Liquid Hot Magma
Day 47
Now when you read the title of this post you need to use Dr. Evil’s voice from Austin Powers. Otherwise its like watching a 3D movie without the glasses. Right, so go back and say it again just as Dr. Evil would. One of the main attractions of Quetzaltenango is the surrounding countryside. Traditional indigenous villages litter the region, hiking opportunities are plenty but for myself the most intriguing activity was the chance to climb a volcano.
The previous day we not so wisely borrowed mountain bikes and set out for some of the small surrounding mayan villages. We were a bit sore after the day of riding. Today we were up at the crazy hour of 4:30am. We dressed in layers for warmth, brought food and then walked down the street to meet our guide Roberto. We were off to climb Volcan Santa Maria, 3773 meters. The streets of Xela were really cold at 5am, a fine mist hung over the city and frost coated the tops of cars. We met Roberto, climbed into a minivan and tried to keep warm on the 15 minute drive to the base of the volcano. The whole morning to this point was a blur and I was freezing. Yet my adrenaline was already pumping at the thought of reaching the highest elevation we had ever been.
First we started hiking through farm fields of vegetables. We needed lights to show our path as it was still dark. Almost immediately the path was uphill. As light started to break on the hillside we had been walking close to 45 minutes in the freezing cold. The path was now very steep and moved from farm fields to forest. Roberto was moving along at a quick pace, I struggled to keep up and Jordana was behind me and not feeling so great. With the sun fully risen we noticed the ground was mostly frozen and a coating of ice covered the vegetation. Around this point the trail was extremely steep and now zig zagged up the mountain. It was here that Jordana had enough. I think it was a combination of altitude, the early morning start and the extreme physical effort of the climb. I turned around and there she was face down fertilizing the hillside with the gatorade she had consumed that morning. I ran back, “Sit here on this log. Take some water, that’s good you’ll feel better now.” “Better? I’m not hung over.” True, I’m not sure why but I just thought she would feel better. Puking always makes you feel better, sorta gets the bad out. Ya know? She cleaned up, drank some water and gatorade and we were off again. To be honest I was surprised, I thought she was just going to wait there for Roberto and I. She carried on, I was proud of her. I’m always pushing Jordana to be mentally tough about challenges like these and this was my idea so the last thing I wanted was to make her feel like complete crap. It was probably to late for that so I just comcentrated on getting us both to the top. I think the altitude was affecting myself, soon after I felt dizzy and had a headache.
5 hours after we began I reached a gravel part of the trail. Devoid of any trees and surrounded by huge boulders, the summit was in sight. Jordana was a few minutes behind me so I waited here so we could finish this together. I took two pictures of myself, I was smiling ear to ear. This was one of the most physically demanding things I had ever done and I was almost there. The view was incredible, the city on one side, Mexico to the north, the pacific to the west and several other volcanoes to the south. I sat and then noticed Jordana rounding the last corner. We both reached the summit together arm in arm. I gave her a big hug and said, “I’m so prod you finished this, isn’t it awesome? Feels so good to be done!” I think at this point she was to wiped out for joy. We walked to the far edge of the summit and dropped to the ground and ate. We ate cookies, chocolate and bread. Any carbs we had we consumed. I think I could have spent all day there, my legs had enough.
After about 20 minutes on the summit of Santa Maria we were treated to an incredible display of nature. On the side of Volcan Santa Maria is Volcan Santiguito, still very active. We heard a faint rumble and then a massive plume of smoke poured out of the crater of the volcano. Unbelievable, we were both awe struck. Watching the smoke rise and looking at the scenery around me I was so happy we had done this. Also it would be one of the only times I could say, “Liquid hot magma!” Just like Dr. Evil and it sort of meant something. It was funny to me, maybe Jordana was just to tired for humour.
We made it down the mountain in just over two hours. Much easier than up, although it sure is tough on the knees and toes going down. Also the frozen ground was now thawing and turning into slippery mud. Soon enough we were safely back at the Black Cat Hostel. It was quite a chore getting up the stairs. We took some much needed showers, then collapsed in our bed for a 3 hour nap. Finally we awoke around 6pm and headed out for some food. I’m not quite sure I have ever been this hungry. We ordered a large pizza at Guiseppe’s and I could have had it all to myself. We were in bed by 9:30 that, I felt tired but good as I lay in bed. Its not everyday you get to climb a volcano and look down on some liquid hot magma.
Tags: Guatemala, hiking, puking, volcanos, Xela
Michael Coroneos
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