Leon

Compared to Granada we spent only a short time in Leon, maybe this is why we enjoyed it so much? It was a pretty packed few days. We had seen on the Quetzaltrekkers website that they would be hosting a full moon hike up Volcan Telica which worked out perfectly with when we were going to be there and I was keen to try out my new hiking boots. So the very first thing we do after getting into Leon is book onto the Full Moon hike, which turns out to be a day earlier than we had expected - so straight into the action!

We were due at the Quetzaltrekkers office at 9:30pm for dinner and a brief. We tried our best to nap during the day in preparation but it just wasn't happening. There was just a lot of coffee drunk instead. Telica is one of the many active volcanoes in this part of the world with an elevation of 1061m. Compared to the previous hiking we've done this felt like a nice night time stroll (Although I was still way at the back on the real uphill parts).

We left the Quetzaltrekkers office about 11pm, getting to the start point of the trek at 11:30pm. Not long after we started we found bubbling hot mud pits courtesy of Telica. The bulk of the hike was only a slight uphill so we powered through it, especially since we only had to carry day packs. Bonus! The second part of the trek is about 45 minutes of just straight up hill, after that it began to flatten off and we got our first view of the crater, back-lit by the full moon. About 3am we found ourselves walking through a camp of other hikers who had decided to spend the night at the volcano. After a quick quiet "Lunch" we headed up to the edge of the crater to see if we could spot some lava, and indeed we did. Although to our disappointment it was not a giant pit of bubbling lava like in the movies, as a friend eloquently described it was more like a bunch of people smoking in the dark. It was also pretty damn windy.

After everyone had had their fill of the volcano action we hiked over to a near-by ridge to find a good spot to watch the sun-rise. On one side of us there was the full moon behind Telica and on the other side we could see the rays of the sun start peaking out from behind neighbouring mountains. Then it was what left like a long walk back down into Leon. As we sat in the dirt waiting for the bus to take us back into town there was varying levels of exhaustion written across everyone's faces. In the open back truck everyone was head bobbing, we must have looked like a truck of drugged up gringos.

At the end of this hike my blister count was only 4 which I was pretty happy with!

Alex taking a quick nap

Sunrise

Me for Scale

After half a day of rest we were right back into the action - Volcano Boarding. The one thing you have to do when you visit Leon is Volcano Board down Cerro Negro. Volcano Boarding is just what it sounds like - you sit (or stand) on a board and slide down the face of a volcano. 

Cerro Negro

This is Cerro Negro from the base. It's a short climb at just under an hour but that doesn't mean it's easy. You have to carry your board up there with you and in the crazy winds it can act like a sail, so at all costs you have to keep your board horizontal. (A guy who did it the day before was smacked in the nose by his board before it flew away.) I fell over twice and there was a lot of stopping and bracing.

The Top of Cerro Negro

 Like I said, it was crazy windy up there. I think it might actually be the windiest place I've ever been. I was just a little bit scared of getting blown off.

But the views always make it worth it. You can see Volcan Telica off in the distance.

Now to the Volcano Boarding Part!

Alex Wiping out

Me pretty calmly coming down the hill

After all the action in Leon we decided to go chill out for a few days at a near-by beach. We stayed at the Surfing Turtle Lodge, which is on it's own little island making it a perfectly quiet spot (during the day). Although I was pretty over the food by the time we left, we were assaulted by bugs every night and we had to share the dorm room with a couple of bats we really enjoyed our time here. 

Taking the horse and cart to get off the Island.