Of the three volcanoes within view of Antigua, Agua is the closest to the city and appears to be the largest. Acatenango and Fuego are somewhat farther away to the southwest and are the third highest and fourth highest peaks in Guatemala with only about 100 feet difference in altitude. The plan on the tour was to hike to the summit of Acatenango for sunrise, return to camp for breakfast, and then hike across the saddle between the peaks and then up the ridge and part way up to Fuego's peak. Because Fuego is currently sort of like an Old Faithful of volcanoes with frequent small eruptions, going all the way to the top has not been possible for some time. Nature had different plans for us, though.

On the climb towards the campsite on Acatenango there were occasional booms that sounded like thunder but were explained to us as being eruptions from Fuego, which was out of sight for almost the entire climb until coming into view as we approached the campsite which faced Fuego directly . As dusk approached the eruptions became more frequent and the smoke rising from the volcano more constant. Towards sunset the rocks being expelled from the top of the peak became more visible and changed in appearance from our vantage point from black to the glowing red we associate with superheated volcanic rocks. The eruption kept increasing in intensity through the evening, the volcanic matter being expelled hundreds of feet into the air and the illuminating the cone of the volcano as it rolled downfrom the peak.

Through the night the sound of the erupton gradually changed from that of almost constant thunder more towards the roar of a jet engine. And I forgot my earplugs! Besides the sound of the eruption in the distance, the other sound through much of the night was that from ash falling on my tent, a sound similar to the pitter-patter of rain drops.

By time of the pre-dawn start to climb Acatenango, Fuego was engulfed in smoke, some of it coming not only from the cone but from the lava flows down the peak’s southern and eastern flanks not in our direct view, flows which extended several thousand feet down towards vegetation that had not yet been affected by recent previous eruptions . By breakfast time the upper level winds were pushing much of the plume of ash westwards towards the Lake Atitlan region, but enough was still overhead to be falling on us and into our breakfast bowls as we were eating. What damage can eating a little bit of volcanic ash do? It’s obviously sterile.

Our lead guide Luis announced at breakfast that it would not be possible for safety reasons to do the planned afternoon hike onto Fuego. Like, duh, why am I not surprised?

The height of the eruption was around 18 hours after it began, around the time I made my late morning climb to Acatenango’s summit. At that point the roar was constant and the peak completely engulfed in smoke, volcanic matter being blown out high into the sky and lava flowing down its far side making it look like the whole thing was blowing. The giant mushroom cloud above the peak looked like an atomic explosion and the plume of ash darkened the afternoon sky. Lead guide Luis claimed it was the most impressive eruption he had ever seen on his over 100 times on the peak over the years .

Towards evening the intensity of the eruption appeared to have diminished somewhat from its peak, but Fuego’s cone still glowed brilliantly as ever more superheated rock was blown out hundreds of feet into the air and rolled down its sides. I went to bed around 8:00 P.M. and gradually noticed less frequent explosions through the second night. By morning our view at breakfast was of a quiet peak, the deeply black hue of the newer lava flows and ash falls on Fuego distinctly darker than that of previous eruptions.

Well, since I wasn’t able to climb Fuego maybe I should remain this tour from "The Magnificent Seven" to the “Sexy Six”. The incredible show I got was something much better than what I could have seen under normal circumstances hiking part way up Fuego. What was supposed to be a tourist volcano with occasional puffs of smoke and belches of hot rocks turned out to be a full eruption, the kind of thing scientists who specialize in the subject would love to be present to observe. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience since I’ll probably never see anything like it again.