…not your everyday hike {Volcán Pacaya: 8,350 ft}

Toasted marshmallows at 8,300 ft anyone? Mystical, thick cloud forest, you say? Deep, unsteady lava crevasses? Sign us up for this!

Last week Shalem, Sam and I had the opportunity to climb an active volcano just one hour outside of Antigua. Volcán Pacaya has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. In fact, on any given evening, it is commonplace to see molten-hot lava flowing freely down the side of the mountain and if you look closely, you’ll see some of the local guides ferrying the tourists up to the top via horseback for the surreal glimpse of actual lava.

For our purposes, we opted for the sunrise hike. This was not a hike for lightweights… thankfully our guides came with the added bonus of horseback *taxis* available when exhaustion would finally set in. Sam wants everyone to know she hiked it! {And she darn well better if she expects to climb Mt Sajama in Boliva (22,000 ft) this June!!!} Despite the thick cloud shrouding the mountain that morning, every few minutes we were graced with stunning valley vistas. All this for $7 U.S. and a $5 park admin fee. Not such a shabby way to stretch the dollar and experience something unsurpassed! It is worth noting that several days after trekking up Pacaya, Guatemala experienced 2 separate earthquake tremors at a 5.4… just 4 hours apart. A good reminder that this is not our Thunder Bay backyard!