The Night Sky
The ground was vibrating below me, just as I was easing into a comfortable slumber following a long day of hiking. In my disoriented state, I slowly unzipped the door of my tent and looked out into the vast darkness that suddenly enveloped me. The ground rumbled again and again, when suddenly a vibrant explosion of yellows, reds, and oranges painted the ebony canvas ahead of me.
I stepped off my plane in Guatemala City prepared to embark on a new adventure. I would be living in Antigua, a colonial city surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, while teaching at a rural school in a nearby village. During my sojourn, I was eager to learn Spanish and to acquaint myself with a country recovering from a dark period of persecution against indigenous populations. I spent weekdays tutoring, teaching and studying. My weekends were consumed with exploring the colourful landscapes of Guatemala – the volcanic sand beach towns sprinkled along the pacific coast, the rainforest with natural turquoise pools, the sites of ancient Mayan ruins, the traditional Indigenous villages buried in the mountains, the glistening waterfalls tucked away in the jungle, and the plentiful volcanoes towering into the sky.
It was my first time laying eyes on a physical volcano, let alone twin volcanoes, and the novelty will most certainly never wear off. “Volcan de Fuego,” which is tremendously active, stands alongside “Volcan de Acatenango,” which in contrast, has been dormant for thousands of years. There are 29 volcanoes in Guatemala, and there are several more in the neighbouring countries of Central America. They vary in size, shape and activity. Over the past few years, Fuego has erupted often and a number of locals had to be evacuated from their homes as a result.
My friend Igor, a native Guatemalan, proposed that we hike up the volcano and sleep on the top crater since we had a few days off work and access to the camping equipment. I was immediately captivated by his suggestion, having freshly developed a mild obsession with volcanoes. Consequently, I readily accepted his offer, despite recent robberies and violent activities reported by tourists who had done a similar trip through an outdoor adventure company in Antigua. The Guatemalans did not seem deterred by the violence, and thus, I was comforted by their confidence. In my eyes, it was a unique opportunity to camp on a volcano with a knowledgeable local friend to guide the way. We had no problems in the end.
The never-ending hike to the top lasted seven hours; the sun was beaming down on me resulting in sweat pouring out of my skin. My walk was equally as motivating as the notion of arriving to my destination – young boys were running past me with portable radios listening to a soccer match, I learned Guatemalan songs to sing along with hikers, and I had a bite of a chocolate bar on every break to keep my energy up. On the climb, I was oblivious that Mother Nature was going to give me one of the most exciting presents in my life in only a few short hours.
I was expecting to arrive at the top and look deep down into a hole with lava splashing at the bottom. Of course, the images in my mind were taken from films, and in reality, the volcano looked like nothing more than a mountain where lava did, at one time, exist. A path led the way from the bottom to the top, decorated with a few trees for shade. Below, I could see little villages and greenery. Fuego was in view, and another volcano was nearby. The crater was filled with dark soil and rocks; we found a flat place to set up camp as the sun bid us goodnight after a long climb up into the clouds.
The ground trembled, again and again and again. I was confused before I had the time to be scared. Once I stared out into the darkness, the sky exploded with colour – lava was flying through the air as I stuck my head out of my tent. It happened again, more colour splashing through the night. This kept happening until the sun woke the world up.
A smile came across my face, and I realised that I am one of the lucky ones.
