Pacaya Volcano

Probably the biggest day trip from the old colonial capital of Guatemala, Antigua, is the trip to the Pacaya volcano. It is a two-hour drive followed by a two-hour hike to the summit. The hike starts like a normal mountain hike through rocky, muddy paths (and above and below some barbed wire). But about 30 minutes from the end of the hike the ground turns to black volcanic rock. There was a large eruption about five years ago and it left the black rock in its wake. This is harder to walk through because there is no firm footing and it proves quite slippery. As you are walking, the black rock gradually becomes warmer. Then you see smoke coming up from the ground. And suddenly you see lava beneath your feet and then you see a huge flow of lava. There is no barrier - you can stand close enough to put a stick in it. And it is hot (2000 degrees), which feels good because it has been cold and rainy the trip up the mountain. This would never happen in the States, where you could get so close to the lava, where you are standing on cracking, crumbling rocks, with lava beneath your feet. (Although maybe in Hawaii on the big island you have close access.) In fact, in Costa Rica, the closest you get to Arenal Volcano is several miles away, where you stand behind a railing several miles away. Walking down the volcano after sunset I turned back and saw the red flow glowing against the night darkness. The descent was otherwise not that much fun because it was a cold, rainy trip in the dark, through the muddy rocky path (and the barbed wire). Not bad for $10, though.