Volcano Pecaya...not designed for jewish girls with MBAs

If anyone out there reading this is an avid hiker, professional athlete or a person who will make fun of me for being neither of these things, please stop reading now. For the rest of you, today's blog is a recount of the adventures of me climbing my first volcano.

Ok, so I've never claimed to be a hiker. I've never even claimed to be in very good shape. But I can walk. In fact, I have been known to walk for 60 miles at a time just to get a cute pick t-shirt. However, when the group asked me last week if I wanted to climb Pecaya (1 of 3 active volcanoes in Guatemala), how could I say no? However, I failed to read the fine print...namely the word CLIMB. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I had to crack out my carabeener or repelling gear but this hike was not exactly a walk in the park!

A quick disclaimer before I continue: There were 8 other people with me on this climb...none of whom seemed to have ANY problem climbing this...in fact, when I got to the top, there was a guy with a prosthetic leg...so really, this should not have been a problem. But ya know what folks? It was hard! Ok, we'll start from the beginning...

So we left Antigua at about 2p.m. (we signed up for the sunset tour...) It was about an 1.5 hour drive to the volcano. Immediately upon arriving, about 15 8-year-old boys were trying to sell us walking sticks. Immediately my skeptical American mindset set in and I was thinking "What a scam...I'm just walking!" And then I saw our guide buying one...muy necessario was all he said. It was then I probably should have turned around.

But instead, I got my walking stick and UP we went. Now I don't want to exaggerate here but it really was steep! So add some serious steepness, to the altitude of about 2200 meters up (that's about 6,600 feet more or less) and the fact that I've never really gone on a hike before and it was not easy! (ok, well I've gone on the hike that it takes to walk from my cabin at my summer camp to the dining hall....but that is about it)

Alright, so about half way up, I was looking like a tomato...a sweating tomato. Just about then, there were about 5 kids on the path with horses saying "Taxi? Taxi?" Not exactly sure if it was my red face or the pure look of exhaustion on my face but they were pretty adamant about asking me if I wanted one of these horse taxis. But I pressed on...I was not going to be defeated.

After about an hour of hiking straight up, we reached a little camp site..."I did it!"...so I thought. It was then that our guide told us to put down the bags...we were going in...

So we went over a huge rock pile of cooled lava. It was then that I took my inevitable fall. It really wasn't so bad but I did walk away with a few scrapes on my knees and hands...no big deal...mom--I'm ok.

Just over that mound, we saw the top of the volcano and although it didn't completely erase the last hour, it definitely helped. It was amazing. No real way to describe what it looks like to see a smoking volcano right in front of you but hopefully these pictures will help.



From that point, we could see the flowing lava and it was incredible. For me, I probably would have been happy to look at it from a distance...but nope...we were going to go in there! So we started our trek over the rocks. They weren't very stable and they were very sharp...but I did it...again, others seemed to have no problem whatsoever but I was not moving very fast.

We got to the lava and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like we weren't on earth anymore. But then, my guide pulled out a big bag of marshmallows. Yep...we roasted marshmallows on the lava! It was great...and delish.

We hung out near the lava for a bit (it was HOT!) and then trekked back to the camp for dinner and then back down the volcano in the pitch dark.

It was an absolutely amazing thing to see and I'm so glad I did it...but don't get me wrong, I won't be applying for a job at the hiking shop anytime too soon. Before I go on, I think I need to thank a few things that are seriously responsible for the fact that I am still in one piece:

My mini-maglite: Seriously, the best $10 flashlight I have ever purchased...it may be small but it led me down that volcano.

My Vasque hiking boots: I thought these things were put to the test in Africa...they hadn't seen nothin' yet...thanks Red Wing shoes...
Finally, that boy who sold me the walking stick...without you, I would be floating in a lava pool somewhere...

Ok, well that was Pecaya. A little terrifying, a little workout...a lot unforgettable.

xoxo,
Debra