Pacaya Volcano

As usual, I woke early and left the room around 5 am. When I was in the lounge area, I saw Becky dozing in a chair. She apparently had leg cramps in the night and left the bedroom so she wouldn’t awaken the other ladies. I sat on the porch and read for a while then made my way to the cafeteria to make sandwiches for our lunch. Not long after I got there, Jerry came to help, putting the sandwiches in brown bags with banana, chips and cookies. Mary arrived next and took over peanut butter while I spread grape jelly. It took less than 30 minutes to make the 17 sandwiches that we would need today.

Mary riding up the volcano

Breakfast was egg, potato and cheese casserole, black beans and fresh fruit.

We boarded the bus at 8:15 to travel to Volcán pacaya. There was a stop for Payton when he got carsick then another stop for fuel before arriving at the trailhead for the volcano rim walk. After the stops and a bottle of Sprite, Payton was feeling much better.

Edgar drove the bus up the cobblestone road to the visitor center for the volcano where we went to the bathroom and made our was to the horses. Each of us mounted our assigned horse and started up the mountain. My horse, Tequila, was eager to go and kept a good pace, sometimes even going into a trot. However, he was a little gassy which a am certain Cait’s horse, Whiskey, didn’t appreciate. Mary’s horse, Diamond, just didn’t want to go on a ride today and took a very slow pace up the mountain sometimes coming to a stop. Mary and Diamond were the last to arrive at the rest stop where we dismounted. When she arrived on her horse she called to me, “Get me off this thing now.” I guess not only was the horse slow but the ride was very uncomfortable for her.

Warming marshmallows in the volcanic heat

After leaving the horses, we walked another mile through lava fields up the mountain to a place where the ground was warm to the touch. In places steam emerged from the lava forming a cloud at ground level. Our guide provided skewers so we could warm marshmallows in the steaming lava. Looking across the area it was clear that multiple eruptions had occurred making flows of different shades of grey. The last eruption in 2021 filled a deep crater near the spot where we saw the steam vents. Most of us ate part of the lunch that we packed earlier as we sat. A group of dogs hung around us begging for food.

At that point our group split. Some of us walked up a steep path through an old lava flow to the crater rim. The others retraced the path back down the trail to a waypoint shack along the trail. There were several good overlooks where we could see a lake and multiple lava flows. After a few photos, we started down what the guides call the “ski slope” a steep area covered in fine volcanic ash. The goal is to run and slide down the mountain sinking deep into the ash. That worked well, most of the time except where the ash was thinner allowing our feet to sink to slick rock underneath. Most of us fell at least once but the ash was soft and no one was injured more than a small scrape. The other group was waiting at the bottom of the slide photographing our wild run down the slope.

After rejoining the other group, we dusted the ash off and emptied our shoes that were filled with the volcanic soot and continued down the trail that we had taken the horses up earlier. We made a couple of stops along the way then arrived at the visitor center where the bus was parked. There were a couple of tin shacks near the visitor center selling jewelry with pieces of lava as stones but few of our group was tempted to make a purchase.

The bus ride back to the CRI compound was uneventful although I slept part of the way. I had elected to sit near the front of the bus with Edgar the driver and Allison, Fontaine’s daughter and our interpreter. I knew that it would be quieter, and I could get a snooze.

Back at our rooms, most of us showered and packed in preparation for our Wednesday morning departure. Everyone was concerned about flight cancellations following last week’s global internet crash. We understand that a major web security company called Crowdstrike was updating software when a major flaw prevented many large corporations from doing business including most airlines. The issue is resolved now and we have reservations for all of our flights but there is still a backlog from the cancellations on Friday.

Since the kitchen staff have Tuesday off, a local vendor brought their meal offerings to us this evening. We saw Fontaine’s daughter, Ally, for a meal ticket giving her our choice of three cheese quesadillas, three tacos el pastor (pork soft tacos) or three gringos (soft tacos). Mary got el pastor and I got quesadillas so we could share choices. There were choices of sauces and drinks as well but we stayed with the fresh squeezed lemonade that we have had all week.

After dinner, Carlos from the market in Antigua had some of his more popular items from the market available for purchase. Mary brought each of the grandsons an item using the remaining Guatemalan currency that we purchased in Lexington. Back at the room we had a brief meeting to debrief from the day. Many of us went to bed soon after that but Pastor Andrew and some of the others played ping pong in the cafeteria. I was asleep before 9 pm and slept well throughout the night.