Red Hot Heat

Guatemala has 66 volcanoes, but only about 33 of them can be seen - the rest are underground. Only 3 of the volcanoes are active. Santiaguito (remember that lookout from Santa Maria), Fuego and Pacaya. We're lucky enough here in Antigua to live close by 2 of the 3 (Fuego & Pacaya).

Pacaya is an active complex volcano which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago. Since then it has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. After laying dormant for a century, it erupted violently in 1965 and has been erupting continuously ever since.

After engaging in a week of all of the traditional (and a few off the beaten path) tourist pastimes in Guatemala, we took one final adventure to Pacaya National Park with hopes of seeing the illusive lava! Ben & I first visited Pacaya back in October 2008. It was a nice hike, but we were seriously disappointed when we reached the top and there was no lava in sight. This time the hike was a lot more difficult - apparently the lava has changed locations on the volcano & thus the path also changed - but it certainly did not disappoint.

these lone rangers saddled up for the ride

happy hikers - halfway there

walking sticks are absolutely necessary when hiking on hardened, sharp lava

can you see it in the background?
the hairs were practically burning off my body!



The closer you get, the hotter it is -
like almost melting the soles of your shoes hot!

We were so close we could poke the lava
(yet another reason the stick is a necessity)

Want to experience it too?
Go put your head in the oven and then watch this.

Volcan Pacaya from Krista on Vimeo.

(information on Volcan Pacaya found at www.Wikipedia.com)

Hot Lava, really?

Bright and early Monday morning we left Lago Atitlan for Antigua with hopes of spending our afternoon on Volcan Pacaya. Sure enough we were able to quickly track down a tour (and only got ripped off a few bucks) and even had enough time for lunch and a brief stroll through the market before our 2pm departure.


Pacaya is an active volcano about 25 km from Antigua. The peak is about 8,372 feet about sea level, but the view below is not the real reason people visit. A chance to see red hot lava is why gringos flock to Pacaya daily. Of course we had to get in on the action. As much as we didn’t want to be a part of another big tour group, it’s not so easy, nor recommended to go solo. When we exited the mini-bus we were practically attacked by local kids trying to rent hiking sticks. Having heard it’s a good idea, we found a good deal (2 for 8Q). The hike up was fairly easy with great views of Guatemala City below. At the top we hiked around on a bed of hardened lava, scouting out “hot spots.” We were able to see a few lava runs (in cracks below the surface) that our guide told us were a year old. It wasn’t quite as impressive as we had hoped, but we did see lava. Guess we’ll have to go back to Hawaii and visit Volcano National Park to get a real fix!