Hello everyone! Sorry for the extended pause. Getting to the internet isn’t always easy. We have a very full schedule here!
I haven’t quite gathered all my thoughts about the experience of working in schools, so I will save that for later. For now, the tale of climbing the Volcano Pacaya!
Pacaya is not the volcano you see in all my Antigua pictures. That’s the Volcan de Agua, or Water Volcano. It’s called that because there is a lake in the crater. During the time of the conquest, the volcano erupted and caused a huge flood that destroyed the original capital of Guatemala. That was when the capital was moved a little ways away to Antigua. But even the capital in Antigua was eventually destroyed by earthquakes, so the capital was moved again to where it is now, in Guatemala City. Antigua means old, so Antigua got it’s name because it’s the site of the old capital.
Anyway. In Antigua you can’t see Pacaya because it’s behind the Volcan de Agua. We took a bus ride for about an hour or so to get to Pacaya. Once we got there, it was a fairly steep climb up to the top. Well, at least it was all uphill. We took frequent breaks! You can rent a horse for the climb up. The guys renting horses follow you about halfway up to see if anyone gets tired. They call out “Taxi! Taxi!” as a joke.
I didn’t think the ascent was too hard, especially because the weather was good and we took enough breaks. Also we didn’t climb all the way to the top. That definitely would have been much harder! Basically we just made it to an old crater, which was fine with me. It looked like a moonscape: there were no trees or plants, just volcanic rocks everywhere. We stopped there to eat lunch. My host mom had packed me two sandwiches made of white bread, American cheese, ham, ketchup, and mayonnaise.
Walking in the old crater
Volcanic rocks
The view from the top was amazing! There was a very clear view of the Volcan de Agua, and we could see the valleys surrounding Pacaya. On the way up we saw corn fields and in the distance we could see a little lake.
Glamour shot in front of the Volcan de Agua
The volcano erupted last year. Some surrounding crops were covered in rocks and some nearby homes were burned by flaming rocks. Luckily only one person died, a journalist who was reporting on the volcano. Maybe I’m smart to have left that profession to braver souls.
Great job on the blog… love the pictures and the stories, and really like the storytelling!. I’m so glad you are doing this work in Guatemala. I’m also glad you feel so positive about the program as it has turned out. I’m very eager to hear the English version of your final project. Just heard the other day about 4 ex-military officers convicted in the mass killings in the war. Perhaps the tide is turning against the culture of silence.