lava as the sun set.  This is the first of a short series of photo blog posts about my Nicaragua trip.

My first day in Nicaragua I piled in this truck with a dozen other people to headed toward Cerro Negro for volcano boarding.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this.  Most of the other people in the truck were excited, but there was a hint of apprehensiveness until everyone finished the ride down the volcano.

The left-hand skyline is the slope that you slide down on custom-made volcano boards.

Despite what this sign says I think the fastest way down is the other direction on your volcano board.  The speed record down Cerro Negro is 95 kph (57 mph). 

Cerro Negro last erupted in 1999 and the evidence of the lava flows is clearly marked as it made its way through the forest.

I ran halfway down so I could take photos of everyone else flying down on their volcano boards.  I then hopped on my own board and finished the run down topping out at a whopping 36 kph (22 mph).  It felt fast to me though!

A cold beer awaits everyone at the bottom.  But the rule was that everyone had to make it down the volcano before anyone could open their beer.  

After volcano boarding I headed back to Leon to wash off the volcanic grit and a quick tour through the city.

The Cathedral of Leon is a UNESCO World Heritage site and draws visitors to the central city.  It is within walking distance of great hotels and hostels and restaurants.  

The cathedral is the largest in Central America and has ornate details that are worth taking some time to absorb.  

Known as the intellectual capital of Nicaragua, Leon is known for its medical school and the streets around the school are full of text book vendors.  

That afternoon I got in another 4x4 vehicle and drove up the rocky road to the Telica Volcano.  At points the drive up the road felt like a roller coaster ride and we had to hold onto our seats to stay in place in the truck.  One of the passengers said that we really needed a fighter pilot's harness for the drive. Telica is one of the more active volcanos in Nicaragua.  But it is one of the only places to safely view lava.

The members of the Telica community at the base of the volcano help to update volcanologists and authorities about any volcanic activity.  Their animals are friendly to visitors and they cooked us a traditional dinner of rice, beans, eggs, cheese and tortillas.  

The volcano was great, but these leaf cutter ants on the hike up might of been the highlight of my evening.  We followed the ant's path for more than 100 feet.

Telica Volcano.

Once we got to the crater rim we felt like we were racing against time.  A major thunderstorm was approaching from the east, but the gases hadn't cleared enough for use to see the lava.  We said we'd give it 5 more minutes and then we'd have to head back down to the village.  Just then the gases cleared and we could see lava at the bottom of the crater.

A minute later we started to race down the mountain.  I stopped because I heard the sound of a waterfall in the dark, but I knew we hadn't passed one on the way up.  Then the rain hit...like a waterfall.  I've never felt it rain so hard and I was drenched in a matter of seconds.

Part II of the Northern Nicaragua series will be out next week featuring Canyon Somoto and Paddle boarding in the Pacific Ocean.