Monday, March 05, 2007

Guatemala: Assault on Pacaya

Wisps of steam and smoke drift from the Pacaya volcano. Many years ago, I climbed Pacaya. It was a tough climb. First, it was hiking through the trees. Then it was sliding through loose lava scree (which will ruin shoes in a single climb). My hair was blowing horizontally in the high wind. I didn't think I was going to make it to the top. No how. No way. I kept going. And just as it was getting dark, I reached the rim. It was one of the most magnificent things I've ever seen. Bright bubbling orange lava glowed and let off steam. It was awesome.

I may never climb Pacaya again, but looking up today, I remember.

12 comments:

  1. ahhh. hat's off. i didn't make it to the top of the volcano i tried to climb, so i never got the joy of the top.

    travel safely home, friend.

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  2. Anonymous11:27 PM

    Simply amazing.

    I read about some of the current Guatamala politics today. Take care of yourself.

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  3. Wow. I'd like to see that, but for now I saw it here.

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  4. At the top, did you wish you had marshmallows to roast?

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  6. Gary, I doubt marshmallows and brimstone are a good combination. ;-)

    Amazing, Lucia. Next time we head to Salvador, we're going diving in one of the two flooded volcanoes there.

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  7. good point, maybe better to toss in a sacrificial virgin instead

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  8. I'd go but I really have things to do. I'm a virgin, really! Virgin lava mountain climber...

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  9. I couldn't have climbed it if the devil himself was chasing me.. even when I was young and skinny.. but I can certainly imagine how beautiful it must have been. :)


    Peace,


    ~Chani

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  10. Anonymous6:02 AM

    What an exciting and amazing story, and told so well! Just the essentials. It almost reads like a poem.

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  11. You must have been a hermit crab in a previous life. And when you died you called out, "NEVER AGAIN." Hehe

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  12. I have sliced up a pair of hiking boots travelling over lava. Better than my feet though.

    I would do it again in a heartbeat.

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