There are 4 volcanoes near Antigua:
1) Fuego: the most active one. there's always a little fume cloud visible above it's crater, and views are supposed to be spectacular at night.
2) Acatenango: the tallest one. but less accessible, the hike is 14hrs roundtrip.
3) Agua: don't know much about it.
4) Pacaya: the most accessible, and the easiest to climb. The hike is only about 2 hrs roundtrip. It's an active volcano, the last eruption was 2005.
Our grp was fairly large, about 15-20 people. The hike was easy and uneventful, till we got to the lava fields. The view was great! Very rewarding for an hour-hike. It was a clear day, we could see verdant hills to the left and right. We also saw Agua in the foreground, and Fuego and Acatenango slightly further away.
The lava was also quite impressive. There weren't any active flows that day, but there were vents here and there, from which fumes were emerging. The air near the ground was wavy from the heat. And if you looked into a vent you get a blast of hot air, and can see red hot lava inside. It was VERY COOL. um. in a very hot kind of way.
A Swiss guy in our group had bought a branch/walking stick at the trailhead and was sharpening it with a fanatic grin throughout the hike. At the lava field, our fears of being attacked by this potential escaped serial killer were thankfully put to rest, when he produced from his backpack: a pack of hotdogs! He stuck one onto his stick, and happily roasted it at the mouth of a vent. Soon, delicious hotdog smells were produced and everyone suddenly developed strong hotdog cravings.The next time I climb a volcano, I have to remember my hotdogs. and maybe marshmellows.
Other thoughts on Pacaya:
1) It didn't smell bad! Frm previous trips to Lassen Volcanic Park in CA, I'd expected Pacaya to smell like the sulphur pits there, one of which is aptly named "Bumpass Hell". However, the Austrian guy who attempted the Pacaya summit said that the fumes from the crater were really thick and sulphurous.
2) solid lava feels hollow. Sounds hollow too, when you walk on it. It's also kinda crusty and sharp. On the weakest parts, felt like if you stamped hard on it your foot would go right through.
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Other thoughts on Antigua:
1) We had the most wonderful lunch after our Pacaya hike. Q15 yielded really good chicken with rice, some sort of juice, and bananas with honey for dessert. I've decided that bananas with honey is a truly exceptional combination.
2) We finally tried a frutas helados (fruit icecream), and it was fantastic! Throughout our trip and especially at the Chichi market we've been seeing the locals eat frozen popsicles that they pull out of a plastic cupcake thinggy. It's basically little chunks of fruit frozen with fruit juice or cream/yogurt. We bought the 'mixed fruit' flavor and there were mangoes, bananas, pineapples etc in mango (or mebbe peach) juice. It made us very happy. Antigua is a lovely place.
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