Surviving Pacaya

Hello! I'm back! First of all, congratulations to my friends Stephanie and Justin! They had their twin girls this morning! The twins are a little early but doing well and I can't wait to see them when I visit Portland in 2 weeks! I have several other friends who are due during the time that I am travelling so you may see other announcements as well!

Back to travel blogging. Why travel in the first place? To see the world...to immerse yourself in other cultures....to do things you might never do in everyday life...and to be outside of your own normal self. Travelling for me is a change from the hectic pace of my life the last few years, a chance to see new and familiar places, to visit with friends, to do some introspection, and to challenge myself. Yesterday's overnight hike to Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala definitely falls into the last category. It was not something I specifically chose to do but thought it would be a great experience. Since my friends Beatrice, Peggy, and Benji were so nice as to want to travel with me and meet me in Guatemala, I wanted to do things they wanted to do as well. What I failed to truly realize is that they are all a little more trail-hardy than me! For example, Beatrice has done big trips to various parts of Africa and Asia for 1-2 months at a time and has done a fair amount of trekking around. Peggy and Benji, on the other hand, have travelled more than any one I know. They climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (Peggy has done it twice) recently and have traveled extensively around the world...it's actually a lot of fun to sit and listen to all their travel stories. So for all of them, a little overnight hike was nothing.

Admittedly, the hike sounded fun and really neat. It was supposed to be an "easy" hike of about an hour then make camp. You would get to see the volcano at night and some lava fields. They would provide warm clothes, food, camping equipment, and a guide. This is pretty much all that I knew coming down as I didn't get around to fully reading about the trip before I left. But I figured that it couldn't be that bad. And I was only half wrong. The trip wasn't bad, in fact, parts of it were amazing but I just felt so unprepared. I packed as lightly as I could for a 2 month around the world trek and it didn't really include camping gear...not that I have any anyway. So I didn't have the right pants, a headlamp, or rain/waterproof things (just a glorified garbage bag as an emergency poncho). Plus, a storm started rolling in as we were getting ready to leave. All in all, not a great start to things. Our guide asked if we had any questions before we started and I didn't even know where to begin. I'm just so grateful that my friends were there to help me though (sorry for being the weak link guys!).


Now this may make you guys laugh, but it's actually true (think about it, you'll see!). When I get into new situations where I don't feel comfortable, I will actually become a little more passive and quiet until I feel more sure of myself and what I need to do. So I was a little nervous about the whole trip but wanted to make myself do this. It's happened before that I have not tried things because I was scared or nervous and have regretted it. And like I said, part of this trip is to challenge myself. So I was going to do this even through the rain, mud, etc.

It did rain on the drive up to Pacaya and I was getting rather wet but fortunately, the rain let up as we began our hike. But, the way was rather steep and there was no avoiding all the horse manure all over the hiking path. And it was pretty steep. It was a mile and a half hike with a 1000 foot climb. Our guide told us it was pretty easy ... but he does this 2-3 times a week! I am definitely not in the right shape for this...especially with a 20+ pound pack on! We took many breaks, mostly for me (thanks to Benji for "going slow" and bringing up the rear so it was not just me!). Our guide told us to tell him to go slower if needed but he didn't really get the concept as he never really did. Just stopped until we caught up. I felt really pathetic once we made it to the top and one of the other girls in our group who was right up there with the guide the whole time and barely broke a sweat, then grabbed her smokes and lit up! On the other hand, I was pretty proud of myself for making the hike, as this is really the first time I did something like that. My memories of camping as a kid was car camping with the family where we occasionally set up a tent in a KOA but could sleep in the car if needed. Plus there was always the instant ramen for dinner! We did have a more grown-up version at the camp....a veggie chow-mein dish that our guide cooked up after we set up the tents.


Dessert was 2 Oreo cookies that had been twisted apart and peanut butter added in between! I don't love peanut butter but these were yummy!

