Firework Show - Volcán Acatenango

 In Antigua I stayed in OX Hostel - Outdoor Excursions. They kindly allow cycle tourists a free nights stay to help smooth our path. Antigua is a beautiful little town with well preserved colonial architecture, great views of volcanoes and very good coffee. All very attractive to me but, hot in the heels of the Volcán Taculmulco trek, my priority here was to arrange an ascent of Volcán Acatenango. The volcano in the background here is Volcán de Agua.

 I was able to arrange a trek through OX hostel and joined a group for a two day excursion to Acatenango. 

 Acatenango is the sister volcano to Fuego, the volcano I had seen erupting distantly on my first trek. This time we were able to enjoy the eruptions at close hand. The roar of each eruption created a very powerful sensation, the sound of the Earth's internal mechanics releasing pressure and material from the crater. By day, if you looked closely, you could see volcanic bombs being ejected with Fuego's every belch.   

 By night the show was just stunning. The eruption of lava glowed bright, a spectacular firework show of burning rocks showering through the sky then rolling down the volcano sides. Every eruption elicited a cheer from our group; an exhilarating experience for all of us, geography teachers or not.

 The scene at sunset, Volcan de Agua to the left, Fuego to the right.

 The best 10 quetzales we could have spent. For about £1 each this guy collected and sold us some firewood. 

 Temperatures plummeted after sunset and we huddled around the fire sharing travel stories and playing games. As a cycle tourist it was nice to be able to describe a different kind of adventure to the backpacking norm.   

 I hadn't expected much sleep so was glad to have drifted off a little and not feel cold. Sharing a tent and body heat helps here, the frequent roars from Fuego and, at one point, earth tremors were less conducive to sleep! 4am soon came around and we began the ascent  to the top of Acatenango, 3976 metres. The loose volcanic material, altitude and precipitous slopes made for a challenging climb. No doubts that this was a harder trek than the higher Taculmulco ascent. 

 The summit was a bleak moonscape with biting winds and a wind chill factor surely below freezing. I struggled to take pictures so cold was it to remove my gloves. This is a view towards Lago Atitlan with the moon illuminating the night sky.  

 Sunrise over Volcán de Agua. About one minute after sunrise the group was pleading to our guide to make the descent back to base camp and warmer temperatures. I fully supported the decision to return, the cold was unbearable!  

 Our camp dog, Henry, who helped hoover up our leftover breakfast.    

 The group. Comprised of Brits, Italians, Aussies, Kiwis, Irish and an American. A wonderful group, if any of you are reading this, I really enjoyed your company! Connecting with the backpacker network from time to time provides a valuable opportunity for me to speak English and take a breather from Spanish. I enjoy speaking Spanish and it's pretty routine for me now but more complex ideas/emotions are hard to express so using my native language is a treat. 

By the way, the two Kiwis got engaged during the trek - the magical romance of the mountains! 

 Descent was easier than the ascent and we were down in about three hours. For all the cycling I'm doing I don't take these treks for granted and as I write this from the hostel in Antigua my legs are sore and aching; the luxury of time allows me another rest day.

Speaking with my young friend Dylan Lawrence this morning he asked me why have I been in Guatemala so long? He's right, I have been here a while but it's such a rewarding country to visit and I will spend one more week here down on the coast volunteering. In the ebb and flow of a long trip Guatemala will be a section of downtime which I hope to follow with a real push on through the rest of Central America. I will be making a beeline to Panama before moving on to Colombia, my entry point into South America. The adventure continues!

(recent soundtrack has been Prince, Whyte Horses, Debussy and Love)