Pacaya Volcano: One Fiery Sucker!!

So we had the first "big" adventure of our trip: we climbed an active volcano! For Q45 per person, a shuttle brought us to Pacaya Volcano National Park. Pacaya is one of 3 active volcanoes in Guatemala - the other two being nearby Fuego and Santiaguito, which is near Xela. According to our guide, there was a eruption in 2000 that caused so much ashfall that the airport in Guatemala City was closed for 3 days due to decreased visibility. Here is a shot of our ride in the shuttle:

Luckily, Pacaya wasn't THAT active when we climbed it, although it was still quite exciting. Upon arriving at the park, our shuttle was bombarded by children renting out sticks for the hikers. We bargained a deal: 2 for Q5. Normally they are sold for Q5 per stick. These sticks proved to be very necessary for the way back down! Our guide, Sergio led our group of 12 along the trail. We were joined by hopeful dogs begging for scraps of food and people offering "taxis" to the top: horses for rent. They would walk beside us calling out "taxi, taxi!" It was pretty funny.

Our first stop was to view the volcano's caldera, which supplies water to nearby villages. Also in view was the new electric plant, powered by the volcano's steam. Very eco-friendly. The plant is owned by an Australian company. We could also see crops of corn and beans growing. It's slow growing on the side of a volcano. You plant in January and do not harvest until November.

The Caldera:

As we hiked, the views of the other volcanoes were amazing, especially of Agua! After hiking for a while, the top of Pacaya came into view. It was very exciting to see the smoke and ash spewing from the volcano's mouth. Only a decent sized incline of sand, ash and rock lay between us and what we came to see: the lava. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a fairly challenging hike given the the incline. However, the added challenge of walking uphill in sand and a fierce wind really made it downright difficult at times. With ash blowing in our faces and the slippery sand making every 3 steps count as 1, we made our ascent. Near the top, our guide reached into a vent and handed us some quite warm, slightly pliable stones. We knew we were near as we could feel heat all around us.

Nearby Agua Volcano:

Pacaya Volcano:

Tough Climbing

As we walked along, I noticed the girls ahead of us were stopped dead in their tracks. I was a bit annoyed that they were stopping when we were so close until I noticed why: HOT LIQUID MAGMA! We were standing on hard rock, but between the many cracks, you could see the red glowing lava flowing below. With much care we made our way to the flowing river of lava just as the sun was setting over the valley. It was incredible! The pictures speak for themselves.

Walking Over Lava!

Our Trusty Guide, Sergio

It was an amazing, if a bit dangerous first adventure!! We will continue to keep you all updated the best we can.