Volcano City

Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez Department, Guatemala
My first few days in Antigua I spent exploring the maze of streets and watching the famous processions. Antigua is well-known for its Easter processions which start up to a month before Easter Sunday. The one I saw was very impressive and the carpets which the locals make are so amazing. I'm looking forward to Friday which is said to be the most impressive day of all the processions and almost every house works all day and night on Thursday to make their carpet. 
Antigua is surrounded by volcanoes so of course one of the main tourist activities is to get as close to them as possible. On Monday, Lucy (my American flatmate) and I joined a group of 16 others to take on the hike to Volcano Acatenango. 
Volcano Acatenango is the 3rd highest volcano in Guatemala and also 3rd highest peak in Central America at 3,976m. This meant it wasn't an easy hike, dealing with changing temperatures, altitude and terrain that was very hard to walk on. 
We started at about 11.30am on Monday after stopping to pick up our food, water, walking sticks and extra jackets. I wasn't convinced I would need another jacket but I'm so glad I decided to carry the extra weight as it got very cold during the evening. 
The ascent was 1525m in total, about 13km each way, and goes through 4 different eco-systems as the climate changes. We started at fertile farmland where the main crops are corn and flowers. This first part was tough, uphill and in direct sunlight. After lunch at the official entrance point we entered a tropical cloud forest which provided well-needed shade for a while. Still going up, we came out of the jungly area to a sparse alpine forest. It was strange how much the trees changed, it felt like a completely different place. 
Finally, we reached the final fourth micro-climate, which was above the trees and a sparse volcanic terrain. We were so happy to see our campsite for the night although when we first arrived it was so cloudy that we had no idea that less than 2km away was one of world's most active volcanoes.
As we were starting to eat our dinner which was pasta and sauce cooked over the campfire the clouds slowly started to reveal the magnificent Volcano Fuego. As the sun was setting the volcano gave us an almost constant firework show of lava coming out of the top and running down the sides, followed by a gigantic ash cloud which would sit above the crater before dispersing. It was a mesmerising sight and with the stars and milky way clear above us we were all completely in awe. In the other direction was another 2 volcanoes, one of them also had lava running down its side and behind it was a magnificent lightening storm which would light up the sky every now and then. As we were roasting marshmallows, drinking wine and telling ghost stories I couldn't take my eyes away from the volcano producing lava every few minutes. Shortly after I got into bed there was a tremor in a town near the volcano, 4.5 on the Richter scale, which I felt as I was led in my sleeping bag. I wasn't sure whether it was tiredness or whether the earth was really moving. The volcano also made loud booming noises which vibrated through the ground quite frequently during the night, so I didn't sleep perfectly, probably also due to the fact I was sharing a pod with 5 other people. At least we stayed warm. 
At 3.30am we were woken up by our guides and by 4am we were trudging the final 300m ascent in a silent line, looking back occasionally to see the volcano exploding behind us. This part for me was the hardest as we were nearing 4000m and the altitude was starting to affect me a bit and the terrain, loose deep volcanic rock, was very difficult to walk on . However, reaching the summit in time for the sunrise made all the pain of the last two days worth it. It was incredible to see the sky change colour, the volcano continuing to erupt and the sun come into view. 
I was worried about coming down back to the camp but the guides had it sorted. They took us to wide paths where you can run in the thick volcanic rock and let gravity pull you down the side. It was so fun! Breakfast was appreciated by everyone - jam toasties and hot chocolate! 
Then we made our way down which was very slippery and I think everyone fell at least once on the dusty steep ground. Back on the bus around 12pm we were all buzzing from what an amazing experience we had had but excited for showers to wash the dust that was coating every part of us!
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Comments

Carynm
2019-04-22

Wow! What an amazing week. You arrived at a good time to experience the carpet making-so much hard work for beautiful creations, only to be destroyed. Glad you survived the volcano and earthquake!!! What a view from the toilet! The trek to see the sunrise over the volcano looks very tough but very worth it. Bet you couldn’t really believe what you were seeing and doing xxx

2025-02-10

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