Ring of Fire
Guest bloggers: Paul and Kati
Our trip to Volcan de Pacaya was very different from Sarah and Ryan's, even though we all went to the same mountain just a few weeks apart. We started the day at 7 a.m. with a shuttle ride from the apartment building to the base of the volcano, where there is a little park entrance building along with some food stands and (most importantly) a restroom. We were joined on our quest by David and Carolyn Cade, the parents of another teacher at Sarah & Ryan's school who lives in the same apartment building. The Cades are very interesting people, having traveled all over the world, and it was great to have them along.
Our trip to Volcan de Pacaya was very different from Sarah and Ryan's, even though we all went to the same mountain just a few weeks apart. We started the day at 7 a.m. with a shuttle ride from the apartment building to the base of the volcano, where there is a little park entrance building along with some food stands and (most importantly) a restroom. We were joined on our quest by David and Carolyn Cade, the parents of another teacher at Sarah & Ryan's school who lives in the same apartment building. The Cades are very interesting people, having traveled all over the world, and it was great to have them along.
When we arrived at the trailhead, there was a little girl of about 4 years old selling walking sticks for 5 Q (about 60 cents). Carolyn and I each bought a walking stick, and the girl was so happy you would have thought we had given her diamonds. Walking sticks in hand, the four of us started our climb led by our Spanish-speaking-only guide, Antonio. Following our little group was a man with a horse, who kept trying to talk us in to riding instead of walking. The first part of the trail is pretty steep, and I can see how someone might want a horse, but it evens out after a short while and we all made it with no problems. The hike was beautiful - it was a warm, sunny day, though a bit windy, and we had great views of Guatemala City and other volcanoes as we climbed.
As we neared the lava field just below the crater, we started seeing signs about dangerous gases and flying rocks that could cause us great injuries:
Unfazed, our brave group trudged forward. Shortly after climbing onto the giant lava field, we were informed that unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), hikers are no longer allowed to summit the crater - the gases have become much too dangerous, and the continuing eruptions have made the crater unstable for hiking. Instead, our guide led us on a long and treacherous hike over the hardened lava field to where fresh, hot lava was flowing from the sides of the crater:
We couldn't believe how close to the lava we were! Our guide shoved a stick in the lava and it instantly burst into flames. The ground was so hot beneath our feet that we couldn't stand still and had to keep moving. Dried lava is sharp, too, and sliced up our shoes. The rocks were pretty unstable, so it was quite an effort to climb and keep moving with out falling. The view was worth it, though - how many people have seen rivers of hot lava running toward them (and lived to tell about it)?
When we'd had our fill of the lava field, we headed back down the trail. The dogs who live on the trail (visitors feed them, making it a good spot for a stray) followed us for awhile, though the cows on the sides of the trail paid no attention to us:
Our guide was very nice, though his Spanish explanations of different trees, rocks, and viewpoints were somewhat useless to the four gringos. When we reached the little town we had started in, we gave our sticks back to the little girl for re-sale to other hikers. Once again, we made her day -- and Volcan de Pacaya made ours!
There will be more stories on the blog, written by Ryan and Sarah, about our trip to Lake Atitlan and the rest of our vacation, but we want to take our guest starring opportunity to tell everyone that Guatemala is amazing. Paul and I feel so lucky that we had the opportunity to go. Obviously, if Sarah and Ryan weren't down there, we wouldn't have chosen it as a likely vacation destination, but it's one of the best places either of us has ever been (and we've traveled a lot, I'd say: Europe, Australia, all over America...). The things we saw there we'll probably never see again, and wouldn't have seen if we had stayed home: Mayan ruins, monkeys swinging from trees in the jungle, fresh lava running down the side of a volcano, the most beautiful lake in the world.... Our vacation to Guatemala is one of the best things we've ever done - everyone who can manage it needs to make the trip! It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Magic 
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