Roasting marshmallows on an active volcano :O (Day 190 of the world tour)

03/12/2020

I felt really nauseous last night and I think maybe I didn't tolerate something. Great ^^

Nevertheless, we got up at 5:00 am and got ready to be picked up at 6:00 am in the city since our accommodation is outside of it.

The agency chose Casa Santo Domingo as our pick-up point: a 5-star hotel! :D :D I think Jonas and I don't fit in there (anymore), but maybe it's just prejudice^^

Once there, the security man opened a small window in the wooden gate and kindly asked if we wanted to wait inside. He probably assumed that we were hotel guests, but since we weren't, we declined the offer and waited outside, where it was so fresh this morning that Jonas was wearing long trousers AND a jacket :O :D

My stomach continued to give me problems and I seriously considered for a moment whether I should come along and we asked if we could do the tour on another day...

But then the bus came and we both got on ;-)

After two minutes, the mini-bus stopped at a cafe where you could stock up on pastries and coffee if you wanted^^ We waited there for two other vans, whose occupants were then all packed into our bus - carpooling :)

It finally started around 6:50 a.m. and of course we drove right past our accommodation -.- That means we could very well have just waited on the street and been picked up - and that with 1.5 hours more sleep :p

But good. So it was probably easier and the journey started.

Normally the way takes about 1.5 hours but since we drove the first part in the direction of Guatemala City, we ended up right back in the rush hour and there was soo much traffic even after the turn where we drove away from Guatemala City and a few traffic jams.

People here don't have a choice if they want to go to the city, but it's super frustrating. Luckily we don't live in a big city in Germany :p Being able to WALK to work from home in my small town is such a luxury! :O

When we got to the base of the volcano we went up a road. Overall it is 2,600 meters high, but we started at over 1,000 meters and climbed almost 400 meters to our highest point.

Unfortunately there is a construction site on the route, so we had to wait there for a good half hour, but it was comfortable on the bus and we treated ourselves to some food.

Oh yes. The "bread" is actually not bread but raisin cake :D :D :D

Arriving at the parking lot, we were greeted by our tour guide Walter, who lives in the village of San Francisco where we would start the climb. Walter speaks English and Spanish and so we were able to follow his information even without a language barrier^^

The four "main" volcanoes near Antigua are El Fuego, from which smoke rises daily and which erupted in 2018, killing several hundred people :(

Next to it is the Acatenango, which you can also climb as a 2-day tour (Jonas and I haven't quite agreed yet whether we want to do that :p Of course he's really excited about it, but it goes to almost 4,000 meters, which I have no experience with and that's why I'm unsure^^).

The third is the Volcana de Agua, which is green and forested almost to the top and is therefore the “prettiest” for me^^

Antigua lies in the valley between these three volcanoes.

The Pacaya is then another volcano for which you have to drive these 1.5 hours because it is behind another mountain and is therefore not visible from Antigua.

By the way, there are 34 volcanoes in Guatemala :)

Although we had already made up a few meters by getting there, hiking poles were offered for sale as soon as we got off the minibus and a “taxi” in the form of a horse was also an option (for a fee).

The fact that these tools were available can almost make you a little nervous :D I read in blog entries that some found the 1.5-hour ascent quite okay and others found it super super exhausting.

I bravely decided against stick and horse and so our group of 19 people trudged off together. A family with Indian roots had two small children and they were quickly on the "taxi".

Even an Asian woman couldn't stand the very steep path for long and got on her horse.

In addition, two more horses with villagers as guides accompanied us for quite a while, in case another person needs "help" ;-)

As I said, the path was steep but actually quite nice with stone ground at first, which then changed to earth/ash/sand and there were a lot of trees to the right and left. As a result, the path was also in the shade, which I always find pretty great :p :D

Except for the family, I think (almost) everyone else was our age or younger and so everyone kept up with the pace. I thought that Jonas and I already had a good pace (after all, we were always the first in the Himalayas^^) but today we brought up the rear because Jonas always stayed with me <3

I could blame it on my tummy ailments but somehow I really wasn't getting much air (although it wouldn't be high enough for altitude sickness or anything) and the sandy-earthly ground made sure that you just always sink in with your steps and it was a bit more strenuous.

