We’re all clearly here because we’re travel obsessed, so I want to start a little series sharing some of my favorite travel memories with you all! First up – hiking volcanoes in Guatemala!
Acatenango Volcano Hike in Guatemala
I almost backed out from doing this hike because I didn’t train for it and I don’t necessarily consider myself a fit person. Ya girl is packing a lot of junk in the trunk, ok? Although it was extremely physically and mentally challenging, I’m SO glad I pushed myself and did it. After hiking for 5 hours and ascending 9,000 feet in elevation, I will never forget the wave of emotion that fell over me when I witnessed Volcan Acatanenango’s neighbor, Fuego, erupt for the first time. I felt the “boom” in my chest and watched a huge cloud of black smoke rise from the crater. Cue the freaking water works – I can’t believe I made it!
We set up our tents at base camp, poured ourselves a cup of red wine and sat back and enjoyed the show. Watching Fuego erupt during the daytime was awesome; but when nightfall came that is when the magic really started because we could see the lava! It was so funny, because every time there was an eruption you’d hear a collective “WOW” from everyone at camp. I’ve never heard so many “wows” and “holy shits” in one day before!
Fuego is extremely active, especially at night, with eruptions occurring about every 30 minutes. Needless to say we didn’t get much sleep that night, but we didn’t care because we were, quite literally, on top of the world! We tried to catch naps in between eruptions, but as soon as we heard the “boom” we would scramble to look out of the tents to catch a glimpse. One of the BEST nights ever!!
The next morning, we made the 2 hour trek down the mountain. Honey, by the time I got to the bottom of the mountain I was walking like a baby giraffe. My legs were toast!!
Not only was this my favorite memory while traveling through Guatemala, but it’s one of my top travel memories EVER. I loved it so much that I’ve returned to Guatemala and hiked it two more times!
I used Wicho & Charlie’s Sustainable Volcano Tour Agency located in Antigua. Their tour guide Brandon Figueroa is AMAZING! He was so patient with the many stops that I needed to take on the way up. He was encouraging and motivated me every step of the way.
If you ever find yourself in Guatemala, I urge you to challenge yourself and do this hike! Not only will you get to witness an active volcano erupting, but you will feel so proud and accomplished! I promise you can do it!
Tell me about one of your favorite travel memories in the comments!
