(The group at the cross overlooking the crater: Kyle, Andrea, Katie, me, Dave, Joey and Sue Ellen.)Yesterday I climbed my first volcano: Volcan Agua, 3766m and a 12 km hike, but I’m not sure what the elevation gain was – a lot. It was quite the event-filled day. It started with me and the guys in the town over needing to catch a bus at 6:30am to get into Antigua. The guys were late and the bus was leaving, so I asked the bus driver to just wait 2 minutes, but the jerk wouldn’t! Usually they do. But my friends managed to get there – they jumped in the back of a pick-up truck to during the walk from there town. So then they hopped out and ran and got in. So, this bus driver, he must have been in some hurry, because he sped out of town. Usually they meander while honking their horns trying to get as many passengers as possible. Well, this guy’s need for speed caught up with him. He would barely slow down for the speed bumps that are dispersed throughout the road. On one of them, something near the rear wheel well popped and he rolled to a stop. Serves him right. We got out and walked the rest of the way, as did everyone else, because his bus was smoking.
Once we got to Antigua, we had to wait on a few people, so we didn’t get to leave as early as planned, which caught up to us later. We found a microbus to take us from Antigua to Santa Maria de Jesus (the town at the base of the volcano). Although we don’t have to worry about deer running across the road in front of us, apparently we do have to worry about packs of dogs. We were speeding out of town when, all of a sudden, a pack of 5 dogs comes running across the street. Our driver kind of slowed down, but banked on weaving through the dogs. Well the dogs must have banked on him stopping. Both parties were wrong, but the dog was the big loser. It was obvious to anyone in the van that he should’ve just stopped. But instead he barreled right into a beautiful golden retriever. Along with its yelp, I swear I heard the sound of ribs cracking. But it managed to get up and trot away.
When we got to the town, we went to the municipality to find a guide. They said it would be Q300 (~$39 split between 8 people). We asked if they recommend using a guide. They told us that the trail’s well marked the whole way, so we shouldn’t get lost. We asked if it was safe. They said that 8 days ago, 2 hikers were assaulted on the trail and ended up dying, but don’t worry, it’s tranquilo now. Needless to say, we splurged on a guide. When he finally showed up 45 minutes later, he was this little tiny man with no big gun to protect us. But as we were hiking out of town, his wife found him and gave him his backpack and his machete. So that was something.
Once we got to Antigua, we had to wait on a few people, so we didn’t get to leave as early as planned, which caught up to us later. We found a microbus to take us from Antigua to Santa Maria de Jesus (the town at the base of the volcano). Although we don’t have to worry about deer running across the road in front of us, apparently we do have to worry about packs of dogs. We were speeding out of town when, all of a sudden, a pack of 5 dogs comes running across the street. Our driver kind of slowed down, but banked on weaving through the dogs. Well the dogs must have banked on him stopping. Both parties were wrong, but the dog was the big loser. It was obvious to anyone in the van that he should’ve just stopped. But instead he barreled right into a beautiful golden retriever. Along with its yelp, I swear I heard the sound of ribs cracking. But it managed to get up and trot away.
When we got to the town, we went to the municipality to find a guide. They said it would be Q300 (~$39 split between 8 people). We asked if they recommend using a guide. They told us that the trail’s well marked the whole way, so we shouldn’t get lost. We asked if it was safe. They said that 8 days ago, 2 hikers were assaulted on the trail and ended up dying, but don’t worry, it’s tranquilo now. Needless to say, we splurged on a guide. When he finally showed up 45 minutes later, he was this little tiny man with no big gun to protect us. But as we were hiking out of town, his wife found him and gave him his backpack and his machete. So that was something.
(The best view of the day, about 1/2 way.)My ecotourism trainer said that we should be able to make the hike up in about 3 hours, the guide said 4 and Lonely Planet said 4-5. Considering we always make the minimum hiking time estimate in Yellowstone, I figured it would take us 3 hours to get up. We started at 9:30, so we’d get up there in perfect timing for lunch, head back down, then gorge ourselves in Antigua. Instead of 12:30, we summited between 2 and 2:30. We lost one girl in the first ten minutes – she was already dying and had no confidence so decided to turn around. We made good time for a little while, but then another girl started having to hike slow and take a break every five minutes. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big problem, but since we had already started an hour behind schedule, the clouds were rolling in. Once we got past half-way, we were completely socked in for the rest of the hike! We never got to relish in the amazing views that were on the other side of the clouds. Imagine climbing a mountain in a completely new area where you’ve never had a good view before, and not being able to see anything!! Alas, it was still fun and a great hike, but oh so frustrating. We did, however, find an abandoned church of some sorts up top in the little crater. It has a creepy display inside of Jesus with a blue tarp hanging down to protect him. I think the crater is where people sleep when they camp up there, and it was absolutely littered with trash, except for on the soccer field. Yes, there is a soccer field inside this crater.
(The sanctuary in the crater.)During the hike, of course, we selected a restaurant for our post-hike feast: Dona Luisa’s for her bacon cheeseburgers. So we hitched a ride back to Antigua. (To get a ride in Guatemala, you hold your arm out parallel to the ground, perpendicular to the direction of the road, and quickly bend your fingers up and down.) The food was quite amazing, but somehow, I was not that hungry! I almost didn’t want to go! But, I also make Q26 per day, also known as $3.42, so a free meal at home usually sounds a lot better than spending my own money.
(This is what the peak looked like!)When we showed up at the restaurant (a fairly nice establishment), we were completely covered in dust, which is how it should be. We earned the right to go into a nice restaurant dirty and smelly, but nobody else in my group felt the same way. They were all very concerned about how we looked and said that we were more fit for McDonald’s. They just don’t get how it works I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment