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Published: December 14th 2008
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Nada
Our view from the top when we first arrived. Beep, beep. Beep, beep.
I raise my hand from beneath the sheets and into the freezing cold air of our room. In a quick flash the silence returns, but the damage is done. We are awake. It´s 4.30am in Quetzaltenango (Xela to the locals), deep in the Guatemalan highlands - hence the cold conditions.
Today we climb a volcano!
We fumble about as we dress in a semi-state of sleep, made even more difficult by the dim bulb no brighter than candle light. We pull on the layers - vest, long sleeve top, jumper, t-shirt, hoody, combats, woolly hat, the obligatory two pairs of socks and our trusty boots. We don´t have gloves but improvised by wearing socks on our hands instead.
5am standing on the dark street with only packs of wild dogs for company, our lift arrives. Two men so ignorant a grunt is our welcome. Perhaps they´re just not morning people? But as they chat and laugh with each other, I think not.
5.30am and we arrive at the starting block at the foot of the Volcano Santa Maria. As the van pulls away, darkness engulfs us. Jessica and our guide were but
black shadows in the darkness. Gustavo introduces himself (finally) and we do the same. He pulls out a flashlight, or it could have been his mobile phone. Either way, best described as faint. Thankfully we were prepared and had torches of our own.
The ascent began through farm land. This fact only being revealed on our way down, since at the beginning all we could see were our feet lit by torchlight as they stepped on soil and rock, each step waiting for confirmation before full weight was applied. Total concentration.
A climb may start with some conversation, as ours did. However after five minutes as you really start into the climb, the only sounds that can be heard are boots stomping, mud squelching, twigs snapping, the wind as it whistles through the bushes and, of course, the inevitable heavy breathing. If I talk at all, I lose the rhythm of my breathing and walking and so lose power. It takes a good few minutes to get over it. Chats are for break time! Breaks consist of a ten minute pause and some energy boosting biscuits. Having all those layers on made us as hot as hell and
Does my bum look big in this?
Waiting for the mist to clear. sweaty when on the move. But as soon as we stopped, the heat ran off and cold came knocking. Sweat chilled our backs and we started to shiver uncontrollably. Better to keep moving.
So we climbed higher and entered the clouds. Pine trees were all around us now. They pluck out the moisture from the air, turning it to droplets which descend on our heads. Out come the Stoke City ponchos. We covered all the angles!
Reaching the summit of a mountain brings a great sense of achievement. Volcan Santa Maria was no exception. Only problem was we couldn´t see a bloody thing. Nada. The top was literally in the clouds. Our guide said not to panic, it may clear soon. Yeah right, I thought and we just laughed, well what else could we do?
The sound of chanting filled the misty air. Very very strange. We followed the sound and a group of indigenous Mayans were performaing an ancient ritual in a cave formed from big rocks which had images graffitied all over them. It gave the place an eerie feel - the monotonous chanting and the white cloud all around. We sat and looked out
and waited and hoped, knowing that in front of us were several volcanoes, if only we could see them.
True to Gustavo´s word, the cloud thinned and began to disappear. The most exciting part of the now extinct Volcan Santa Maria (3772m) was gradually revealed as the mists cleared and we could look down on the smaller Volcan Santiaguito (2488m), which is very much alive and active. Eruptions occur almost every hour.
The sound comes first. A rumble of one jet engine builds to a choir of fifty until the earth´s valve opens, releasing a plume of light grey smoke which grows and grows hundreds of feet above the crater. The smoke gushes upwards like from an old steam engine, but without the heartbeat. Instead it is a continuous force of frightning energy.Small rocks become cannon balls bashing the clouds. Gradually Santiaguito slows to a whimper as though it´s running out of breath. A few more coughs and the whole show is over. So begins the pressure build up, nature´s kettle!
As we look across Guatemala, our guide points out half a dozen other volcanoes, one which had also started to erupt. A jet black tower of
smoke fired out of Volcan Fuego. Of the 30 volcanoes in Guatemala, three are active - Santiaguito, Fuego and Pacaya. Pacaya is next on our list!
Then came the worst bit of climbing, going down. Jessica and I never like it as it can be very painful on the knees and ankles. Plus it can get a little whiffy. A fact climbers never reveal, on the descent you fart all the way down due to the change in altitude. We kept our distance!
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ciara church
non-member comment
wow
Hi It must be scary watching a volcano erupt