a belated post

So! The volcano! Yesterday morning I got up at 5am to catch the tourist van in time (which was 20 minutes late...nice to see that my ability to freak out over nothing still exists...I managed to wipe away my tears before the driver saw me though :p). The ride to the volcano was about an hour and a half, and the small landslides I saw and the crazy dirt road towards the end made me wonder about my future trip to Nebaj (where it takes a three(?) hour dirt road to reach the mountain town).

The climb was harder than I thought it would be, and I'm still sore today. An hour and a half of going uphill - it makes me want to go hike more and get in shape. Unfortunately, there was a fair amount of clouds that morning (which beat the rain in the afternoon...I'm glad I took the early trip), so we weren't able to see the other three volcanoes on the horizon. It didn't matter that much to me though - I was happy to be walking through a beautiful green forest, watching the dirt and rock types change the higher we got.

The first big change was when we reached an old lava flow from a couple years ago. A long river of volcanic rocks cut drastically across the green forest/grass and the sight made us remember that we weren't just climbing up an ordinary hill.


I'd hate to be under there!

We climbed further, walking over the river of rocks, seeing the very peak (which we would not be climbing up) in the near distance, but everything was still green. Our guide who was ahead of us, motioned to us to hurry up...and when we joined him at the edge of a small cliff, we saw an entire valley of volcanic rock. Our guide led us down into it (I was so happy to be wearing my thick and sturdy sneakers) and we scurried across the giant and oddly formed rocks like little goats.


Can't you just imagine this as lava? Or at least, cow shit?

We'd been going through the valley for about ten minutes or so when I felt a blast of warm air. I looked to my side and saw a large crack in the rocks that had turned white around the edges and was expelling extremely hot air. From then on, I couldn't stop smiling, really feeling as if the Earth was truly alive and breathing under me. The amount of vents increased (as did the heat - it became impossible to get too close to the vents), and our guide pointed out a very large vent that you could see a glowing red in. It was difficult to see, but I was estatic. My first view of lava! I felt like I could go home right then, the experience complete.


Can you see it?

A girl in a group on the way back across the valley heard our oohs and aahs and said, "Just wait - it gets better". Shocked that there could be more to see, we all started hurrying across the rocks, seeing more glowing vents here and there.

And then we came over a hill of rocks. I don't even know how to begin to explain what it's like to see a river of flowing lava. It was moving at the speed of maple syrup, and the contrasting red orange to the black rock was striking. I was viewing power, an absolute force of nature, the insides of Mother Earth spilling out of an open wound. Often when I reach the destination of a long hike, such as the view at the top of a mountain, I stop, appreciate the beauty, and move on. But I was paralyzed here - I never wanted to leave, never wanted to tear my eyes from this new element. I feel like I've failed here in writing about it, so here are some of the pictures I took. Again, I don't think they do it justice, but to give you an idea:








The climb down was nice - quick and easy. I slept nearly the entire way back to Antigua. Volcan Pacaya is a place and an experience I will never forget.

**

Here is a picture of the other students I've been staying with - Kanako, Erika, and Zack. This is the table we spent our meals at in Cesar's home. We had our last night together yesterday, all going out for dinner, and I'm actually going to miss them.


Alejandra joined us for lunch.

**

Today I leave for Monterrico, a small town on the Pacific Ocean. I'm extremely nervous about traveling so much by chicken bus, but seeing as I have all day to go about three hours, I think I'll be okay. I really hope there's some green coconuts there.