Okay here goes - a trip up to an active volcano. Pacaya is active and a favorite spot for tourist to visit so of course Dad had to give it a go. We were up bright and early (with no sleep the night before) ate the foods we could scrounge, packed a snack and at least 1 liter of water each and headed for the outdoors to wait for our transportation. It was a micro bus . We picked up two other couples, one from Spain and one from Israel. We started out on a body beating trip out of Antigua and were relieved when we hit the highway. It was at least not cobble stone but there are few stop signs or red lights and everybody just drives where they want to be. The vehicles horn has a language of it´s own! We are even beginning to know what the combination of honks mean. The trip up to Pacaya took one to one and a half hour with the driver taking us as high as it was possible for a vehicle to go and from there the trip was done on foot or in my case by horse.
I started up Pacaya on foot but it was not long before I realized that I would not make it up on my own with the altitude not helping and the way diabetes effects my heart, so I opted for the trip up on a horse. While that may sound like it was easy let be disabuse you of that idea. We are talking riding a horse ´straight up´ a volcano (which is pointy on top-sorta). I had the pommel of the horse and the saddle to hold on to and the stirrups were just barely short enough so they were not a great deal of help--except when I had to stand and lean forward so the horse could climb! The horses name was Cinnamon and his handler was Sevin (pronounced SeBin). He was a nice young man of few words and he never became breathless going up or down! Our guide for our small group was Arturo and he was excellent all the way. The other two couples were much younger than Don and I so he concentrated on taking care of us.
When we reached a point on the top of the mountain (like a mesa with a few trees and green grass for the horses) it was time to dismount and continue on foot. From here we could see a lava river, a place where the volcano had erupted before. We walked on pea size volcano bits which were very slippery and at this point Arturo took my hand and I climbed to the actual volcano. We could see from here read streaks where the rock was super heated!!! Arturo was bound and determine that I would make it to the hot lava. He would hold my hand and tell me where to put my feet. He stayed on me to ´go slow´. The lava rock was rough and had craters all over the place. With all the help and encouragement from Arturo we reached the hot rock. Don and I had walking sticks bought for a song from a young boy at the base of the volcano. Arturo took mine and calved off molten rock onto the end of my stick and I had my picture taken with hot molten lava. A little further up the rock was melting and pouring (slowly) down the mountain and Arturo had us back up as close as we could stand it and get a picture! Lave is extremely hot!!
There were others on the volcano and one person melted some marshmallows by volcano and I think someone made a grill cheese sandwich! We rested a little distance from the hot rock and ate out snack which we shared with Arturo. We were in agreement that 1 liter of water was the bare minimum of water one should climb a volcano with. Don fell twice on the crater but fortunately the damage was minimal. Arturo would not let me fall! The climb back up to the horses was tough for me but I struggled along and Arturo kept me zig-zaging until he had me back up to the top. Needless to say Don gave Arturo a tip for his care of us during the climb. Sevin was paid both for the trip up and the trip down and we decided the charge was sufficient to include a tip.
Going down -- should have been easier and it some ways it was. It was definitely quicker at only 1 hour down. But it was STRAIGHT down! I had muscles in my arms and legs that were complaining the next day!! I had bruises on the inside of my knee from rubbing against the saddle but I was not actually saddle. I have been so saddle sore that sitting was nearly impossible and I was not in that much trouble.
