Me and Colin´s final adventures

Colin and I spent the last week in Antigua, which is a very nice old city with cobblestone streets and ruins on about every corner. The one drawback is that there are a lot of tourists here and prices on food and lodging are a bit higher. The highlights though of our time here were in the last two days (pictures are on their way a little later)...

On Friday afternoon we hiked up Volcan Pacaya, which is one of the few active volcanoes around here. You have to take a tour to do the hike because it is not safe without a guide. So Colin and I looked around and found a place that had a good deal on a tour. They had two options-- leave at 6 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon. We thought about which one to take, and thinking there was no way that we would get up that early plus it would be fun to watch the sunset from the volcano, we chose the 2 pm tour. We asked the woman arranging the tour if it would be dark on the way down and if we needed a flashlight or anything, she was like no... it takes 2 hours to drive there and then 2 hours to hike up and only one hour to hike down, so you will be able to see fine, I wouldn´t worry about anything. So Colin and I took her advice and we were getting really excited to go.
That morning we went to the grocery store and bought some snacks to bring along and then we went to the agency at 1:45. When we got there the woman was like, sorry this has never happened before but there are problems with the bus so it will be half an hour late, is that okay? We thought that would be fine, but we were starting to get more nervous about being up there in the dark, plus it looked like a storm was maybe moving in. We waited around and the bus did show up at 2:30 but then we had to go pick up the rest of the people on the tour. I was curious who they would be and we pulled up to this really fancy hotel and I was getting nervous. But it couldn´t have turned out any better-- the rest of the group were a bunch of people here for a conference and they were from all different countries in central and south america. They were a fun and lively group and they made the tour even better, so things were looking up.
Then the drive to the volcano went on the highway past Guatemala City and road construction was going on. There was so much traffic it seemed like we were parked forever, and we were all wondering if we would ever make it to the volcano. We were in the van for hours breathing in exhaust and Colin and I were staring to feel funny. Finally the traffic broke and we turned off to the volcano. We drove up the hill for awhile and then met our tour guide at the trail entrance. By that time the sky was already starting to turn dark and a lot of fog was moving in. Colin and I were just thinking that this was going to turn out to be quite the adventure.
The hike up was beautiful and the fog and mist made it a very enchanting experience. The soil was dark black from the volcanic rock and the foliage on the hillside was dense and bright green. There were also a lot of wild flowers sprinkling the ground. We could not see out too far due to the fog, but we could still enjoy what was around us. There was also a dog that came with us on the hike up and Colin and I fed him some bread and he became our friend-- he was a great dog. I was so excited to see lava at the top, I could not wait! As we got higher though and we were approaching the top, the fog got really thick and we could hardly see 5 feet in front of us. Everything became mysterious and ghostly. Then night fell and our sight was dimished even more. We all stuck together as a group and made it to the spot where you could see the lava... but we couldn´t see anything! I was like nooooo, I wanted to see the lava.
The guide told us if we followed him and went off the trail a little we could get closer to the lava and hopefully see it. So we all took off across a field of volcanic rock in the dark and fog. Colin and I were wondering about our safety, but we followed along. We were walking along recent lava flows that had hardened, and heat and gases were rising up from below warming us all. At some spots when you looked down the ground was glowing red. It was absolutely crazy! Volcanic rock is not sturdy and it was crunching and breaking beneath our feet. Plus we could not see anything, but luckily all the other people had flashlights and Colin had one in his bag that kind of worked. We were all walking together and helping eachother out with the path and the light. At one point I had no light and I took a blind step and the rock I was on broke in half and I fell down... I was so scared I would fall into some cavern, but luckily it wasn´t too bad, the sharp rock just cut up my hands a bit and tore my pants, but I was still okay. Colin and I were just like what are we doing? Is this actually happening? And what´s with the tour lady who says you don´t need a flashlight? It was like in Elementary school when you play don´t fall into the hot lava on the playground, but it was actually real!
Finally after much tension we made it to this spot where you could look over another ridge of rocks and see the lava flowing down the side of the hill! The sky above was glowing red from the heat and the mist and the rock was black and jagged and it felt and looked like we were in hell, but it was so cool. I could not believe I was standing there watching the lava flow down, it was coming from the center of the earth. We all hung out there for awhile and took some pictures and then started back. You really could not see hardly anything and the way we were going back was even harder than the way out. Every time I leaned down to hold on I inhaled gas and felt the heat, and I was feeling pretty scared, especially as the rock kept breaking and slipping away. Then Colin and I looked up and there were lots of flashlight beams ahead and it looked like there were tons of people doing this excursion and we could not believe it. They yelled down that we were all going the wrong way, so we hiked up to them and finally made it out of the rock field-- all in one piece. Then we hiked the whole way down in the dark, but at least the path was solid.
Man the night trip was something else, I bet it is a whole different experience in the morning. There was something extremely spooky and devilish about going up the volcano in the dark and fog, that it almost seemed appropriate, and I was happy with the night trip even though it was unbelievably dangerous. I finally got to see lava, and I will never forget it!

