A closer look
Nothing screams vacation quite like willingly hurling yourself down a 2,388-foot active cinder cone. Cerro Negro in Nicaragua is the epicenter of volcano boarding, a bizarre extreme sport where thrill-seekers hike up a completely barren, heat-radiating slope only to slide back down on a retrofitted piece of wood and metal. You wear a bright, heat-resistant jumpsuit and goggles—not for fashion, but because the jagged lapilli (volcanic gravel) will mercilessly exfoliate you to the bone if you wipe out. It is a gloriously absurd way to challenge gravity while praying the mountain doesn't erupt.
