I Cannot Carry the Ring, Mr. Frodo, but I Can Carry You.

This is not my group, but my group did roast marshmellows in the lava of Volcàn Pacaya.

When hiking the volcano, my friends and I found it a bit reminiscent of Lord of the Rings. We called to one another amidst the buffs of errupting air and lava, while traversing over beds of black but hot lava rock... ¨I cannot carry the ring, but I can carry you Mr. Frodo.¨

Last weekend I climbed an active volcano. We took a bus for an old US school bus for an hour and a half. At the destination people sold horses to substitute for the hike and children sold sticks for 70 cents or so. My travel mate later said he wished the children would have sold the sticks better. Something like, ¨Really, you want the stick. It´s a difficult climb, slippery and the rocks will cut your hand.¨

The hike was an hour and a half up the volcano. The guides spoke in Spanish. After some time we reached the lava bed at which point we were hiking on dried lava. It is black and sharp to the touch. It´s like climbing on a boulder field but you cannot touch the rocks. Eventually the guides stopped but said we could go as far as we wanted. This is when many people hiked to the point that they could roast marshmellows from the flowing lava.

Flowing lava is a red stream of burning rock. It fell like an avalanche more so than it flowed. This made for an interesting video in the background of my friend roasting a marshmellow. As we hiked down in the dusk, we could see the lava shooting out the top of the volcàn. Magnificent.

Lessons learned:
1--Do not wear sandals when hiking a volcano.
2--Bring bandaids and flashlights when hiking a volcano.
3--On every trip, be prepared with Minnesota jokes and impressive Wisconsin facts (like the number of lakes we boast).
4--3 tacos for $1.20 really hit the spot after hiking a volcano.

I met 3 Wisconsinites, 2 Minnesotans, a kind Israeli who will later send photos, and others. Hurray for temporary best friends- I truly appreciate travelers.

Yesterday it rained much of the day. I met up with old travel friends (old means I knew the person over 12 hours) to pass a day in the splendor of Antigua. We ate deli sandwiches, played pool, watched American films at Cafè 2000, and I attended Spanish mass with my host brother at the famous church off the Parquè Centràl (central park).

For those of you concerned about my black bean and egg intake, I have only been offered the aforementioned at one meal. My host mother's food is worthy of prizes for the rich flavors, variety, and speed.

Back to studying spanish!