My cousin, Cindy, texted me asking "wanna go to Guatemala"? Not one to say no to a new destination, I answered "yes" immediately. Cindy was returning to the country where she and her husband adopted their son, Luke, 14 years earlier. Curious about his culture, Luke expressed interest in seeing his birth home and learning the language. I flew in from San Diego. Cindy and Luke arrived from Philadelphia. We met at the Guatemala City airport. The spectacular view before landing was of two volcanos. I was going to hike a volcano the next day, just not one of those. Pacaya was our volcano . Cindy heard it was a fun hike and booked a guide for the three of us. She's correct, it was a blast! We eagerly hiked Guatemala's 8,737 foot beast. Lush trees & shrubs lined the ascending ash covered the path. At the top the landscape was only volcanic rock. Pacaya last erupted in March, 2014. We saw a few puffs of smoke waft from the crater. Guides must accompany those climbing the behemoth. That's a good thing. I can't say enough how kind the Guatemalan people have been. Sunday's Pacaya volcano hike was our inauguration to the patient, sweet locals. Our guides, Wilbur and Erwin, have summited the peak more than 1,700 times. Yet, they walked at a snails pace beside us tres Americanos as we huffed our way through the thin air, all the while telling us about the surrounding flora and their culture. Halfway to the top was a fruit stand. For one Quetzal (13 cents) a woman peeled an orange, cut it in half, and sprinkled it with crushed, toasted pumpkin seeds. SO delicious! She and her family carry the produce to the hut every day! We were surprised at how many
My cousin, Cindy, texted me asking “wanna go to Guatemala”? Not one to say no to a new destination, I answered “yes” immediately. Cindy was returning to the country where she and her husband adopted their son, Luke, 14 years earlier. Curious about his culture, Luke expressed interest in seeing his birth home and learning
