The Tallest People in Central America

We were a little miserable...
Admiring the view...


Looking into oblivion...

Tallest people in Central America!!

Me against the sun.

The crater of the volcano!

Another volcano behind us and the sun casting a shadow.

Here comes the sun....

The sun is slowly coming out...

All the volcanos in the distance and one erupting!

Waiting for the sun to rise freeezzing!

Above the clouds!!

Chuck and his huge bag!

The group walking towards the volcano.... through the clouds....

So after leaving my site, we made our way to the nearest city called Quetzaltenango or Xela (sheyla) for short. We treated ourselves to Mcdonalds and I don't think we ever had better service ever at a McDonalds! They pumped your ketchup for you, pre-bussed tables, running in and out of the bathrooms making sure they were clean... all American McDonalds were put to shame. I think Chuck was even looking for future Brio staff :)

The next morning we headed to San Marcos to hike Valcano Tajumulco! The tallest peak in Central America! It was definitely a difficult hike. Carrying what felt like 100 pound bags for 4 hours to base camp. Then settting up camp in freezing cold weather. To say we had a good night sleep would be like saying eating a whole pint of Haagen Dazs was healthy for you. First it was freezing, and during the night condensation formed inside the tent, so if you moved you would get splashed in the face with water... ugh, it sucked. So we all woke up at 4am to finish the rest of the hike in pitch black darkness. When we got out of our tents and looked up at the sky, wow.... I have never seen so many brilliant stars in my life! It was so amazingly beautiful!! When we got to the top it was freezing and we all waited for the sun to rise. No words can describe how amazing the view was. You really felt like you were on top of the world. Unfortunately I didn't charge my camera battery, I actually left the battery charger at my host family's house, so I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted. But when the sun started to rise, it was amazing....

After the hike we headed back to Antigua and then Chuck left that Wednesday.... :( Overall, the trip was amazing and I'm so glad Chuck was able to come and visit me!!