5:11 pm
Today was really fun. We hiked Volcan Pacaya!
We took the longest bus/shuttle ride there. It ended up being 2.5 hours instead of the supposed 1.5 hours. It was along twisty turn roads too. There was a lot of traffic and the gas got to me but I was able to take a short nap. When we got there I was so happy to get out of the car! Once we got out of the car we had to pay our entrance fee and I tried to get to know some of the other people on our tour. Then we got introduced to our guide who was awesome! He spoke clear, slow Spanish that I could actually understand. Too bad no one else could speak Spanish because it would have been cool to do the whole tour in Spanish and see how much I could actually understand.
Then we started the long hike to the top! It was all uphill but not too bad as we made frequent stops at the beautiful outlooks along the way. I was chatting with the other people on the trip who were pretty cool. Some from Spain, New Zealand, UK and Australia!
The almost-top view was spectacular! The clouds were rolling through and the volcano was such a stark contrast to the lush, plant life we experienced on the way up. It was very immense. The ground that we walked on wasn't muddy but like black gravel. Apparently there was an eruption in 2010 and then the new flow was in 2014.
Once we had a beautiful 360 degree view of the volcano and surrounding areas, we went down tot he new flow. It was still steaming as we bounded over the jagged, cracked rock. I thanked my awesome balance for not falling because the rock was very rough and that would most definitely hurt. After exploring on top, we walked down next to the flow. It felt so warm, like a sauna as we walked by. Then our guide stopped us to dig some holes in the rock and told us how hot it was. Kept us warm! After a minute, he pulled out some marshmallows and everyone roasted them in the holes. Everyone that is except me and my vegetarian diet... but it was still fun to watch everyone else find the hottest hole to roast in!
We climbed back up to the top of the lava flow and across to a small hut that sold beautiful volcanic rock jewelry. Apparently that hut has been super close tot he volcano for many years and got buried during the lava flow of 2014. They showed us a really cool video of the eruption.
Then, up, up, up! We walked along a steep, narrow trail that had some stunning views of the volcano. I kept turning around to see how large it was behind me, I almost wanted to walk backwards! We didnt go to the top or near the top but being so close was still amazing. Our group sat at the op of this hill that overlooked the volcano on one side and the surrounding towns at the base of the volcano on the other. We just talked and took in the scenery. The kind of scenery that brings you back down to earth and grounds you. We were up so high, looking down at the clouds.
Oh, someone from the Yoga Forest just walked in, the girl who was also at Earth Lodge! She mentioned dinner and Im so hungry and can't wait to spend some time with some cool people!
Anyway, after the beautiful lookout, we were on our way back down, It was pretty steep so my knees were not too happy with me but I wool my time and am not too sore... yet! I had some awesome conversations on the way down about tiny houses and once we got to the car I think everyone was happy to sit and enjoy the ride back to the hostel.
9:52pm
I just got back from dinner and hanging out with a bunch of people from the hostel. It was fun to have a big group and some cheap food! We all chatted about our travels as most of us were big explorers. They had some pretty neat stories.
Im headed back tomorrow :( Im excited to get back to the states but Im also sad to leave this amazing country.
Today was really fun. We hiked Volcan Pacaya!
We took the longest bus/shuttle ride there. It ended up being 2.5 hours instead of the supposed 1.5 hours. It was along twisty turn roads too. There was a lot of traffic and the gas got to me but I was able to take a short nap. When we got there I was so happy to get out of the car! Once we got out of the car we had to pay our entrance fee and I tried to get to know some of the other people on our tour. Then we got introduced to our guide who was awesome! He spoke clear, slow Spanish that I could actually understand. Too bad no one else could speak Spanish because it would have been cool to do the whole tour in Spanish and see how much I could actually understand.
Then we started the long hike to the top! It was all uphill but not too bad as we made frequent stops at the beautiful outlooks along the way. I was chatting with the other people on the trip who were pretty cool. Some from Spain, New Zealand, UK and Australia!
The almost-top view was spectacular! The clouds were rolling through and the volcano was such a stark contrast to the lush, plant life we experienced on the way up. It was very immense. The ground that we walked on wasn't muddy but like black gravel. Apparently there was an eruption in 2010 and then the new flow was in 2014.
Once we had a beautiful 360 degree view of the volcano and surrounding areas, we went down tot he new flow. It was still steaming as we bounded over the jagged, cracked rock. I thanked my awesome balance for not falling because the rock was very rough and that would most definitely hurt. After exploring on top, we walked down next to the flow. It felt so warm, like a sauna as we walked by. Then our guide stopped us to dig some holes in the rock and told us how hot it was. Kept us warm! After a minute, he pulled out some marshmallows and everyone roasted them in the holes. Everyone that is except me and my vegetarian diet... but it was still fun to watch everyone else find the hottest hole to roast in!
We climbed back up to the top of the lava flow and across to a small hut that sold beautiful volcanic rock jewelry. Apparently that hut has been super close tot he volcano for many years and got buried during the lava flow of 2014. They showed us a really cool video of the eruption.
Then, up, up, up! We walked along a steep, narrow trail that had some stunning views of the volcano. I kept turning around to see how large it was behind me, I almost wanted to walk backwards! We didnt go to the top or near the top but being so close was still amazing. Our group sat at the op of this hill that overlooked the volcano on one side and the surrounding towns at the base of the volcano on the other. We just talked and took in the scenery. The kind of scenery that brings you back down to earth and grounds you. We were up so high, looking down at the clouds.
Oh, someone from the Yoga Forest just walked in, the girl who was also at Earth Lodge! She mentioned dinner and Im so hungry and can't wait to spend some time with some cool people!
Anyway, after the beautiful lookout, we were on our way back down, It was pretty steep so my knees were not too happy with me but I wool my time and am not too sore... yet! I had some awesome conversations on the way down about tiny houses and once we got to the car I think everyone was happy to sit and enjoy the ride back to the hostel.
9:52pm
I just got back from dinner and hanging out with a bunch of people from the hostel. It was fun to have a big group and some cheap food! We all chatted about our travels as most of us were big explorers. They had some pretty neat stories.
Im headed back tomorrow :( Im excited to get back to the states but Im also sad to leave this amazing country.
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