After my lessons for the day (which included a Scrabble victory), I went with a few other students to book a trip to Volcan Pacaya for the afternoon.

The bus that picked us up went around town and picked up a few more groups. At one of the stops, my old friend Liam got on board. I hadn’t heard from him since he and Jessy left Caye Caulker, Belize heading towards the Bay Islands in Honduras.

On the hour long bus ride, I had time to catch up with him (it seems
Honduras wasn’t bad at all, so long as you keep to the set curfew) as well as meet some of the other travelers. More Brits and Israelis, of course.

The hike was 4 kilometers straight up the side of an active volcano. The loose gravel ground made an already intense hike slightly more difficult. As we ascended, the terrain changed from lush green mountainside to something I can only describe as Mordoresque. Jet black jagged rocks and loose sand, supporting no life whatsoever.

We arrived at the top of a treacherous looking hill. It was incredibly high and steep, and made up entirely of tiny pebbles that constantly gave away under your feet. Our guide stopped us at one point and said “Follow me”. He leaned back a bit and just started leaping down the hill, giant step by giant step. The loose ground made for great cushioning. It was as close as I think I’ll get to walking on the moon.

We got closer and closer to the summit and a bright red stream of flowing lava came into view. We kept climbing and eventually got so close to the lava that we could roast marshmellows on it. Which, of course, we did. Some others cooked sausages which would have tasted great if not for the tiny bit of volcanic rock that ended up on them.

We stayed up near the lava for a while, just watching it make it’s way down the mountainside. It was an incredible sight. It’s like mother nature said “You know, rockslides are great and all but is there a way to make them more terrifying and deadly? Oh I know! I’ll set the rocks ON FIRE!”

Upon returning to Antigua and cleaning up a bit, most of us met back up at Reilly’s Pub. Odd as it may be, there is a great little Irish pub in Antigua. It was a great end to a fantastic day.