Hey adventurers! I just got back from an incredible trip to Guatemala, and I have to share my experience hiking Fuego and Acatenango volcanoes. It was tough, but seeing a volcano erupt was absolutely worth it.

My journey began in Antigua, a lively city in Guatemala. It was full of travelers, all ready for their own adventures. I was there to hike two volcanoes, Fuego and Acatenango.

Everyone was buzzing with excitement to see an active volcano. We hopped into a bumpy van and headed to the start of our hike.

Beautiful Antigua’s Central Square. The yellow arches suit the city really well.

The first part of the hike was easy. We walked through farms with corn and coffee plants, a nice, gentle start to a long walk. This is where I started to get excited, it was a beautiful beginning to a challenging trip. Then, the path started to go up. It got harder and harder. The air felt thinner, and we entered a forest with lots of mossy trees. We had to work hard to keep going. We stopped to catch our breath and look at the view. The valley looked smaller and smaller as we climbed. We could see another big volcano, Agua, in the distance, with clouds around the top. We finally reached to camp base with shelters built on a hill. The view was amazing! We were high up, and Fuego was visible, though the sky was gray and cloudy.

Picture taken with the group before our intense hike starts.

Small glimpse of Volcano before it got shrouded by clouds.

As the sun went down, we caught only a small, fleeting glimpse of Fuego through the thick, overcast sky. Then, Fuego blew up! We heard a loud bang and saw fire, even though it was cloudy.

Later, at night, we saw Fuego erupt through the clouds. Then, the clouds went away, and we saw it erupt under the stars. We sat around a fire all night, watching Fuego erupt. It kept happening, and it was amazing to see. I felt like I was part of something really big. It was hard to sleep because I was so excited and because of the loud noises from the volcano. At 3 a.m., our guide woke us up. We put on our warmest clothes and turned on our headlamps. We walked in the dark to get closer to Fuego. The path was rocky and steep, and it was very cold. We kept walking, and the sky started to get lighter. We got to the top of a hill, and we could see Fuego in the morning light.

The sunrise was beautiful! The sky turned orange and pink. Fuego kept blowing up. We just stood there and watched. It was a perfect moment. It was very cold, but we didn’t care.

We took pictures to remember it. After watching the sunrise, we walked back to our base camp. We were all happy and excited.

We took a group picture. Then, our guide gave us banana bread with jelly, and hot coffee. It was so good after being so cold! Walking back down was long, but we could see everything in the daylight. We walked through the forest, and the sun shone through the trees. We saw birds and bugs, and we heard the sounds of nature. As we went down, it got warmer, and we took off our jackets. We got back to the start of the walk, tired but happy. It was a hard walk, but it was amazing. I saw the power of nature, and I did something really challenging.

This hike was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope my story inspires you to have your own adventures and share them with the world!