Visiting Vulcan Fuego

One of my favorite experiences in Guatemala was hiking up Vulcan Fuego. I spent so much of the time looking up at the volcanoes and across the surrounding landscape that I forgot to take pictures of the ascent.

The following morning I headed back toward the volcano while it was still twilight. As the sky slowly brightened, the conditions became increasingly intense. Powerful winds swept across the exposed terrain, making it difficult to continue higher.

We continued upward as far as we safely could, but eventually the wind made the decision for us. There was no reason to push farther in those conditions. Even without reaching the highest point we had hoped for, being high on the volcano in the early morning, with the wind roaring around us and the surrounding mountains emerging in the growing light, was an amazing experience.

I came away with surprisingly few photographs from the hike, but it was one of those times when I was more interested in watching what was happening around me than documenting every part of it. The combination of the volcanoes, sunrise, enormous views, and extreme winds made the morning one of my most memorable experiences in Guatemala.