Climbing Acatenango Volcano!

8th February – 9th February 2023

So Acatenango was one of the main reasons that we wanted to backtrack and come to Guatemala from starting out in Mexico then Nicaragua … yes it doesn’t make sense Geographically, but I saw loads of videos about Guatemala (after we had booked the aforementioned countries) and so we just had to come here!

I’m trying to gauge how to write this… either so it’s helpful to anyone who might be reading as a future climber of Acatenango and is looking for advice, or as a tale of our story for my friends and family. I guess I’ll do both, so you can just skip anything that is irrelevant or boring.

In summary

• There are cheaper tours than the most popular ones.
• You can buy snacks and drinks to a certain point along the way.
• I was warm enough at night with 6 layers on top and 3 layers on the bottom.
• Hiking to Feugo gets you closer to the lava, but you still have a fantastic view from the base camp.
• You also still have an epic view of sunrise from base camp (and much less colder).
• If you have bad knees take painkillers and maybe wear some sort of knee supports before the descend – that was a KNEE DESTROYER.
• The dogs along the way are thirsty, so if you have any spare water please give them a little trickle!

Hollie wanted to do the hike independently to save money and over fears of being slow. This was not something that I was up for, so we compromised and tried to find the cheapest option. Most people we had spoken to had booked through Tropicana hostel for $60-$100 (prices vary as you have to pay to rent items such as coat, gloves, hat etc). Tropicana has cabins at the base point which I guess is a great selling point as EVERYONE says how cold it is. Hollie found us a tour with Alama Maya Hostel for 400Q and that came with lunch, dinner and breakfast the next day, a coat, gloves and hat. We then had to pay 100Q on the day for the entry point, and some people paid 200Q to climb closer to Feugo. We weren’t aware of this, so did not have enough cash, but also with promises of seeing lava from the comfort of base camp, this was good enough for us.

So as usual Hollie and I had the biggest bags, and we sat on the bus wondering how everyone else was going to be warm and stay hydrated with their tiny bags. If we didn’t already look questionable with such large rucksacks, my socks hadn’t dried in time, so I had them safety pinned to the straps of my bag!

We took our 65L bags because our small rucksacks were too small. Whenever you talk to anyone about the hike, the common theme is the cold, so naturally I packed 2 pairs of leggings, 1 pair of trousers, a t-shirt, a long sleeve gym top, a thick jacket, a jumper, a scarf and a neck warmer. We then got given a big coat to pack, gloves and a hat. This hat was not flattering on me, so there will be minimal pictures of me in this blog, because I will get mistaken for someone who is terminally ill.

We were also advised to take 4L of water, and unlike other tours that ask you to donate 1L to the kitchen at base camp, we did not have to do this. I took a 3L bottle of water and a smaller bottle filled with cucumbers (electrolytes) and two bottles of Powerade. I don’t know why I took so much water (well I do, it’s because I thought it would be silly to not listen to advice, and I didn’t want to be stuck up a mountain 99.9% parched). We didn’t actually need to worry about dying of thirst as there was locals who HIKE UP THE VOLCANO WITH BASICALLY THE CONTENTS OF THE CORNER SHOP ON THEIR HEAD. Shout out to them, because we struggled with our bags on our back, let alone 50 bottles of Powerade, water, beers, quetzalteca’s, and snacks. I wish that I had needed to buy something so I could have supported them.

ANYWAY, because of the one time we were at Laguna de Apoyo and living off of the smallest jam sandwiches, nuts and oreos ( 1. there were limited vegan options at the restaurant 2. we couldn’t afford to eat at the restaurant every day anyway 3. there were no kitchen facilities 4. there was not an actual food shop for about 30 minutes), I felt so hungry the whole time I was there, and now I think that I am psychologically scarred and want to ensure I always have food on me…. soooo I made FOUR peanut butter and jam sandwiches (EXCESSIVE I KNOW), took a pot of pineapple, a bag of museli, oreos, wafers, nuts, skittles, 2 corn on the cobs, and 2 bananas.

All this as well as being given a lunch which compromised of rice with veg, salad and a mini corn on the cob (we didn’t know what the lunch was before we packed enough food for 10 people and 5 nights). We also got given a pot of plain spaghetti, which at first I thought was the vegan option and found hilarious, but it turned out everyone had this, and for dinner they cooked all the pasta with a sauce. Hollie commented that the pasta was bland, despite bringing a sachet of seasoning to add to the mix. I thought “hey we are up a volcano, we aren’t going to be getting no Fettuccine Alfredo” (well the vegan alternative). I’ll eat dry pasta if I need to, not fussy, or maybe I have no food standards, either way, I wasn’t hungry which was the main goal – well no, the main goal was to climb the god damn volcano, which at this point we had… so LET ME TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THAT, which is why you are here.

Thankfully the guide had warned us that the first hour was the hardest. Great (not sarcastic), this is much better than the last hour being the hardest. Stick in hand that I had rented for 5Q, we set off up a steep dusty path. I should mention that Hollie woke up feeling sick at 4am, and wasn’t feeling on top form. Our group made good speed as we lagged behind. A guide offered Hollie a porter, and at first she declined, and then we discussed that it would make it easier so it would be worth it. We put our money together to pay the 250Q as decided by the weight of the bag. When the guy took it, he sounded shocked, and then as he put the bag on his front (he already had a bag on his back) Hollie said that she felt terrible as she didn’t realise he would be carrying it.

The first half an hour felt like it should have been an hour. We were told we would get breaks every 30 minutes, so when we FINALLY finished the first small stretch, we sat down. I ate a jam sandwich and tried to drink some water just to lessen the load! There was also a cabin selling crepes, juices, fries, burgers etc! The break was short lived and off we went for the final push of supposedly the hardest bit. We were met with a vertical set of deep steps. I couldn’t quite believe that I felt spritely, saying ‘hola’ to every passer by, and had excitement and happiness bubbling away inside me to spur me on (how can I get these feelings every day?!).

