Volcan Pacaya

As we began coordinating our trip to Antigua with Peg,  we made it clear that our number one priority was seeing a volcano.  And so, upon arriving in Antigua, one of our first orders of business was to arrange a trip to Volcan Pacaya, the active volcano near Antigua.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of travel agents/tour guides/transportation vendors in Antigua who will take you to the volcano.  We had been told to check in with Old Town Outfitters, as they spoke English and had several interesting trips to go on.  We checked around town with several different tour operators, and became familiar with the details.  When we got to Old Town Outfitters, their price was a little higher, but they offered an English-speaking guide and also offered a meal with the trip, so we signed for the afternoon tour, which was from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm.  The later tour would allow us to see the lava at night. 

We all boarded the van- Mom, Dad, Robert, Peg, Steve (whom we'd met at the hotel), our tour guide Rodolfo, and his daughter, for the one hour drive to the volcano.  At the base of the volcano there is a national park and hundreds of local entrepreneurs.  Kids swarmed the van trying to rent us walking sticks and trying to get us to sign up with their horse to ride to the top.

Before we arrived, we had discussed that we would need a horse for Robert, so we arranged for that to happen, and then we set off up the mountain.  The first leg of the journey involved hiking up (or riding on horseback) the base of the volcano to where the lava is flowing.  This took about two hours, and along the way we were treated to breathtaking views- of a volcanic crater lake, the countryside, and even a distant view of Guatemala City.

When we reached the plateau where we could view the lava, the wind was howling.  The same wind which provided beautiful vistas also caused us all to huddle in search of warmth.  Darkness was approaching and temperatures were dropping.  Our guesstimate was that the wind chill was in the low 40's.  Some locals were hiding from the wind on a precipice where they could see the lava but also be out of the wind.

Robert and I joined the locals on the ledge and looked out over the lava field.  "How do we get there?" Robert asked.  I explained to him that it was a difficult walk out to the lava, that we would have to walk on the lava rocks, and it would take a long time in both the dark and cold.  Robert said he wanted to go.  I explained that his horse couldn't go because the trail was too difficult for the horse and the rocks were too sharp.  He still wanted to go.  Finally, I explained to him that he would have to walk on his own because it would be too dangerous for mom or dad to pick him up.  "I want to go," he said definitively.

So, off we went!  Two of our party stayed behind, choosing the cold wind over the steep path.  The path was indeed difficult- at times the fine gravel caused us to slide down, at times the rocks were large, other times they were sharp.  There was not an easy path to the lava, but an hour later we finally reached it.  Upon our arrival and our shoes warm from the heat of the lava just below the surface, our guide Rodolfo pulled out some marshmallows from his pack and found a stick.  We roasted marshmallows over the red hot lava which was oozing out from cracks just three feet away!!!

Rodolfo and Mark also used the stick to penetrate the exterior shell of lava, which had cooled seconds earlier, to reach the interior molten lava.  When they poked a hole through, fire came shooting out as the heat and gases reached a new oxygen source.  Robert howled with delight.

Finally, all decided that it was time to go back.  The hike back to where we had left the others was not an easy one.  Using the small flashlights we had brought to guide our way, we had to go back up the steep and sharp mountain side, and back up the crumbly lava gravel.  At one point, the tired Robert asked to be picked up.  We reminded him of our previous discussion: that it was too dangerous to pick him up, and that he agreed to walk on his own.  That was the end of that discussion, and he proceeded back up the path, not asking again to be picked up.

We got back to the plateau, and Robert got back on his horse, and we all descended to the parking lot.  We got back to the bottom, and Rodolfo opened his pack to prepare some delicious vegetarian sandwiches.  Robert ate a few bites, and then went off to make friends with the local boys who were hanging around playing with Pokemon chips.

We were very proud of his behavior for our adventure.  He had displayed the true Read adventure spirit by wanting to go see the lava, courage in climbing the path to get to the lava, and maturity in never complaining of the difficulty of the trek.