Day Ten - Día del Volcán (2/6)

Satsumas.

Not a real bird.

 

 

The view.

The tables.

The fruit.

The jelly and butter.

The frittata.

 

The French toast (pan francés).

 

Another room.  Not ours

Love the brick detail exposed in this column.

 

At the jade store.

Everyone has the same look of surprise and fatigue.

No Jim Carrey mask here.

 

 Magic Transformation in Metamorphic Rock

When the solid rock in the earth’s crust is brought almost to its melting point, it becomes unstable and many of its minerals recrystallize without melting. The result is a new, metamorphic type of rock and a variety of new gemstones.

 

 

Metamorphism occurs in two ways:  by contact, with a tongue of molten rock intrudes into solid rock layers; or throughout a large region when portions of the crust are folded and distorted by the movement of tectonic plates, the compression producing the requisite heat and pressure.

Metamorphism turns sandstone into a granular rock called quartzite, and shell into a fine-grained slate called hornfels.  And in some cases impurities in the rock recrystallize to form new gems.  For example, as metamorphism cooks limestone, changing into marble, aluminum in the limestone may recrystallize with silica to form rubies or sapphires.

 

Antique map.  Fun, because "Antique" in Spanish is . . . ANTIGUA!

Candies!

 

We stopped for snacks and this dog wanted a SNACK of Rafa!

Rafa didn't understand why this amused me.  I guess lines painted on GRAVEL are common in Central America.

 

View of the City en route to the volcano.

Our guide (Brenda), me, Rafa and our walking stick seller.  I didn't realize that she was going to be our guide, note her attire, or I would have insisted that she get closer . . .

 

 

Sort of a "final warning."  This is going to get hairy.

 

Left to right, these next three were intended to be a panorama.

 

 

 

Volcán de Agua, Volcán Acatenango and Volcán de Fuego.

 

You are here.

 

Volcan de Fuego -- October 1974 Eruption.

 

Note the "field" of cooled lava which remains from the most recent eruption in 2010.  Over 800 people lost their homes.

Well, not the MOST recent.  We were hiking it during the MOST recent eruption.

 

All of the usual disclaimers:  the main threats that may arise are:  gas emanations (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen and other gasses hazardous to health), falling ash and ballistic blocks, lava flows and debris avalanche, flows of mud and volcanic debris.

 

 

 

 

Further safety tip from Brenda:  "Don't step too far to the right.  It's still soft and will pull you under."

Looks so calm.

 

The good thing about picking up rock samples on a volcano is, they don't weigh much!

 

Yep!  It's a gift shop!

 

Chillin'.

 

Lava Store is a humble shop that sells jewelry and crafts made by local artisans.

 

On May 27, 2010, Pacaya had its largest eruption ever, destroying many homes in the villages below.

After this catastrophic eruption, two young men with Guatemalan roots were inspired to take action. David Flores, a California native of Guatemalan descent, and Fernando De Leon, born and raised in Guatemala but working in Los Angeles, had recently left their Southern Californian careers in the hospitality and entertainment industries in search of building a more meaningful life in Guatemala.

 

“We were in search of more purpose in our lives,” David says. “We wanted to find a way to give back to the world.”

 

When they learned of the destruction caused by the volcano, David and Fernando came up with the idea of founding Mayan Rebirth, a jewelry collection that benefits the local people near Pacaya. The jewelry line crafts Mayan symbols using lava ash and coconut shells.

 

“We decided to turn this devastating act of nature into a constructive circumstance,” the founders wrote on their website. “We needed to find a way to generate resources to further assist the families who lost their homes. This is how our idea came into fruition.”

 

 

As humans we may not have the force of a volcano, but we do have the power to turn negative circumstances into something beautiful, like the soft gray of a volcano etched onto a coconut shell necklace.

 

“Remember that with everything inside yourself you can do something about the things that threaten to destroy you and turn it into something positive,” says David.

To support the work of Mayan Rebirth online, visit http://mayanrebirth.com.

 

 I PROMISE that we were still on Earth when these photos were taken.

Still on Earth.

 

This way to the Visitor's Center.

I have to just let these photos speak for themselves.

 

 

If you're going to hike UP a volcano, you should SKI down.

Rebirth.