Tierra del Fuego

Again I was up before the crack of dawn. I sat in the street outside la casa de Don Ismael looking up at Volcan Agua in the morning light while waiting for my shuttle to Pacaya. Pacaya is an active volcano about 1 1/2 from Antigua that continuously erupts, creating incredible lava flows. Since my shuttle was late (of course) I was in the street for some time chatting with the locals, who were also waiting for their bus, and a boy who just happened by with his goats (I wish I could remember their names- They were such nice goats). One of the gentlemen who was chatting me up was from El Salvador. To most Americans, I think Central America seems like a big conglomerate of poor countries with beaches and bananas. If you've traveled here though, and chatted with a few folks, you know that's not the case. It's always interesting to me to hear different perspectives. For example, if you talk with someone from Costa Rica, they will tell you that Nicaraguans are lazy and uneducated and they come across the border to take jobs. This man that I spoke to went on to tell me how terrible El Salvador is and that life is so much better in Guate.....the youth of Salvador do drugs and drink and rob you blind. It's fascinating to me to hear about these rivalries, opinions and matters of national pride.

So, on to Pacaya.... I'd seen Thomas' pictures of Pacaya but it was so much more incredible to see first hand. Pictures can't do justice to it. We had a short hike up to the edge of the lava flows (as little as 3 months ago they had flattened a part of the hillside). Then you start climbing on the actual cooled lava. It's sharp and it crunches under your feet. As you hike along you hit spots where you can hear that it's hollow underneath....at one time hot molten lava had flown through and left just a crust for you to walk on. Some places are hardened and secure, others crunch and move each time you step. As you get up further, you can start to feel the heat coming from the rocks. Walking along it's fine and then you step over a crevice and feel the intense heat coming from it....it's unbelievable! We were able to get up close to moving lava flows that glowed red and radiated intense heat. It was really a fantastic experience.