Volcan Pacaya

Yesterday, April 15, I joined a group of people and hiked up Volcan Pacaya. We left from the central park in Antigua around 2pm and drove about an hour and a half through little towns, by corrugated tin homes, and on the highway (which for some reason I found exciting). When we turned up the road to Pacaya, we began to see more farms and farmers - a lot of corn and some coffee and beans.

Getting out of the van, we were swarmed by men and boys offering horse "taxis" for about $15 and little kids selling walking sticks for under 50 cents. I got a stick because I heard it was useful, and also because with a stick in hand, no more kids ran after me yelling, "Stick! Stick! It is necessary! Stick!"

Hiking up started with a dirt path through the forest and farms. It was drizzling and foggy, and when we got above the tree line it was like another world. Low growing grass was intermixed with spots of burn and rock, and eventually we made out way to a solid river of rock that had flowed down the mountain four years earlier. Up and over this, some more grass and fog, and then up onto the full lava-rock cone of the volcano. For a few minutes, the fog cleared and we could see back over what looked like another planet. My stick ended up being helpful in getting over the loose bits of rock, which we walked on for about 20 minutes. All the while we were hearing what I thought was thunder, but was actually the rumblings of Pacaya! Finally, we got to our stopping point, where we could look into the rock and see red glowing rock and lava. Some people roasted marshmallows, and we threw in branches from a tree that crackles when it burns. I warmed my wet self on the ground for a while, and then we made our way back down in the dark.

Below are some photos from the end of the hike up. I didn't take too many pictures, but others in the group did so I will get a hold of those and post them eventually.