volcan de picaya

To celebrate my friend Ginny’s birthday, we hiked the Volcan de “Picaya”. We finally arrived after almost 2 hours and got out of the van to what seemed like 50 small children selling hiking sticks for about a dollar. We were so confused, and passed them up, as the swarm of children was a bit overwhelming.  There were others selling “taxis” (horses) to take up the active Volcano, but we were determined to hike it ourselves. After all, it was only a 2 hour hike.  The beginning was on a road and was almost straight up… after that we gave those taxis a second thought… but we persevered on foot. After about 45 minutes hiking up a tiny trail through the woods, we came to a clearing. It was crazy. The forest just stopped and sand/40 year old lava started. It was okay at first – we had to traverse a huge mountain, and while we were staying level it was good. Then the wind picked up and we were being blown all over. Then the initial climb began – imagine climbing almost vertically in sand. It was all but impossible. After another 45 minutes of “climbing” up the sand, the 2 year old lava began. It was like your typical dried lava – very sharp but hard like stone.  This part lasted about 15 more minutes, and then we reached the summit. I totally felt like Frodo in LOTR climbing the final mountain to destroy the ring.  The cracks of the old lava were burning hot. But the gale-force winds kept us cool for the most part.  We reached the top about sunset, and it was magnificent. God is so good. The hot lava was truly burning orange and red – and was incredibly hot.  In America, you know the whole thing would be roped off, and we would be 100 feet from the lava, but not in Guate – you can get as close as you want. We even took marshmallows to roast over the lava – and make s’mores. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!