Volcan de Fuego y Acetenango

On Saturday morning at about 8:00 a.m. Aviv, Maya, and myself departed with our guide Juan for Volcan Acetenango. Acetenango is the third highest peak in Central America and the volcano has a perfect vantage point of Volcan Fuego, one of the world's most consistent and longest active volcanoes. With packs laden with camping gear we began our descent with our Juan and our local guide Santos who lives at the base of the volcano with his family. The descent was arduous and tiring but it was worth the pain. We talked with locals who help to maintain and provide security on the volcano and saw other hikers as well. On our way up, we summited through five climate zones including corn fields, the jungle portion with bamboo and other interesting flowers and plants, forest with pine trees, and volcanic sand and rock. We waited to summit to the peak until the next morning and Juan guided us to our camping spot directly in front of Volcan de Fuego. Fuego erupted twice in the night and we could see the huge amount of lava shoot out of the top of the volcano and then see it run down the sides and illuminate the entire mountainside. The two explosions rank right up there with two of the most amazing events I have experienced from mother earth. It was quite cold where we camped and we were warmed up by the pasta Juan prepared and the fire Santos started. The next morning, we summitted Acetanango (3900 meters) and we could see into El Salvador, Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean. The view was amazing and we could also see at least 13 other volcanoes including Pacaya which we had hiked a few weeks ago. As we summitted Acetenango, Fuego erupted right before our eyes and I have included pictures of this. After summitting, we ran down the side of the mountain as the loose sand and rock allowed you to almost sprint, it was a lot of fun! On our way home, we listened to music of La Raiz, Juan's band that performs in Antigua. He is the lead singer and their band is awesome! Today my hips are very sore and my legs are spent but what a great trip. Enjoy the pictures!