Well today starts our long and adventurous weekend! We woke up early to have the bus pick us up to first head towards the volcano Pacaya. The drive was about an hour or so and from there we had a guide take us to the top. The total distance we hiked was about 5 kilometers, but the altitude changes and steep gradient definitely made the trek more challenging. Some people even took horses, which I thought was not nearly as cool as walking up the entire thing. Once at the top the view was absolutely incredibly. I certainly can't say I've ever encountered a view quite like that in my life. I thought it was only fair to take some time to just soak in the view and where we were and I'm certainly glad I did that because I think it enhanced my experience even more. We finished our lunch and then made the trek down to the bottom of the volcano, which was definitely easier than the way up, but by no means a walk in the park. We then got on the bus and headed towards the city of Montericco and the black sand beach that came with it. Most of us were exhuasted by the time we got on the bus so we slept through our ride there and arrived at the beach and our hotel. What I did realize was that this town was rather impoverished to say the least and that the beach was probably the most beautiful aspect of the town. We all settled in, got into the pool and then headed to dinner afterwards. Once back from dinner the majority of the group hung out and really got even closer to each other. We even headed to the beach at night, which was yet again, another absolutely beautiful scenic view. I had to take a moment by myself to reflect and really appreciate al the natural beauty I had absorbed today. By around 2am we finally concluded our longest day yet.
A picture from the top of the Pacaya Volcano