The day before the Acatenango volcano hike I just wanted to have a chill day and not drink (many) beers. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
I arrived at the Antigua sports bar ‘bullseye’ at 2pm with the intention of watching the Arsenal v Porto Champions League game, having a couple of beers and then going home. The Barcelona game was on at the same time so most of the locals were watching this and the Arsenal game was on one small screen with the Barcelona game on all the rest. Whilst watching the game I bumped into another Arsenal fan, an Australian from Brisbane. We got chatting and then made the most of the 2pm-4pm happy hour. Extra time and penalties then ensued, which only meant we drank more. With Arsenal victorious on penalties, it was only right to go to another rooftop terrace bar to celebrate their triumph. A very long story short, the celebrations continued into the hostel bar and then onto a pub crawl. I think I got to bed at around 2am… perfect preparation for the early morning Acatenango volcano hike.
Apparently I didn’t set an alarm in my inebriated state as a whatsapp phone call woke me up at 7:45. It was the tour company ‘Soy Tours’ calling me to ask where I was as the shuttle to pick me up was outside. I don’t think I’ve ever quite jumped out of bed and packed up my things as fast as I did that morning. The shuttle bus did a loop, turned around and picked me up. I made it.
Acatenango Hike
Doing the overnight Acatenango volcano hike is a right of passage for travellers visiting Guatemala, often described as one of the highlights for all of Central America. It is a dormant volcano that is 13000 feet and sits at an elevation of 4000 metres, something I would soon find out how hard is to breathe at that altitude. The highlight of the hike isn’t actually Acatenango itself, but the views of nearby Volcano Fuego. Fuego is an active volcano that sees eruptions every 15-20 minutes and Acatenango is the best view to see it.
I am not joking when I say this hike could be the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Was it made harder by the fact I was dehydrated and hungover? Possibly, but the general consensus even from sensible, hydrated, well slept folk, was that this . was . hard. The hike takes about 6 hours which doesn’t seem too bad but the incline is ridiculous. There isn’t a single flat or down hill section on the whole hike… not one bit. Just dusty, long hills. And then the altitude hits. Halfway through the hike you really start to feel the altitude which only gets worse the higher you climb. Towards the last hour or so of the hike most people practically needed a 5 minute rest for every 10-20 steps.
We arrived at our base camp at about 4pm and settled down to see amazing views of Volcano Fuego. The local tour guide people cooked us dinner and we watched an incredible sunset high above the clouds. Once its dark you can start to see lava erupting from the volcano which was just absolutely crazy to see.
At 4am the alarm went off (it worked this time) as it was time to do the 1.5 hour hike to the top of Acatenango for sunrise. It was pitch black and absolutely freezing. It was a miserable couple of hours to be honest, the altitude was getting worse with every step, I hadn’t slept hardly at all and I was so cold. The view at the top however, made it all worth it. Watching Fuego erupt as the sun began to rise above the clouds was insane. One of the coolest things I have done for sure. We stayed there for about an hour before venturing back to basecamp for breakfast. Pancakes and coffee with a view of watching Fuego erupt, was something I did not get sick of looking at even after watching 100 eruptions.
The hike back down was naturally easier and quicker. It was still quite difficult just because of how slippery it was going down. Nearly every single person on the tour slipped over at one point or another. We got back to the Soy Tours office and had some complimentary beers with the group.
What a day.
Love those photos and loving the blog. You must get your writing skills from me. ❤️