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Toasting Marshmallows on Lava atop a Volcano
Day 30, Antigua
Our first day in Antigua was definitely a day of two halves. In the morning we wandered around some of Antigua's best sites, including some impressively maintained cathedrals and some characterful ruins detailing Antigua's past. Antigua is a town made for walking, from he simple grid system to the busy pedestrianised central plaza and an abundant scattering of cafes and eateries.to recover from the perambulating.
However, after a very peaceful morning, we decided to notch it up a gear and hike up Volcan Pacaya, a live volcano just outside Antigua. Pacaya is one of the most famous sights in Guatemala, but its quite an adventure hiking it!
We set off from Antigua early afternoon, and about an hour later we pulled up by a small lodge. Before we even got off the bus, we were surrounded by small children shouting "Stick" and waving sturdy looking sticks at us. We'd been advised that the sticks were really useful for making the descent and the very reasonable charge of 5 quetzales (25p) coupled with the kids' cute faces meant everyone was soon armed with hardy sticks.
As we began the ascent, which began deceptively easily, the entrepreneurial skills of the kids continued to shine, with them offering torches for hire (the descent will be made in the dark) and also the use of horses for those finding the climb a bit too difficult. A few people made use of these services, but as we got higher and further sales seemed unlikely they little businessmen turned back.
After a while, we reached a fence where the horses had to turn back and the whole group continued on foot. We passed through a green field with a very dark soil, clearly made of volcano ash and soon the landscape dramatically transformed. Our guide directed us to clamber up onto a pile of black, volcano rock and the scene in front of us was like a lunar landscape. Black, jagged and alien looking rock, cooled debris having once shot out of the volcano covered the entire peak of the volcano. For the next 30 minutes we had to carefully pick out way through the pile of rock, one misplaced foot meaning a mini-landslide and possible serious injuries of the sharp rocks.
As we moved forward, we soon lost sight of the green fields behind and we appeared to be on an alien planet. Suddenly, we were hit by a gush of warm air and the guide carefully took a few more steps forward and poked his walking stick into a gap in the rocks where a deep red glow could be seen. His stick caught fire from he intense heat and one of our group nonchalantly lit a cigarette on the flaming stick.
But the best was still yet to come, as we picked our way higher, with the rocks becoming more and more loose and slippery, we could suddenly see a trail of bright orange molten lava crawling down the volcano side. Our guide led us close to the red sludge and the rocks began to get warmer and warmer underfoot, and despite wearing walking shoes, the intense heat which lay below us could be felt on the soles of our feet.
We got as close to the lava as we could, which was close enough for a few guides to toast marshmallows on long sticks and for the warmth to be almost unbearable on our faces. Standing so close to molten lava at the top of an active volcano was a mesmerizing experience and many people just stood, staring, at ones of nature's most potent destructive forces which, for now, lay quietly, but no less dramatically before us.
But that wasn't the end of the day's adventures, by the time we'd finished taking photos and decided to head back, it was getting dark. As we made our descent, a heavy mist set in and couple with the moonless night sky, it felt like we were lost in the mythical world of Mordor. Progress was slow, as we had to carefully pick our way across the rocks and slippery scree while only being able to see a foot or so ahead.
Nevertheless, after an hour or so, we were back on a trail in a forest, where although it was equally dark, the mist was gone and the path was more predictable and we soon reached the bottom where our minibus back was waiting. It was also here that we found out that the 5 quetzales for the sticks was solely for hire, not purchase, as the children reappeared to reclaim their sticks.
The journey back was quiet as everyone recovered and as soon as we reached Antigua, at about 9.30pm, we quickly sought out a restaurant to get a much needed large dinner and some cool beers...
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