There are 37 volcanoes in Guatemala of which three are in constant eruption. We had seen one of them, Fuego, erupt from a distance during or stay at Lago de Atitlan and we wanted to have a closer look. That however it takes a very strenuous hike 6hrs to get up to the viewpoints at 3700m. The hike is considered ‘not suitable for young kids’ but we knew a Dutch family who did it last year. And since we had been doing very similar hikes as them before, we were convinced that our kids could pull it of also. But to be sure, we decided to do a try out and acclimatization hike to another of the three erupting volcanoes.

Santiaguito volcano is a ‘side volcano’ that grew out of the flanks of the much higher Santa Clara volcano. But while the big volcano has been dormant for a long time, the ‘little’ Santiago is very active, launching pyroclastic clouds and lava at very regular intervals. To get there we drove to Guatemala’s 2^nd  biggest city: Quetzaltenango (locally known as Xela). On our drive to the trailhead, we saw a huge smoke plume and whole mountain ridge ablaze with fire. We assumed this was the work of the volcano but it turned out that it was a huge wildfire. Unfortunately just like Canada and Alaska, Guatemala is being plagued by huge wildfires caused by unprecedented droughts. From camp spot we could see the flames raging with the lights of the cities in the background.

The next morning, while the city was for some reason woken with a series of fireworks, we set out at day break to the viewpoint of the volcano. We left that early because from 9am the volcano is often hidden by the clouds. When we arrived there however the volcano was completely hidden by clouds and we heard from other travelers that we had just missed a major eruption (we had heard and smelled it though). A bit disappointed we decided to have our breakfast and hoped that at some point we would still be able to see the volcano erupt. And after just a couple of minutes there was a first eruption that burst through the clouds. Was it a stroke of magic or is there a scientific explanation, but after that the clouds disappeared and we could finally see the volcano’s crater a bit below us. We decided to stay a bit longer and were not disappointed. After some time we heard a great noise coming from the volcano (sounded like a jet engine) but could not see anything but a couple of moments louder and enormous pyroclastic cloud burst out! We saw it ‘mushrooming’ and always getting bigger! The kids anxiously asked if it would reach us. To be honest, for some moments we were not too sure either. But luckily we were at a good distance and the cloud went straight up before it started to drift with the wind.

As an appetizer this could count. After our hike we decided to stay another night in Quetzaltenango at 2500m to acclimatize a bit more. We also paid a visit to the city. But that turned out a bit of a disappointment, because the town is far from the ‘nice colonial town’ that the guidebook mentioned. There are a couple of nice buildings left but a lot has been replaced with boring architecture by the German immigrants in the 18^thcentury.

The next day we got another early start as we had a long drive to the start of the big volcano ahead of us. we did however take the time for a small detour to San Andres Xelul to have a look at the beautiful church and also to watch the beautiful dress of the local Indigenous women. However since they don’t see that many tourists here, the ‘peoplewatching’ was mutual. The kids got a bit intimidated and fled into the van.

By the late afternoon, we arrived in the little town where we booked the guided hike up the volcano. We camp on the local soccer field and rest and prepare for the hike the next day. It is a two day hike, ascending 7 km the first day to a basecamp 1200m higher at 3700m. There the night is spent. The basecamps are not on the active volcano (Fuego-Fire) but on the Acatenango volcano that lies right next to it.

In the morning we meet the rest of the group and a couple of them are not happy when they see our kids. We overhear them talking and they are afraid that we will slow the group down and think that we should get a horse to carry the kids. This is the first time we hear people react to our kids that way. In the US and Canada, the kids were always cheered on. But here the younger (European) backpacker crowd is acting like we are irresponsible parents.

We do not hesitate to tell our kids about this and now they are super motivated to proof them all wrong. Leon starts the hike at full speed, passes everyone until he gets to the lead guide and then walks with him. The first part is very steep and dusty and the sun is beating down on us merciless. But after that first part, once in the woods it gets easier.. Leon is the first of the whole group to arrive at basecamp with guide. Lucie has also left most of the complainers behind her (with a big smile on her face).

From outside our little hut we have a nice view on Fuego and so now we just have to wait until the sun sets and the real show starts. As the sun goes down it is getting quite cold so we gather by the fire. The sunset is gorgeous and we see the lights of the towns below getting lit. But what is even more impressive, is that we can now also see the lava that volcano is spitting out.

And it is quite a spectacle! For hours we see huge eruptions that cover the whole top part of the volcano in lava. Sometimes we feel the ground shaking below our feet like mini earthquakes. You can’t really keep your eyes off the volcano as by the time you hear the eruption is sometimes already over.

Until 9.30 pm, we sit outside watching the @ and then we call it a night. We decide to get up at 5am for another hour of explosions in the dark before the sun gets up. We all get a pretty good night of sleep. The cold is not as bad as they told us. We only nearly get shaken out of our sleeping bags a couple of times. In the morning we still get a couple of nice eruptions but not like the evening lava spectacle. That is however completely compensated by the gorgeous sunrise. It is now ice cold, but we stay outside to see the sun rise from behind Agua (the third volcano in the volcano triangle around the town of Antigua). After a nice breakfast we start the descent and this time, things go a lot faster. In less than two hours we are back at the trailhead, feeling very proud of our young hikers (who btw were carrying part of their own water and gear). We feel very grateful for this amazing experience. But we also feel very dirty after two days in the volcanic dust. So we quickly look for a place to camp around Antigua our last stop in Guatemala.  Have a look at our video report of the hike here

Antigua was the town where I lived for 3 months back in 2001 and studied Spanish. So after a day of rest, I take the family on trip down memory lane. We find back my host family’s house, the school (now a fancy restaurant) and a couple of my favourite ‘hang out’ places from back then. The city is still as beautiful as I remembered but it also became a lot more upmarket and  expensive. No more 1 euro cocktails and 3 eur meals like back then.

We visit the classic sights: the Arco, the market and Central Plaza. And I finally make it to some of the ruins that everyone told me to visit 22 years ago but for which I somehow never found the time.

Antigua is also the epicenter for the big ‘Semana Santa’ (Easter) celebrations in Central America. People come from all over Latin America to see the processions that go out every day during the week before Easter. Unfortunately our travel planning did not allow for us to be here during that week. However we got a great tip from some other travelers. Every Sunday during the ‘Lent’, one of the processions marches through town. So we made sure we would be around on Sunday. We thought that this was going to be a bit of a ‘try out’ event in preparation for the big week. Wrong! This was a full blown celebration with hundreds of participants in the procession and thousands of spectators on the streets. And even the amazing flower carpets were being laid out in the streets. We passed by one that was under construction and didn’t doubt long when they asked us if we wanted to help with it.

When the procession finally reached town in the evening we made sure to have a good spot near to ‘our’ flower carpet. It was already dark by the time the procession walked back to the neighboring village where it had started early that same morning.

What an amazing end of our time in Guatemala. It remains one of my favorite places in the world and I was happy to see that the family agreed. Leon even told us that he too wants to come here to study Spanish… and that we can come to visit him then.

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