Pacaya Pacaya Pacaya
Trip Start
Feb 01, 2006
1
17
33
Trip End
May 01, 2006
Between Antigua and Guatemala City,
Guatemala
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
We accomplished what we came back to Antigua to do...we climbed Pacaya. And sure enough, there was a small eruption while we were up there.
And it was not easy either...while the first two hours were more of a hike, the last hour in the lava fields was more like one step forward and two steps back. It was tough to get any traction in the piles of lava rock and if you slipped and put your hand down, the stuff would cut your hand to shreds. It was actually a really tough thing for our old bodies at this stage in the game, but it was fascinating.
Many people loved loitering near the summit, but once it started spewing rock and lava, we were more than content to hang out in a spot a little lower down
pacaya 10
. Many guide books say that it is unsafe to climb at all. While it is true that all climbs now include a guide and a security guard...but we have also heard that more foreigners have been hurt by rock and lava than by banditos.We were able to get some good shots this morning, but the real glory we have seen from here is at night, so thanks to the Internet and our new amigo Carlo (the owner of one of the posadas we stayed at in Antigua) we have also posted shots of the volcano erupting at night! We can't take credit for them but we sure have heard it and seen it!
Tomorrow we head off on a new adventure and country number three on this trail...more to come from El Salvador.
