Climbing up a River of Hot Lava

Trip Start Jan 01, 2007
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Trip End Ongoing


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Flag of Guatemala  ,
Monday, February 12, 2007

Volcano Pacaya here we come. We signed up for $5 US each to climb the active Volcano outside of Antigua. The shuttle picked us up at 3pm along with 12 others from different hotels and headed off for the Volcano. The ride took about 2 hours and we were able to see Guatemala City off in the distance. Once there the guide gives us some brief instructions in Spanish and we head up the Volcano. I don´t know if there were any safety instructions in there but there probably should be.  We met up with Luke and Emily (from Alaska) at the Volcano, they arrived in a different van but ended up with the same guide to hike up the volcano.

The hike is pretty hard due to the steep incline but luckily they have rest stops every 15 minutes. They are really needed! Before we know it we have been hiking for 45 minutes and come to the remains of a huge lava flow from the last major eruption in August of 2006 1 - Kay in front of the Lava
1 - Kay in front of the Lava
 . It must be 100 feet wide and 15 feet tall and about a mile from the cone. This must have been a massive eruption. From this location we can see some red lava glowing in the distance. Not knowing we are going to get much much closer I snap away a dozen or so photos in pure excitement of seeing lava.

Another 15 minutes and we are crossing over the cooled flow and head higher up the volcano face. The closer we get the hotter it gets. We keep climbing and climbing until we are within 5 feet of a massive lava flow that could wipe out a town in no time. The area is really hot and some of the guides are lighting sticks on fire by just touching the ground nearby. We get even higher and are standing right next to a river of red-hot lava 10 feet wide that flows directly from the cone.

While taking photos we can only stand nearby for a few minutes as our faces start to burn. Sort of like sticking your head too far in the oven to check if something is done.  It is a truly incredible experience seeing this lava move and big chunks roll down the hill. I can not even begin to describe the crackling sound of the hot lava cooling. Again amazing.

As the light starts to fade more areas of the ground start to glow bright red and we realize that we have been walking over a very active area 2 - Frank and Kay
2 - Frank and Kay
 ! It is actually pretty dangerous when you think about it and there is no way we would be allowed to do this in the US.  We are over 100 yards up in the active hot lava bed, and standing 3 feet next to a fast-flowing river of red lava.  Heck we didn't even have to sign a waver.

After the sun has set we descend the Volcano in the dark using our flashlights with our guide calling out ¨Groupo Pacaya¨every so often so we know where to go. It was actually a little spooky in the dark and we had to dodge the horse poo on the trail.

The Volcano hike has been on of the most incredible experiences of my life and I highly recommend you do it if you are in Antigua.  The $5 ticket includes transportation, entrance fee, and guide.  Life insurance not included.

Cheers, Frank
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