<br></br>

GIVE: Energy of the Earth

Written by: Merry Parker

7/23/2013
</br>

I like to think of myself as relatively “outdoorsy,” so when my GIVE guide in Nicaragua told my volunteer group that we’d be not only hiking, but sledding down an active volcano, I was pretty stoked! I remember the morning of the hike, all of us fresh out of bed and on our bus to the volcano, unaware of the amazing adventure that awaited us. When we arrived at the base of Volcano Cerro Negro, we were handed our sand boards and then turned to face our goal: the top of the volcano.

As I looked up to the distant summit, I thought “it’s all sand, how are we supposed to hike that?” Almost on cue, our guide, Matt, whistled and we all turned to see the rocky inclined path leading us to the top. I stood there frozen, trying to mentally convince myself that I’m definitely not afraid of heights (I totally am, I get afraid in elevators). Then, just when I needed it, my bunkmate turned to me and said, “You first!” and off we went.

Thirty minutes later we were at the halfway point, and I had only tripped up the side of the active volcano five times. Personal victory! As we all gathered slowly on the thin trail for our break, most of us stood in silence. We were a little out of breath, but mostly amazed to be there. We took a few pictures then kept on hiking. The rest of the way was pretty steep, but barely rocky so it went by fast.

At the top of the volcano the views were unlike anything I had ever seen.

It was almost impossible to believe that I was really standing there with a group of friends I had no idea existed a week ago… on top of an active volcano… in Nicaragua! Thick, puffy white clouds so dense that we could barely see the person a yard in front of us had rolled in to surround us, and it was like a dream. Matt had us all lie down and put our hands just barely under the gravelly material that we would soon be sledding over. We all laid there in silence as the heat rose up through the belly of the volcano to meet us.

It truly was a revival of the soul, the "energy of the earth."

Finally it was time for the main event--getting down. All I could think as I stood in line waiting for my turn to launch down the mountain was "I cannot believe I am crazy enough to do this!” I am not a skier, a surfer, or a snowboarder, and I am definitely not coordinated enough to be on top of a volcano. "Merry, you're up,"

Amy, my guide, motioned for me to put my board down and my heart leapt into my throat. I sat down on my wooden board, took a breath, pushed off with my feet, and took off like a shot. I couldn't scream for laughing. The ride was exhilarating and left nothing but a smile on my face and a feeling of renewal and excitement in my heart. We all made it to the bottom of the volcano, dirty bundles of laughter and excitement. I still can't believe I made it to the top, and flew to the bottom.

It was a moment of terrifying joy and an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, which is just one of the many gifts GIVE gave me.

Leave a Reply