19 August 2007

Climbing the Pacaya Volcano

It seems as though any place you go in the world, there´s always something to climb. Antigua is no exception, and I was able to climb the Pacaya Volcano. An early wake up call since the bus picked me up at 6AM from my hostel.

About an hour drive from the city, we got to the volcano. Another 2 hours of hiking and we reached the outside ring of the volcano. I´m surprised, and happy, that I was able to make it to the top (although incredibly tired, and smelly). The views were fantastic! There will be lots of pictures later. The weather also changed very rapidly up there - incredibly cold on the way up and very hot on the way down.

We went into the volcano and were able to stand very, very close to the lava. You actually walk on cooled lava. They would never permit such hikes in the US because of how close we were. In fact, one wrong move could be fatal.

It was sooo hot, my face started burning, and people shoes even melted! You were close enough to poke lava with a stick (which I quickly learned was a bad idea, because they immediatly catch on fire.

A quick stop again at the top for a snack, and we headed down to the bottom. All this before noon! Back to Antigua for some shopping and then meeting my tour group.

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