Volcán de Pacaya
Day 10 (July 8, 2018) - Antigua, Guatemala
Yesterday we hiked up Volcano Pacaya. Although this volcano is only about 15 miles away from us in Antigua, little did we know that there was an eruption there 3 days ago. Apparently this eruption was not significant in any way, but it did create some new lava flows (not really dangerous, unless you fall in I guess). We booked a tour and were told there would be 10 people total. They ended up combining us with another group and we had at least 20 people with us. No problemo, but it did make the hiking a bit slow going.
I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting such a grueling hike. At the start of the hike, we were met by a bunch of children that were peddling walking sticks..."stick? stick?" they kept saying. We didn't rent one, but several of our group members did (for 5-10Q - about a dollar). They seemed to be useful for those people once we were walking over the crusted lava flows much later on.
The hike started in a forest with a relatively steep grade for most of the way up. The trail began as mortared stone (not that easy to walk on), and then turned quite quickly into dirt and rock (really not easy to walk on). Horses were offered for a fee to take people up, but nobody in our group bit on that one. The hike was mostly up, until we got near the volcano, where we had to trek down a steep hill with sliding stones to the lava flow field.
From there we hiked up the volcano a little ways - maybe one quarter of the way up the volcano - where our guides took us across a crusted lava flow. The volcanic rock was extremely sharp. Even putting your hand on a rock to brace yourself invited a cut. The rock was not slippery, but it was quite brittle and very unsteady. One group member was on a big lava boulder, got too close to the edge, and the volcanic rock edge broke and he fell about 3 feet onto his back. He had nasty gashes all over his arms and legs, which took about 15 minutes for the guides to patch up before we could head back. Luckily neither of us had any mishaps.
One of the guides dug for a little bit in the loose volcanic rock and came up with a hot rock (hot from the hot lava beneath). A few of these rocks were so hot that steam came off when pouring water on them. The guides even roasted marshmallows on the hot rocks.
Traffic was pretty terrible getting to and from the volcano, but overall worth the trip. With all the overblown news coverage of Guatemala's volcanoes lately, we're glad we ignored the hype and came to this beautiful country (and even hiked one of the newsworthy volcanoes without issue). Apparently Volcano Pacaya is very predictable, and it is closed down 2 or 3 weeks before an eruption is expected, so no tourists or locals are in harm's way.
From Volcano Pacaya we could also see three other volcanoes: Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego. In the picture to the left, Fuego is on the far left, and the white streak apparently is the deadly pyroclastic flow that devastated the villages below on June 3 of this year.
Yesterday we hiked up Volcano Pacaya. Although this volcano is only about 15 miles away from us in Antigua, little did we know that there was an eruption there 3 days ago. Apparently this eruption was not significant in any way, but it did create some new lava flows (not really dangerous, unless you fall in I guess). We booked a tour and were told there would be 10 people total. They ended up combining us with another group and we had at least 20 people with us. No problemo, but it did make the hiking a bit slow going.
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| Mark in front of Volcano Pacaya. |
I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting such a grueling hike. At the start of the hike, we were met by a bunch of children that were peddling walking sticks..."stick? stick?" they kept saying. We didn't rent one, but several of our group members did (for 5-10Q - about a dollar). They seemed to be useful for those people once we were walking over the crusted lava flows much later on.
The hike started in a forest with a relatively steep grade for most of the way up. The trail began as mortared stone (not that easy to walk on), and then turned quite quickly into dirt and rock (really not easy to walk on). Horses were offered for a fee to take people up, but nobody in our group bit on that one. The hike was mostly up, until we got near the volcano, where we had to trek down a steep hill with sliding stones to the lava flow field.
 |
| Our hike to Volcano Pacaya started in a forest. |
From there we hiked up the volcano a little ways - maybe one quarter of the way up the volcano - where our guides took us across a crusted lava flow. The volcanic rock was extremely sharp. Even putting your hand on a rock to brace yourself invited a cut. The rock was not slippery, but it was quite brittle and very unsteady. One group member was on a big lava boulder, got too close to the edge, and the volcanic rock edge broke and he fell about 3 feet onto his back. He had nasty gashes all over his arms and legs, which took about 15 minutes for the guides to patch up before we could head back. Luckily neither of us had any mishaps.
One of the guides dug for a little bit in the loose volcanic rock and came up with a hot rock (hot from the hot lava beneath). A few of these rocks were so hot that steam came off when pouring water on them. The guides even roasted marshmallows on the hot rocks.
Traffic was pretty terrible getting to and from the volcano, but overall worth the trip. With all the overblown news coverage of Guatemala's volcanoes lately, we're glad we ignored the hype and came to this beautiful country (and even hiked one of the newsworthy volcanoes without issue). Apparently Volcano Pacaya is very predictable, and it is closed down 2 or 3 weeks before an eruption is expected, so no tourists or locals are in harm's way.
 |
| View from Pacaya Volcano. From left to right: Fuego, Acatenango, Agua. |
From Volcano Pacaya we could also see three other volcanoes: Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego. In the picture to the left, Fuego is on the far left, and the white streak apparently is the deadly pyroclastic flow that devastated the villages below on June 3 of this year.
Wonderful pictures...looks like you are using a professional camera..not just your phone.
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