In which Roz and Layla surf down a volcano and go to the cinema

By Roz.

When Layla finished typing yesterday, we were struck with uncertainty about what to do next: it seemed too early for dinner (we hadn’t quite established what time Nicaraguans eat, but it seemed a fair guess it wasn’t 5pm) and we didn’t have any other clear plans for the night. Layla suddenly had the idea of going to the pictures (something that’s quite fun to do in foreign parts) and we dashed round the corner to the cinema. Alas, the film we wanted to see had been dubbed into Spanish, so we instead made ourselves comfortable with a drink in a nearby bar.

Having spun our drinks out as long as we could we (slowly) made our way to Mediterrano, which is one of Leon’s premier dining spots, according to Lonely Planet. We walked in, assuming we’d be the first diners there. And thus were pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant already bustling – indeed we got the last table. It was very cheery indeed, with candlelight and a pleasing atmosphere. The other diners were a mix of well-heeled Nicaraguans and tourists. The latter are something of a shock to our system, since we got used to tourists being something of a rarity in El Salvador. We had a very jolly evening, castle-building about the future (Layla seems to be suddenly feeling old, with her 30th birthday approaching). The food (Italian again) was quite good – although yet again, we found ourselves unable to reconcile ourselves to the thought of dessert. Shockingly this means that in our whole time this trip we haven’t once had dessert! Unheard of. I’m not quite sure what’s wrong with our stomachs – I’m of the view that it is some of the very lovely liquados that we are drinking have dodgy ice cubes in (and hence have steered clear today). Layla is too enamoured of the drinks to let herself accept that – so we’ll see how we both feel in a couple of days! After that, it was back to the hotel for bed.

I slept very well indeed (a relief after the previous night’s novel-induced insomnia) and we woke at a fairly early hour, all set to climb Cerro Negro, a local, active volanco. Well, when I say all set, there was a slight hitch. We’d given most of our clothes to the hotel to wash yesterday and they’d not been returned yet. Whilst I had a viable, if not ideal, outfit, Layla’s only option was to borrow my white linen trousers (as yet unworn). Not absolutely ideal for climbing a black ash mountain. She dashed down to reception and asked if any of our clothes would be back from the laundry in time. They said no. She explained our plans and they cried with laughter at her outfit and then said something which she didn’t quite understand but which seemed to bring the conversation to an end. So, off we went to breakfast, Layla in my white trousers. During breakfast, a member of the hotel staff turned up a twinkle in his eye and two pairs of trousers (now clean), which he’d clearly rescued from the local laundry.

Of course this meant we had no escape from climbing Cerro Negro. I can’t say that my nervousness was dissipated at all by the sight of the others going on the trip: all younger than us, and looking considerably fitter. An hour’s drive through a very pretty landscape, and we were deposited at the bottom of the volcanco. We were given boards (for boarding down the volcano on) – and Layla and I felt wusses for having asked for slow boards (but also somewhat relieved). And then came the trek. It was reasonably hard going, being constantly uphill through alternately rocks, volcanic sand, and ash (neither being easy to walk on). The pace was fast (too fast for us) and soon Layla’s face was its customary hue (red). On the other hand, it felt exceptionally cool to walk up a volcano and through craters, with steam coming out of the ground. Towards the top we got a really good sight of the tops of the other volcanos in the range, and could see smoke coming from them: indeed they looked exactly as one would draw a volcano. It was unexpected (though entirely logical) to find that if one scratched off the top surface of the ground, the surface below was smoking and very hot.

Having reached the top, we were put into boiler suits and given instructions on how to board down (and, crucially, how to slow down and stop). And then we were off. Despite all my hesitations and slow pace, it turned out to be brilliant fun. If you looked right down to the bottom, it was dauntingly steep and far – but it was easier to control the pace and direction than I’d imagined. And I definitely preferred it to the option that others were taking – of running down the volcano (which is supposed to give a sense of flying, but would inevitably end up with me flat on my face). Though I doubt I’m quite up to doing it on a properly fast board – I’ve heard that some can get up at 85 km an hour…

Back at the base, we ate lunch and felt unnecessarily pleased with ourselves. Over lunch, we swopped travellers’ tales and discussed the relative merits of Canada and New Zealand (not least given that we’d been contemplating where we’d like to live in the future last night). From there we were back in the truck and on the bumpy route back to Leon. We arrived back in our hotel to find the rest of our clean clothes had turned up (hurrah), had a shower, and contemplated what to do next. We headed off to a tour company in Leon, which we’d heard run a shuttle bus between here and Granada (our next stop) and tried to make arrangements for tomorrow (potentially unsuccessfully, since we are too stingy to pay what is really a quite exorbitant figure to just take us). From there we went to a bar and settled down with our books for beers (me) and liqudaos (Layla) in the nice place on the main square that we’d been to on our very first wander round Leon.

Having basked long enough in the café, we headed off to the cinema to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I can’t honestly say it’s a particularly good film, but it’s always fun to go to the cinema in another country… and the popcorn was excellent. And having spent enough time typing this for it to be now dinner time, I’ll conclude!