Pacaya Volcano
So I climbed a volcano on Saturday. Yep... a REAL volcano. It was real big, real scary, and real hot at the top. I don't mean that it was actually scary to climb, but a couple times I was really surprised that they actually let us do it. This sort of thing would never be allowed in the US without like 10 sign-your-life-away forms.
See pictures at http://pics.livejournal.com/pouletnomial/gallery/000019ck?page=1
We left at 8am, and started climbing maybe by 10. (I don't have a watch here at all, so I really never know what time it is unless I'm at school.) We got a guide named Eusebio, who you'll see pictured. The 8 of us together climbed the whole way up, which is about 3.5 km, to a height of something like 2600 meters above sea level? I think he says that the town we started from, San Francisco, is at a height of 1860 though, if that makes any sense.
When you see the 3 volcanoes pictured together, those aren't the one we climbed- they're Fuego, Acatenango, and Agua in order from left to right. Acatenango is barely visible though.
So the pictures aren't in order either, and I'm sorry about that.
Here are some main points about climbing a volcano:
When you start the really steep part, the rocks are all loose, and you basically slip down the mountain a little at each step. Sticks help a lot.
Lots of people like to write words and names with volcanic rocks, which is an interesting form of graffiti.
The rocks at the very top are all kindsa cool colors, and I'm not sure exactly why or how that is except that it must be the chemical mixes up there.
The gases at the top are very toxic. I can't describe the smell, except I know that I had to breathe through my scarf the whole time I was up there.
One guy told me his hat flew into the volcano. That's crazy.
When you go down, it seems like you might fall cuz it's so steep, but in fact if you lean back on your heels and pump your legs like you're riding a bike, you can slide down really fast and without falling at all. It's sorta like skiing... but you end up with TONS of tiny rocks in your shoes, which isn't really that bad.
Yep, so that was it. I didn't throw anything in, and the volcano didn't say anything scary to me, but I did take a few rocks of different colors from the top, and if you're really good I might give you one.
See pictures at http://pics.livejournal.com/pouletnomial/gallery/000019ck?page=1
We left at 8am, and started climbing maybe by 10. (I don't have a watch here at all, so I really never know what time it is unless I'm at school.) We got a guide named Eusebio, who you'll see pictured. The 8 of us together climbed the whole way up, which is about 3.5 km, to a height of something like 2600 meters above sea level? I think he says that the town we started from, San Francisco, is at a height of 1860 though, if that makes any sense.
When you see the 3 volcanoes pictured together, those aren't the one we climbed- they're Fuego, Acatenango, and Agua in order from left to right. Acatenango is barely visible though.
So the pictures aren't in order either, and I'm sorry about that.
Here are some main points about climbing a volcano:
When you start the really steep part, the rocks are all loose, and you basically slip down the mountain a little at each step. Sticks help a lot.
Lots of people like to write words and names with volcanic rocks, which is an interesting form of graffiti.
The rocks at the very top are all kindsa cool colors, and I'm not sure exactly why or how that is except that it must be the chemical mixes up there.
The gases at the top are very toxic. I can't describe the smell, except I know that I had to breathe through my scarf the whole time I was up there.
One guy told me his hat flew into the volcano. That's crazy.
When you go down, it seems like you might fall cuz it's so steep, but in fact if you lean back on your heels and pump your legs like you're riding a bike, you can slide down really fast and without falling at all. It's sorta like skiing... but you end up with TONS of tiny rocks in your shoes, which isn't really that bad.
Yep, so that was it. I didn't throw anything in, and the volcano didn't say anything scary to me, but I did take a few rocks of different colors from the top, and if you're really good I might give you one.