Volcan Pacaya Trip
Trip Start
Feb 09, 2010
1
10
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Trip End
Mar 23, 2010
Antigua Guatemala, Western Highlands, Guatemala
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Some notes I forgot to mention in earlier postings.
The evening we arrived in San Pedro, Maria took our small but heavy suitcase for us as she lead us up & up & up the hill to her house. I showed her the long handle & wheels, she laughed, put the handle back down, picked the case up, balanced it on her head & headed up the hill!
Our meals with Maria & her family were very different than we are use to. Maria makes everything from scratch after buying what's needed for the day early each morning. The meals are heavy with carbohydrates and very little if any meat. One unusual breakfast was corn flakes (thicker, sweeter than US) with soupy warm milky looking liquid that tasted like liquid oatmeal. It was very tasty. One lunch was a kind of flat cheese sandwich but instead of pita bread, it was fried eggs. We also had the expected beans & wonderful fresh soft strong flavored cheese. All breakfasts were served with fresh fruit – usually bananas, and all meals were served with fresh tortillas. Meals with the family were an adventure that we thoroughly enjoyed.
Meal etiquette is also very different. We kept trying to wait for the whole family to join us, but Maria does not sit down with the family as she is continuing to cook tortillas & other meal components & serve the others. The rest of the family comes & goes quite rapidly. The kids rush in exuberantly sharing their excitement for their day at school or later in the day – the exciting things they did, learned, etc., eat quickly & are off to school, play or study. All the children we encountered LOVE school.
OK – back to the present. We did shower last night before bed and AGAIN this morning, with HOT water!!!!! Heaven. We enjoyed sleeping in till 7am then headed for breakfast at Fernando’s – a little ship that roasts their own coffee & chocolate & has a reputation for the best coffee in
Antigua. Both breakfast & coffee were wonderful. The day is overcast & feels like rain. So we didn’t wear our hats – big mistake as the clouds cleared up by noon & we both got a bit sunburned.
First stop was back to the jade factory that Troy bought his Pacal pendant from last night so I could look at the lavender & moon jade – both fairly new colors for Guatemala, along with orange & black. The jade shops are a bit intimidating since an employee escorts all visitors/clients to see the jade being made & provide some history & education on Guatemalan jade. That part is great, but then the selling starts and they are very pushy. I found 4 designs I liked but was interested in a deeper color of lavender than was available in the completed jewelry. Our "assistant" gave me no time to consider the options – each time I asked what the price would be to have a certain design made up, that design became their whole focus & when I’d try to ask about another design, the price on the first design dropped – if I’d buy it now. Finally, I got so frustrated I started to walk out. They then quoted a very good price for the last design we’d been discussing – the one Troy liked the best. Troy took over negotiations & we agreed to the purchase of a beautiful spiral design of lavender jade & silver setting & chain, but after choosing a chain it was no longer included in the price!!! It was too much for me & I tried to cancel the purchase, but “they have already started on the alterations”. They reduced the price more & we headed off to the ATM to get cash where we discovered that the quetzales “required” added up to way more than the agreed on dollar price. Troy returned to cancel the purchase & we soothed our frustration with ice cream.
We wandered around town and found another jade shop – there seem to be hundreds – that had a beautiful pendant & earring set - round lavender with a hint of pink (another new color) jade bead with silver setting. I say they had it because I now have it!
We rushed back to the hotel to change & be ready for our 2pm tour to Volcan de Pacaya. Our shuttle arrived only 30 minutes late – not bad. After a 1 ½ hour ride up into the mountains, we arrived at the end of the road – to be greeted by a horde of children selling walking sticks that “are required” for the hike. We did not purchase any but one would have been helpful – especially coming back down.
Our group was given blue ribbons to pin on our clothes so our guide could keep track of us – and we were off. We hiked up and up and up. The average age in our group was early 20’s and they hiked a bit faster than I would have preferred, but I did keep up – even if I was huffing & puffing. Thank heavens for all those hikes on Mt. Rainier. Troy was a big help by carrying my bag part of the way for me & he looked so cute with my colorful purse slung over his shoulder. Actually, most of the guides had bags just like mine, but a little less colorful.
The first 45 minutes or so was in thick woods/jungle, then we suddenly burst out into the open with a clear view of old lava flows and the surrounding spectacular panoramic view of towering volcanoes & deep valleys. We took lots of pictures, but photos are a very poor substitute.
The rest of the hike was even more fun as we scrambled up and over and through the old lava field. We knew we were getting close when the ground stated to get warm and gusts of warm air flowed out from underneath us. Finally, we crested a rise & saw the fiery river of lava flowing out of the ground directly in front of us. The flow was about 6. ft wide and 4 feet deep – much larger than it looks in the photos. Also, we were much closer to the flow than it looks like in the photos. There were about 50 people there – several different tour groups. We had plenty of time to walk around the flow as well as a bit more uphill to get a view of the erupting cone. Some tours are able to hike to the cone, but never when it is erupting – we got some great video though. The walking surface is big chunks of lava – very sharp, uneven & crumbly, and several people were injured in falls onto the lava. The hike back down was not any faster as dark fell very before we were off the lava – our great flashlights came in very handy!
We dozed on the trip back & were back in our hotel just after 9pm. Our planned dinner out on the town was substituted for a granola bar & bed.
Comments
WOW!! Very cool, or rather ...hot.. pictures of the lava. Are they not worried about the volcano erupting bigger?? That would be alittle scarry!! Great to hear from you!! This is really neat to follow along with you on your trip. Love to both you guys.
Nice pic's! Looks like the term "Hot Seat" takes on a whole new meaning. I really enjoy following your "Most Excellent Adventure" Wish I were there too. Oh well maybe next year. Great Pic's of the two of you!! Love and Light, Mike