On Saturday Colin and I had another fun adventure. We heard about this big music festival called Jamtigua that atracts artists from all over central america, so we decided to buy tickets. It was supposed to be on Saturday and last from noon to midnight. So on Saturday afternoon we were like time for Jamtigua, but we realized we didn´t know where it was. We were asking all these people and it seemed like no one had ever heard of it. One person though did tell us how to find Jim in Antigua, haha, not quite what we wanted. I was beginning to wonder if the whole thing was a giant scam. But then we found some people who knew what it was, except they didn´t know where it was or how to get there. Colin and I were walking all around town trying to figure out was going on. Finally we went to the bus station and learned we needed to take a bus to a nearby town, so we jumped on, not knowing where we were going. We were just like well Jamtigua will be fun if we ever find it. We looked at the ticket again and noticed it had the name of a place on it, so we asked a lady on the bus where that was, and she was like we already passed it, it was by the park. So we got off the bus, walked back to the park, and saw a sign pointing towards Jamtigua. By that point it was lunch time so we paused and ate a giant cantelope in the park for lunch and then followed the sign.
I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out to be really cool. The festival was in a giant field and there were food and beer stands around, with a big stage on one side, and in the background the volcanoes were looming over everything. It was a beautifull, sunny day and we had a great time hanging out. Every 25 minutes a new band came on stage, and some were better than others, but over all the quality of music was really good. When night fell the crowd really picked up and there was a lot going on. They had artists painting banners, and dancers, and all sorts of musicians. Everyone was dancing away and enjoying themselves. We were really happy that we found it, and Jamtigua turned out to be quite the success. After awhile Colin and I were getting tired of being there and Colin was getting cold, so we didn´t exactly make it all the way to midnight, but we did enjoy ourselves. Then we went back to Antigua in a tiny 3 wheeled taxi bouncing along the rocky roads, and we ate our last dinner together.

Now here I sit all alone in Guatemala. This morning I went to the bus station and saw Colin off as he rode away on the giant chicken bus to bigger and better places. All I can say is that life is crazy and you never know what´s going to happen next. I guess I should give a brief explanation of what happened because my trip from here on out is going to be very different. Most of what happened is between Colin and I, but generally, he decided that he wanted to start traveling alone and that he didn´t want to be in a relationship anymore. He is a free spirit and he needs to experience the world for himself, without anyone else to hold him back. So that´s that. I was and still am extremely sad, but there was nothing I could do, except try to find the best of the situation. I loved Colin a lot, but we were both compromising some of our interests to be together because we have very different interests from eachother. So now, alone, we can really follow our true paths and do exactly what we want to do and be completely ourselves. I think I might try and volunteer more along the way because I would like to give something back to the people and places I´m going, but right now I have no idea what´s going to happen because I´m also kind of scared about traveling alone. I think Colin might focus more on his writing and music now, and he is going to try and travel the whole world. I wish him the best of luck, and I know he has much to share with the world with his many talents.
The end of a beautiful relationship is a hard thing to face, and it will take me some time to get over it, but Colin and I both have much to learn from the time we spent together, and we have many great memories to look back on. Some things I guess just weren´t meant to last, and you can never know unless you try, but I have no regrets, and I know that Colin and I are better off for having known eachother. We are now stronger and wiser people from having grown and shared together, and now we are even more prepared to face the rest of our lives. Colin, you are a special person, and I know you will go far and shine bright and you will always be as free as the wind.
So now I´m a solo traveler with the world at my fingertips, and who knows what will happen next.

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