The drivers arrived to pick us up at our homestay at 6 AM sharp for our group hike up Volcan Pacaya, the active volcano outside Antigua that erupted every 4-6 years. Our host mom was kind enough to pack a breakfast of PB&J and fruit, so we didn’t have to wake up extra early. We all piled into two vans and began the approximately 1 hour trip up the mountainside to the point where we would begin our hike. We slept most of the way up the winding roads, but were able to observe some of the small rural communities that exist around the base of the volcano. Upon arrival at Pacaya, we were met by a few locals that accompanied us on our hike; they brought 4 horses that we could pay 100 Quetzales to ride up the volcano, rather than trekking the steep, dusty paths. Two of us quickly chose to take the horses, followed by 1 more just before the halfway point of the 2.5 km hike. The other 13 of us wanted to attempt to make the climb through the ash and rocks that line the trails from the last time Pacaya erupted in 2010. Since Pacaya is still active, I’ve learned that the local communities use the heat from the volcano for energy and hot water. Throughout the climb we stopped occasionally to take pictures of our birds eye view of the beautiful landscape and of course plenty of awkward shots. After a tiring journey, due mainly to the steep, ashy inclines and the increasing altitudes, we finally reached our destination near the top of Pacaya. At the very top we could see smoke continuously rising out of the volcano. Here we met up with other tourists to roast marshmallows in the small heat pockets in the sides of Pacaya.
The trek down was an entirely different experience; we moved quickly downhill, seemingly ‘skating’ down the ash and rocks, creating clouds of dust and without fail, filling every shoe with plenty of stones. By the end each of us was completely covered in dust and dirt, but the experience created a lasting memory.
- Kayla Wlock