The steps were surrounded by fields and I had to take a moment to remember to take in the scenery. Up the stairs we went, and into the depths and cool of the trees. Onto a windy upright path, we had finally made it past the first hurdle and regrouped at the registration point. Here we got a wrist band, had to sign a tourist form, I ate a banana and gawked at a HUGE tree!

As we departed for the next round of wrestling with our lungs and calves, we were still behind and now joined by a guy from Switzerland who seemed to sugar coat how long everything would take. We were fully in the woods now, and could no longer see land behind the trees as we were amongst the clouds. The Swiss guy said just another 20 minutes and we will be at lunch …. 40 minutes later we got to the rest point for lunch. I enjoyed mine whilst Hollie lay on the floor and put a blanket over herself to rest. We had thought it would be an hour for lunch, but it seemed much shorter. We were back on our feet, and at this point I had to exchange my shorts for leggings as it was getting nippy.

We were told that it would be hard for an hour and then easier for an hour, and then we would be there! There were some dogs along the way, who were very clever as one pointed to bottle of Powerade bottle to tell us that he was thirsty, so Hollie cupped water in her hand for the dogs. They must get a lot of food along the way, but there isn’t any water for them in sight!

We were nearly there and I thought Hollie had done so well considering that she was unwell. I have long legs so am usually steps ahead of others, but as we got closer to the top whenever I stopped I would start to feel a little dizzy. I combatted this by snacking my way through!

We turned around the corner, with more trees surrounding us, and were told to go up. Up we went and in the distance I could see white marque looking structures – BASE CAMP! We had made it were at an altitude of 2600 meters high! The Swiss guy high fived me, and said that they were all off to walk to Feugo. Well thank god we didn’t sign up for that, because there really is no rest for the wicked.

As Hollie and I had rocked up last, we were dealt the short straw of a dilapidated tent, with holes and zips that didn’t shut properly, as all the marque type tents, with an actual door, a floor and insulated walls were taken. Hey ho, we are fairly hardy and enjoy camp life, so bring it on.

We sat and watched Feugo erupt, and the clouds pass by.

We decided that now would be a good time to put on all our layers, so that we didn’t get cold. Slowly the sky turned pink, and I couldn’t stop being shocked by it.

The pinkness turned to darkness, and we sat around the fire to keep warm. There was only a handful of us who didn’t hike to Feugo, so we all sat and enjoyed the views of the golden lava eruptions. We could usually tell when they were happening, as the base camp below us would roar with ‘OOOOOsss’ and ‘AAAAAhhhhsss’. The sights were truly spectacular and worthy of every gasp. I can only apologise for how terrible these pictures are, I knew I should have got a new phone before travelling, but didn’t want to in fear of it getting stolen … but Central America has been so safe so far, the only crime being committed is the quality of these images.

As we enjoyed the sights, one of the guides took our dry pasta and cooked it over the fire. Shortly after we headed to the tent to sleep, and were joined by the Swiss guy who came back from the hike to Feugo. He said they had been walking from 1.5 hours , then stopped for 30 minutes, and had to walk 1.5 hours back. We had been able to see them and their head torches bobbing in the distance. He was too tired to even eat dinner. With all my layers on, I was actually too hot, and had to take my scarf and hat off. Despite not being cold, I felt wide awake. I’d been having trouble sleeping the past week, and had hoped after a hike I would be able to nod straight off. Nope, I must have lay there for hours, and only got a couple of winks ( I realised that I had given myself insomnia by taking a herbal remedy to ‘prevent future burn out’, which contained Siberian Ginseng… which can cause insomnia).

My alarm went off at 3.45am for the climb to the summit. I kept on every single layer, had a bottle of water in one hand, and the stick in the other. Hollie was told she couldn’t do the hike as she had been unwell the day before. We were told it was going to be hard, and hard it was. Too hard in fact that I had to turn back. It was a vertical climb on dusty terrain. I had forgotten my headtorch, and with no free hands to help pull myself up, I felt that I should duck out at this stage, than get too far up and be stuck. Plus the cold was hurting my throat something chronic. I returned to the tent, and it turned out so had the Swiss guy. Hollie said she was pleased because she was upset that she couldn’t do it. We slept some more until 6am where we watched the sunrise from the warmth of our sleeping bags.

The hikers returned and said it was lovely, but so so cold and super hard. We ate the cereal and soy milk provided and then Hollie and I were instructed to leave base camp earlier than the others due to Hollie being unwell. Hollie felt better today so she was able to appreciate the scenery more.

As we walked downhill, I started to realise what a strain this was to my knees. I decided to run some of the way when possible to get it over with, because it hurt less than going slow. This wasn’t possible the whole way as by the time I got closed to the bottom, my legs were shaky and my knees felt like someone was twisting bolts into them. Is there a way that I can sign up to get a knee replacement now, so that when it’s really bad, I’ll be top of the list?! Not everyone’s knee’s hurt BTW – I get bad knees after too much leg use… mainly festivals, and anything hilly… especially a festival on a hill.

SO YEAH, WE MADE IT!

At the bottom I collapsed onto the floor, bag as a pillow and laid there until our shuttle came to take us back to Antigua.

In Antigua Hollie and I had another hike to find this vegan restaurant that we had planned to go to for pizza. This was hands down the tastiest, juiciest pizza. We then got the bus back to Vero’s had a shower, and sunk into bed and I watched the Netflix documentary about the volcano in New Zealand that erupted. Mission complete, over and outtttt!