My last excuse (I'm good at that huh?^^) was that it was just uphill all the time and there weren't any straight stretches to "recover" :p :D

After a few minutes we took the first break, during which Walter always told us something about the volcanoes and we had the opportunity for some nice photos :)

Among other things, we learned that no one had ever died in a volcanic eruption in Walter's village. As soon as the warning goes out, all the villagers pack their things and flee the outbreak. The last time, 40 cm of ash fell on the village, which the residents were allowed to deal with when they returned...

Jonas asked where the whole village goes in such a case. It can be difficult for the surrounding villages or towns to provide space for an entire village. Walter smiled and explained that it is indeed always a difficult thing. Most of the time they would just camp and find a spot 5-10km out, depending on which direction the wind is blowing.

Wow. I find it kind of crazy to imagine that my house, my village, could be hit again and again by an eruption and then I have to clean and repair everything again. On the other hand, a permanent move to the city is certainly just as crass for many, since life in the village is quite different - the one they have known for generations...

While Walter was recounting these facts at the second viewpoint, there was a bit of a commotion behind us and we saw a German student lay down on the floor and another helped her to put her legs up. Oh no!

The poor thing was white as a sheet and obviously embarrassed. She explained that she is actually very athletic and is constantly in the Alps (her accent was southern German) and cannot explain why she is breaking down...

Of course she was then offered a horse, but she wanted to rest a bit and then try running :)

While she was lying there, I felt a bit dizzy myself, but I was also too proud to see the horse as a real option :D

The girl got up again, but then didn't run away in front anymore, but stayed with Jonas and me at the back together with a somewhat more stable guy, who trudged up there in a shirt, suit trousers and brown leather shoes. hmm Each as he likes :p

In the meantime I was about to get on a horse after all because it was just so difficult to get air :D

In the end we made it up on foot - fortunately, as I said, it was only about 1.5 hours and not a day hike ;-)

Once at the top we had a view of the summit of Pacaya. He still spits from time to time so of course you're not allowed to go TO THE TOP but we got as close as we can for safety reasons :)

From this hill you also had a good 360 degree view which I hope the photos reflect a bit^^ You can see the other volcanoes, villages below and even Guatemala City! :O

After we were allowed to take some photos there, we went down into the crater, which was the summit of the volcano a few years ago. According to Walter, this is constantly changing due to the shifting of the tectonic plates. The volcano "moves" but I didn't understand it exactly. At least not enough to explain it :D :D

Down in the crater you then walk on cooled magma/lava, the stones of which are sold in souvenir shops if they have several colors and quartz ;-)

But as part of the tour we were interested in the holes, which are still super hot and as a tourist contribution we all got a stick and were allowed to roast marshmallows in the hole <33

How cool was that? Who can claim to have been on an active volcano and melted marshmallows there? :p :D

(well, quite a lot here. This spot is THE to-do in the area and there are soo many people there. We were lucky that a group of at least 50 young Americans was moving on, so we could visit the hole for a few minutes all for our own group alone^^)

After the sweets, we went back up to the hill for the opportunity to take more photos or eat a lunch we might have brought with us. On the way, the volcano spat up some stones from its gullet and you could see how they flew through the air and landed on its slope, glowing and smoking for a few seconds. The safety distance probably made sense :D

After a short break on the hill, we made our way back. As expected, this was very slippery due to the underground and a few times you slid. Jonas also sat down once, but otherwise we all got down unscathed ;-)

The drive back to Antigua took quite a long time again because there were some trucks in front of us that were having a hard time climbing the hills. The poor drivers! :(

At around 1:30 p.m. we were already back at the accommodation, although getting out was a bit funny^^

Here, where we live, only locals live. There are no hostels or hotels like downtown. When I asked our bus driver if he could let us out of here, he didn't want to believe it at first. He asked several times "here?" and I always "yes, it's good here." Slightly confused, he finally stopped and we were able to save a huge part of the way back <3

After a bit of dozing and showering and whining because I'm still not feeling better, we sat on the patio for some YouTube.

In the late afternoon we went back to the bowl restaurant for a delicious, healthy dinner, of which I unfortunately only managed half (but that's how breakfast is made that isn't raisin bread?^^).

Tomorrow there will probably be a viewpoint and bouldering, but maybe we'll just chill.

Today with the volcano was definitely a new experience that I/we thought was really cool <3