Watching a Volcano Erupt

Today, we are going on a journey to watch a volcano erupt all night long. The volcano is called Volcán de Fuego and it is visible from Acatenango Volcano next door.

Now this takes place in Guatemala, a fabulous experience that I was very lucky to do at the end of last year, just before Christmas last year. Now, when I did it, I was — I was pretty scared to be honest, especially because last year, you may remember there was a volcano in New Zealand that exploded with tourists inside it. And there’s some pretty dramatic footage of tourists with their cameras walking into the volcano, as it starts shooting out ash and lava, and unfortunately kills the people who were in there. That was White Island, off the coast of New Zealand.

So, I had some apprehension going on this volcano hike in Guatemala, but it had been on my bucket list for — for as long as I can ever remember — to see a volcano erupting, to see the lava spew out, to see the power come up from the earth and to witness that, to feel what it would be like.

And so I set off with a group, hiking on Acatenango. Acatenango Volcano is in Guatemala, it’s close to Guatemala’s wonderful lake Lake Atitlán, and you can do the tour from the town of Antiga.

When you see the volcano from below, you think, okay, this is going to be a tough hike. And then you set off and the ash is so deep. So you’re walking on this ash, like it absolutely destroys your shoes. You’re walking on this ash and — it is a really solid hiking. It was seven, eight hours, walking up this volcano, really steep, about 1500 meters in altitude gain going up, up, up. And then camping on the edge of this volcano, in some rather simple tents really, with a group of people.

After the Sun Goes Down

And what was great is that we were not camping on the volcano that has exploded. The idea is that you hike up Acatenango volcano, and just across from Acatenango is Volcán de Fuego.

It is one of the most active volcanoes on earth. And it erupts 300 to 500 times every single day.

Now, we arrived in the light and you could hear this guttural noise. You know, it was like, I was on the top of the world and something was trying to push me up. And there were these plumes of smoke coming up, and it was impressive. And from where we were, it was possible to see some of the debris shooting into the air.

And then it really got good when the sun went down. Because when the sun went down, all those explosions, all that fiery red magma, erupting from the crater and spilling down its sides, that was visible at night.

You Have to Be There

During the day, well, it blended into the sun and the sky really, but at night there were these incredible explosions with lava going everywhere. And these red trails coming down Fuego’s erupting cone, a really spectacular show to watch.

And something that’s actually almost impossible to catch on camera because — you think it sounds a lot, 500 times a day that this volcano is going to explode, but just try. I tried for 20 minutes, I was sat there with my camera, just ready, poised. As soon as it explodes, I’m going to get it.

And then I turned around and I already missed it. You have to be there. You have to be there watching it.

And then there was this sudden two seconds of red, fiery brilliance as this volcano exploded and the kind of oohs and aahs that accompanied it, by the other people I was trekking with.

The next morning, we hiked the final bit to the summit of Acatenango, to watch the sunrise and continue to see the Fuego’s erupting cone.

Sunrise at 4000 Metres

Beautiful sunrise, absolutely freezing. Incredibly cold up there, almost 4,000 metres high, watching the sun come up, and then the sun slowly taking over the light from the volcano.

The people I did it with had a fabulous little challenge as well. If you could run all the way around Acatenango Volcano’s summit 4,000 meters above sea level, you got a t-shirt. And not content with the t-shirts, they said, if you can run it in the fastest time of the year, you can get a trip for free, and you can go again. So I was like, I’m going to try that. And I made about halfway around and collapsed.

And it was a long slug down. Acatenango volcano overnight hike is not — I wouldn’t really recommend it for someone who’s never been hiking, someone who is unfit.

Getting up is pretty tricky, but you’ve got the reward that’s coming. Getting down is really, really tough on the knees. Really tough on your shoes, as you kind of slide through all the volcanic ash that’s basically the trail.

But overall, an incredibly rewarding experience, my highlight of being in Guatemala, something — I’m just so happy that I could take something like that off my bucket list.