Playa Volcano

Last weekend we took our first day trip outside Antigua, to the volcano Pacaya. There are three volcanoes in the immediate vicinity: Agua, which last erupted in the 1500s and wrecked the previous capital of Central America with mudslides, but is now dormant; Fuego, which erupts brilliantly and suddenly; And Pacaya, which remains in a constant but low level of volcanic activity.

The tour starts in a little pueblo and requires about a 2.5 mile hike to the summit. The ascent wasn´t especially demanding but the footing proved a constant challenge on the way up. Endless piles of fresh horse shit also litter the path. Only when we reached the crater did the climb become more perilous, as the remains of an eruption two months prior left a jagged and uneven terrain. And climbing about with your bare hands could leave you with no shortage of shallow cuts and scrapes.

While the summit is otherwise cool (with an elevation above 8000 ft), the crater itself is quite warm, and some folks complained that their shoes were melting. Steam billowed out from narrow crevices and molten lava flowed just beneath us, glowing no more than about a foot below the surface. For whatever reason, many of us spent our time burning our wooden walking sticks, which were necessary for the hike up. Just putting your stick on the rocks next to the lava would ignite it. Some folks descended the mountain with considerably shorter sticks than they began with. Other folks brought marsh mellows and hot dogs to cook above the lava. I don't know if these things taste better when volcano roasted but I imagine the novelty wears thin soon. Many dogs from the village make the ascent with hikers to enjoy the food cooked above.



The descent was quite amusing. We hiked the volcano late in the afternoon, as the lava glow is more brilliant after the sun goes down. As such, you hike down in darkness (and in our case – in the rain). Unfortunately, one group of folks, which was in Antigua for a wedding, was not told that flashlights were necessary for the descent. As such, more than half our group made the slippery descent in the pitch black of night. It was hilarious. Two small children, who went up and down on a horse, cried the entire time. The folks without flashlights were good natured about their blind descent but generally swore the entire way down. For more than two miles, they baby stepped down the cavity strewn path and wet rocks. Fortunately, they were all pretty young and athletic. That said, a few of them slipped on the way and had horse crap up and down their legs. A group of dogs also followed us to the base, piggybacking off the glow of our flashlights. I guess they can't see at night either.

When we neared the small pueblo at the base of the volcano, children hide in the shadows, preparing to bounce out and rob you. Fortunately, our guide advised us of their presence and nobody lost anything. Hiding in the shadows is a good skill to have here in Guatemala since nothing is very well lit. Like the rest of the country, the volcano used to be crime ridden, but with so many tourists visiting, it is now well guarded by men with shotguns. (Men with shotguns are ubiquitous in Antigua – protecting government offices, banks, and even pharmacies).