Lava Life

May 3 - 5, 2008

So, I finally decided to take the plunge and get hooked up with some hot and steamy Lava Life action... Instead of the internet version of Lava Life, I chose to tour the Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala where there would be a distinct lack of rules, fences, and other typical touristy obstructions in an otherwise beautiful place. Our tour group plodded like cattle (some more like cattle than others) up a relatively geriatric hike towards the top of the volcano, passing the cooled remains of lava slides that scarred the landscape.

Near the base of the volcano's cone was a black field of sharp, brittle rock from which streams of magma gently oozed between the cracks. Mesmorized, I watched the earth gurgle and belch thick streams of molten rock from veins deep within the earth. Thick fluid open sores pulsed like mammoth-sized hearts when gases and lava caused rhythmic expansions and contractions at the source. Slow moving streams of liquid rock poured down the slopes until chunks cooled enough and crumbled under their own weight to roll into the ever growing piles below. As night descended, the slow moving streams transformed into glowing devilish tongues that licked the black scarred surfaces of the hills.


Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala. On the hike up the volcano, slides of black volcanic rock scarred the otherwise green landscape.


Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala. The patch of lava at the base of the volcano.


Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala. Me, my overgrown hair, and the bags under my eyes, barely capable of withstanding the heat radiating from a large oozing stream of lava.


Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala. My walking stick instantly combusts as I poke it into a small stream of lava.


Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala. Myself with Claudia and Sandra (From Holland) in front of the lava flow as we burn the back of our legs!


Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala. As night descends, the slow streaming rivers of molten rock transform into devilish tongues licking the scarred surface of the earth.