Volcan Pacaya

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So I met a guy who met another guy, one thing lead to another and I wound up hiking a Volcano on Sunday (after the Palm Sunday procession).

Antigua is surrounded by 3 Volcanos, Volcan Pacaya is the most popular. Up until last May it was active and would erupt small bits of lava everyday (all the guide books still say it errupts all the time), however last May it had a major eruption and there hasnt been any lava since. Still, its a great hike and incredible view and is still very much boiling lava hot!

The hike itself was very difficult. A $0.75 walking stick was the best investment I ever made because the trails are made of a combination of black volcanic ash and rock. Every step was difficult to plant your foot firmly and move uphill.

There was a group of 12 of us together with a guide and several little boys on horseback following us hoping we would pay them for the use of their horse taxi up. The view from the top was, well incredible!

Definitely the coolest thing I´ve done so far and I look forward to hiking many more Volcanos in Guatemela, El Salvador, and Honduras.

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Photos

Panorama
Probably the best picture I´ve taken so far

Taxi!
The local boys spent our hike following us on horses (taxis as they called them) in case we wanted to pay them to take us up instead of hiking

Our Guide
Our guide explaining something in Spanish as we took a water break on the way up

Gato de Mountain
A dead fox (or Gato de Mountain)

Volcanic Sauna
Inside this little cave is a natural sauna (60C), on top there are opening which people were roasting marshmellows

Comments

[Marianne Max-Marcus]

Dave, This looks incredible. I have a niece who is Travel Editor for Food and Wine magazine. She travels all over the world constantly. I will ask her if there is any place in Central or South America she recommends. Keep enjoying !

[Laurie]

Hey there
love seeing your pix and reading your blog...hope all is well and you are not too lonely as you pursue your travels! Your pictures are wonderfully vivid...Ira and I are looking to invest in a new camera....what are you using to take those fabulous pictures? looking forward to following your adventures ...take care and be safe!

[DWOD]

My Camera
I´m using a SONY DSC-HX5V its my new toy and I love it. Its small and compact but has 10x optical zoom and takes panorama pictures and HD Video. Its like $250 new, not bad