We got camp set up (amidst a lava field and lots of cow patties) before it got too dark. We also got some great views of the flames spouting out of the top of Pacaya although the clouds were still rolling in and the thunder rumbled ominously in the background. There was lightening as well, which made for an electrifying scene..to see it lighting up the sky. Our guide was concerned about getting caught in the storm but we thought to at least to hike a little and get a better view of the active lava and the top of the volcano. Off we went, with me trying to improve my night vision and not stumble over the edge of the cliff. Again, our guide didn't really pace himself to the back half of our group but fortunately, the hike wasn't too too bad. We got to a ridge where we could see the volcano top well and an orange glow down the side of the mountain where the active lava was. It was exciting to get some night shots of Guatemala City on one side and the orange sparks coming off the mountain on the other. It's not quite as exciting in these particular photos but you'll just have to trust me that it was pretty cool.


Unfortunately, there were storms on all sides of us and the clouds kept rolling in, obscuring our view of the volcano so we opted to head back to camp to prepare for a storm and then wake up early to try and get to the lava fields. Of course, 5 minutes after we got back to camp, the storm seemingly passed us, the clouds blew away and everyone else wanted to head back out to go as far as we could. Again, a moment that I wasn't entirely comfortable with (hiking quickly in the dark without a head lamp and in unfamiliar terrain was not my idea of a cup of tea) but thought I should do. So we headed off again, this time with the rain started to fall a little, and got further this time until we could actually see the lava on the side of the mountain.


Nature stymied us once again though by putting some wild cows right in our path on the trail! They had a calf with them as well so they were more protective....they actually took a few steps towards us as if they were going to charge us! We retreated quickly and the clouds rolled in again anyway so we headed back to camp. But here again, our guide even told us that we could easily get lost or lose our footing with the thick clouds but often went too quickly for us! We wanted to get back quickly since it was raining as well but it was just a little more difficult for us (ok, me). We just didn't feel like he was a great guide.

I was soaked but thankfully my friends suggested I hike in my scrub pants so they at least dried overnight. It was nice to get into the tent but it wasn't exactly water-tight so our sleeping bags were a little wet. It was not the most comfortable night. So I was a little disgruntled this morning. It didn't help that some daytrippers who started at the crack of dawn walked by talking very loudly. But overall, it wasn't really a miserable experience and I'm actually pretty proud of how I did on my first real hiking/camping experience but I think a lot of it was that I just felt so unprepared. I think that I'm much more of a city person than an outdoorsey type of person but please don't rule me out completely if you want to do an outdoorsy trip, just give me time to prepare correctly! On the other hand, we were smart enough to book ourselves a treat at the end of the trip by staying at a fancy coffee resort for the last couple days. We took a taxi here and I took a nice long hot shower! My friends immediately noticed that I was a much happier Alice when clean and dry! We are planning for massages tomorrow and I think after all the hiking at Tikal and Pacaya, I will really appreciate it!

I will say that this coffee resort, the Filadelfia Coffee Resort and Spa in Antigua, is completely amazing so far. It's a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World and it definitely lives up to that! I will have you all know that even though I love my creature comforts, Beatrice is the one who found this place and wanted to stay here! But for the price, which isn't even that expensive by US standards for a luxury hotel, it's a complete steal (especially split 4 ways)! We've only been here a few hours and I would already recommend it highly to anyone looking for a romantic getaway or a relaxing spa. I've never had the staff take us on a tour of the hotel on the way to the room and have the executive chef come out to greet us! I would actually recommend the O.X. Pacaya by Night experience as well because it was really cool to see the lava and it's completely different at night when you can REALLY see it, I would just not recommend it for an inexperienced hiker. Beatrice - any other thoughts (she's been dying to see what I write about this!)? Comment please!

Note on the pictures....we're all picture freaks here and have agreed to share pictures so some of the other pictures with me in them are on my friends' cameras and I won't get them until later.

I will say that overall, Guatemala has been more amazing that I thought it would be. Between sunrise at the ruins, Lake Atitlan, and Pacaya, it has definitely been quite an adventure and full of many memorable and picturesque vistas. One more day in Antigua (also a very cute little town) then off to Vancouver for my cousin's wedding.