This morning, a theater group came to put on a short drama for the women. It was interesting, but I couldn't understand most of it, except that it was about losing & being reunited with your children. A lot of the women, and even some nurses, cried at the end. Today was also Sari's last day with me. Next week I will be alone at my placement. We chatted with some of the women after the show, and took them to their rooms to prepare for lunch. Then, we cleaned up the multipurpose room where the play was held. I'm so sad Sari is leaving tomorrow!!! Ann and her two daughters also have their last day in the program today, but we are going to Tikal with them on Sunday. After lunch, the entire group is going to hike Volcan Pacaya, an active Volcano outside of Antigua. :)
Volcan Pacaya
The week has been exhausting, but this is a great end to it. We have to drive part of the way up the volcano, and when we arrive at the entrance, we are greeted by little boys from the villages trying to sell walking sticks. We're advised not to buy one (I regret listening to this advice later on). After meeting our guide and paying an entrance fee, we're off. Right off the bat, there is a cobblestone path that is steep, and I mean STEEP! It makes the hike I took with Eric at Enchanted Rock a few weeks ago look like child's play. The guide takes care to remind us that many people can not handle the hike and that horses are available to take us up. The cobblestone path ends after a few yards, and then the hard part begins. The path is only a path in the sense that there are no trees in the way. The dirt on the ground is very soft and a little muddy, so we sink in. One of our group opts for the horse at the second "rest stop" - there are 24 stops before we reach our destination -- something like 4 miles (round trip) with this horrible, steep angle the whole way there. In America, I think this would've been recommended for "experienced" hikers, but I push through. Guatemala City is already 5,000 feet above sea level - a far cry from Houston's ~100 feet - and we began this hike halfway up the volcano. The elevation change combined with my ongoing sinus infection makes for a rough trip, but slowly, I ultimately make it to the top.
We aren't hiking all the way to the crater, because it is too dangerous. However, after several hours, we make it to a peak overlooking a valley filled with dried volcanic lava. This peak includes a very steep drop down into the valley which I soon learn that we will be carefully descending. We half-walk, half-fall down this mud cliff until we are in the valley of lava. The hot mist rolls across the dried rocks - it's incredible. Then, we start to walk across the lava. Volcan Pacaya recently erupted in March, so all of this is fairly new. The volcanic rock is warm under our feet. As we cross the valley, there's a small hut with a sign out front: LAVA STORE. We make it across and are greeted by four dogs and a speech about the hand crafted jewelry (made from coconuts and volcanic rock!) that the villagers make. Only four places in the world make this sort of thing, and Guatemala is one of them! The Lava Store is also the only store inside an active volcano.
After we do some quick shopping, we hop over to where some holes in the dried lava rock have opened up to let out the heat - and boy is it HOT! Luckily, we brought ingredients for s'mores. The hot gas shooting up from the volcano browns the marshmallows in seconds - best s'mores ever. As we're enjoying our ooey, gooey, volcanic desserts, the sun starts to set. Our guide urges us to leave, but our big group moves slow. We crawl back up that steep hill to get to the peak, and then start heading down the volcano at break-neck speed, after getting some awesome pictures of the other volcanoes in the distance. We lose the light quickly, and our muddy, slippery path down the volcano is lit only by the beam of a few flashlights and Willow's voice yelling "Step! Root! Horse poop on the left!" to guide us. We are on safe ground after about 25 minutes.
What. A. Trip. We're all filthy, thirsty, and totally pooped, but it was definitely worth the arduous ascent. Everyone is too wired to fall asleep on the way back to the home-base.
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