Friday, July 4, 2014
We woke up early to catch the 6:00 am shuttle that took us to the Pacaya Volcano. After a 1 ½ hour drive (and a stop for lattes, thank goodness), we began our hike. It only took 1 hour, but was pretty challenging, mostly due to the elevation. We started at approximately 1,500 meters and ended up at 2,400. It started out steep, too. They had “natural taxis” (horses), but we said no, gracias.
It was a foggy morning, and when we got to our first vantage point of the crater and peak, we couldn’t see a thing. Se we continued on around the crater, descended into it…. and suddenly it looked like we were on the moon! The crater was full of hardened lava from an eruption in May 2010, and it was too foggy to see beyond the edges of the scraggly, jagged rocks. After exploring and taking pictures for a bit, we walked over to a gift shop! It’s located right in the crater and sells jewelry made with lava rock. I got a small pair of earrings, because when are you ever going to get that again?!
Next we found an area of rocks that were four months old, but were still warm enough to toast marshmallows. Our guide distributed sticks and marshmallows and we toasted them up! So crazy. We climbed our way out the other side of the crater, and finally got some views of the other Volcáns Fuego, Agua, and Acatenango. The clouds kept rolling by, but we did also catch a few glimpses of the Pacaya peak.
After spending an hour at the top, we made our way down the volcano, thanked our guide, and, exhausted, piled back in the shuttle. Back at Ali’s we showered, played with Aybi’s 6-month-old nieces (Aybi’s sister cleans their house), and had a quick snack of homemade chips with pico, and headed to Monoloco, a sports bar, to watch to Colombia-Brazil game.
We met Sergio, Aybi, and another friend there, and ordered micheladas and far too much typical bar food: nachos, onion rings, buffalo wings, and chili cheese fries. The bar was pretty split between Colombia and Brazil fans (lots of yellow), which made for a lively crowd. Brazil ended up winning (2-1), but Colombia did get close to tying it at the end. Major sad face for Ali.
We ran a few errands around town, then came back to the house for a bit to hang with Sally and Aybi. After a while we ventured back out. Ali had been wanting to smoke hookah, so we all went to Luna de Miel. We sat outside on beanbags and got a grapefruit hookah. It was nice to just sit outside and hang out for a bit. Potter and I got a local rum (Ron Zacapa) on the rocks at Ali’s suggestion, too.
Sally and Aybi went back to the house to cook dinner, but the three of us decided to go out since it was our second to last night and we wanted to see more of the city. We went to Sabre Rico, and Italian restaurant with seating in an amazing garden area. There were lovebirds chirping, lush plants with leaves as long as my legs, and each table was tucked into its own secluded area, reached by a paving stone path. We all got the homemade fettuccine in a tomato sauce with broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, chorizo (in theirs), and pecorino. It was warm, hearty, and totally hit the spot. During dinner we heard a guy with a megaphone singing the National Anthem (a little off-key). It was a funny but also nice reminder of what day it was.
We had intended to meet up with some of Ali’s friends at a bar, but we decided we were too tired (we had, after all, been up since 5:30…) and went home.
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