Today was our day off of work with Safe Passage. The staff schedules their meetings for Friday
so they are tied up with their work – giving support teams a day of rest and
time to enjoy Guatemala. Our team
decided that we wanted to hike and enjoy nature, and we certainly did! We hiked the Volcan de Pacaya (Pacaya
Volcano) about an hour outside of Antigua.
We left our hotel at 5:45am to get a head start on the many other groups
that do the hike and to avoid any weather that might come up in the
afternoon. We were certainly dreary this
morning but our day made it totally worth it.
5:45 in the morning on the streets of Antigua. Volcan de Agua is in the background.
Under the famous arch in Antigua. You can see the entrance to our hotel on the left!
Pacaya is one of three active volcanoes in Guatemala. We had heard that it was a relatively easy
hike…the internet lied. It was a short
but strenuous climb. Even though it was
difficult, we were struck with the immense beauty that surrounded us. We have realized this week that Guatemala is
a beautiful county – beauty in nature, beauty in culture, and, most
importantly, beauty in the people who call this place home.
One of the many lookout points on the hike gave us amazing
views of three other nearby volcanoes: Agua, Acatenengo, and Fuego. Fuego is one of the other active volcanoes
and erupts with ash and steam about every 20 minutes. We saw an eruption with lava on Sunday night
at dinner and saw eruptions today in the daytime. It is spectacular to see!
At the spectacular lookout with Volcan de Agua in the center, Acatenango is the peak in the middle, and fuego is on the left.
When we reached the main crater of Pacaya (short of the
summit which is not open to the public due to gases and other volcanic
activity), we got a special Guatemalan treat: marshmallows roasted in volcanic
vents! It was amazing to stand in a
crater that was filled by volcanic rock in 2012 and roast ‘mallows in little
holes in the ground.
We made it to the top (or at least to the top of our hike)!
The eerie volcanic landscape near the top of Pacaya
Walking around the lava field looking for a good marshmallow roasting vent
Getting ready to roast!
This afternoon we went out and explored the main market in
Antigua. We got our shopping fix and
even bought some things for our loved ones at home. After dinner, we ended our day with Compline
as we always do just as a spectacular thunderstorm rolled in. Just as we prayed for God to “illumine this
night with God’s celestial brightness, a large bolt of lightning streaked
across the sky!
Tomorrow is our last day in Guatemala and we’ll be going to
a water park with the 7th grade class from Safe Passage we worked
with during the week. Every class gets
to enjoy this outing with support team once a year so it will be special for us
and for them.