Guatemala Part 2: Volcan Pacaya Hike

It's a little eerie posting these pictures now after Pacaya's big eruption last night. Up until now, the volcano was considered active, but only mildly so- spewing smoke and small rivulets of lava but not much else. Even by safety-conscious western standards, it was regarded as very safe to climb ever since its last eruption in 1964.

We really enjoyed this hike. I rode a horse led by a cute little 7 year old boy during the steep ascent. Once we hit the black rocks and sand, I dismounted and continued on up the peak, taking in the beautiful view. It was cool to be hiking on such an otherworldly landscape and Jill took home many lava rock souvenirs. We could get as close as we wanted to the lava flow but the heat coming off of it was so intense that most of us stayed back at least 4 or 5 feet. I stayed even farther back since the loose rocks surrounding the flow were a little sketchy. Some of the folks in our group roasted marshmallows over the flow! Very cool.