Guatemala, land of volcanoes

The volcano gives and takes

During my trip I soon found out that Guatemalans are very proud of their volcanoes. An often heard statement in this country is: 'The volcano gives and takes'. The fertile soil provides food and it plays a big role in the local culture. And if you get into conversation with a Guatemalan, I am sure that sooner or later the conversation will be about this impressive natural phenomenon.

My trip to the Pacaya volcano

Around 9 o'clock my driver José and guide Manuel picked me up for a visit to the Pacaya volcano. This volcano owes its name to the Pacaya tree that grows there a lot and that the people love. We arrived in San Francisco de Sales, a village at the foot of the volcano where the hike starts. Together with Manuel and a local guide from the village who knows this area really well, we went out. It was a walk of about 1.5 hours up through the woods. Slowly the forest area gave way to black sand and more open plains until we reached a view point and suddenly were on black solidified lava.

Standing eye to eye with the Pacaya volcano

There we were, face to face with the volcano. The rumbling I had heard all the time now fell into place, because from the tip of the immense mountain I saw rocks and stones flying up. I was told that, if you are lucky, you can even see the red-hot lava flowing down. All this, of course, from a safe distance. We walked over the solidified lava, with each time our gaze on the immense volcano. In some places I felt the heat rising from the ground. Surprised I looked at my guide, how can this still radiate so much heat? Anyway, flowing lava can of course reach a temperature of up to 1200 degrees Celsius. It takes a few years before it has cooled down completely. A familiar phenomenon for my guide, because from his backpack he got marshmallows that we could roast above this heat, delicious! It was a great experience to see nature in its pure form.