Pacaya

The other day we hiked Pacaya. Pacaya is a active volcano about 30 mins. from San Cristbol. The day we hiked it, the wind was fierce to say the least. At 8,383 ft. when your on the top it's quite a bit cooler then where we live in San Cristbol (5,000 ft.). The caverns a top the volcano were welcomed moments of warm air. One cavern was large enough for us all to stand inside. It was like a sauna in there, around 110 degrees. Unfortunately it was super cloudy that day, so we could not see very far, and especially on top, you really couldn't see more then a hundred feet in front of you. This was different than any type of hiking I had done before, mainly because of the volcanic rock. I'm use to the dense, smooth granite found in Yosemite. This volcanic rock is porous, sharp, and pretty light. However, when the rock is broken up like gravel it actually feels quite soft to walk on. The landscape here was lush and green, pretty much the jungle. Very different form the dusty forests of Yosemite and it's surrounding areas. Our Guide was a 70 + year old man, who still moved like he was 35. Reminded me a little of our old camp friend Sonny. He showed us a plant, I can't remember the name. But you could pick the pink leave and suck on the end to get a sweet honey flavor out. It was like natural candy. Their are a number of other volcanos in Guatemala, and I'm sure well be taking another adventure soon. Hopefully with some nice weather.