So with a basic understanding of Spanish, we left Xela to begin our travels. However, before we departed town we climbed a volcano closeby called Santa Maria. Leaving shortly after midnight we arrived at the summit before sunrise to find cows occupying the top of the peak. How they got there are how they will get down is still a mystery.
Besides the sunrise and views of the other volcanoes in the distance rising above the floor of clouds, another highlight was seeing the highly active neighboring volcano Santiaguito erupt twice.
We then headed to Lago Atitlan which is a couple hours to the east. Surrounded by volcanos (which we saw atop Santa Maria), the lake itself was created by a massive eruption creating a caldera and displacing ash as far as Florida and Ecuador. With towns and villages around the lake, some accessed only by boat, it was a nice place to kick off our Guatmalan sights.
Photos and Video:
Click the play button here for a slideshow of Santa Maria which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.
Besides the sunrise and views of the other volcanoes in the distance rising above the floor of clouds, another highlight was seeing the highly active neighboring volcano Santiaguito erupt twice.
We then headed to Lago Atitlan which is a couple hours to the east. Surrounded by volcanos (which we saw atop Santa Maria), the lake itself was created by a massive eruption creating a caldera and displacing ash as far as Florida and Ecuador. With towns and villages around the lake, some accessed only by boat, it was a nice place to kick off our Guatmalan sights.
Photos and Video:
Click the play button here for a slideshow of Santa Maria which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.
Eruption of Santiaguito at 8x speed:
Timelapse of sunrise:
Click the play button here for a slideshow of Lago Atitlan which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.
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