Day # 6, Friday, Pacaya Volcano hike

Today we hiked Pacaya Volcano, one of three active volcanoes in Guatemala. It took about two hours to hike up and about an hour to hike back down. This excursion was an unplanned activity, arranged by Safe Passage because there were no classes today so we couldn't complete our projects.

Pacaya's elevation is 2,522 meters (8,373 ft) and the top is now closed by the officials due to current volcanic activity. I'm not sure of the elevation at our starting point but the guide said we our hike entailed a 600 meter elevation change or almost 2,000 ft.

It was more steep and strenuous than we anticipated but we patiently worked our way up. The guides had frequent breaks along the way and they explained the history, flora, and geological history.

The locals have walking sticks you can rent (five quetzales each, about 60 cents) and there are horses available for a ride up the volcano. The horse handlers are very persistent and they follow you up the trail for the first thirty minutes or so. Good psychology because after those first thirty minutes, we were huffing and puffing.

At the top we posed for photos and explored a bit. The landscape is very barren and covered with tiny hardened lava stones.

The guides brought a bag of marshmallows and cut us marshmallow sticks along the way. While at the top, the students crowded around a steam vent to
 roast them.

We stopped at a rustic picnic area for lunch and then
 hiked back down to the vans. Many of us slept on the vans
on the return trip to Antigua and we were back to the hotel
at about 4:15 p.m.

Some groups went to the market but others hung out at the
hotel due to a major rainstorm.We had dinner at 7 p.m. in Las Palmas restaurant and
returned to Hotel Casa Antigua at about 8:30.

Tomorrow can sleep in because we don't leave until 8:30 a.m.
for our bowling excursion with the two Safe Passage classes.