Ruined Adventures
New member
What can I say, we know how to F stuff up :boink:
Did I forget to mention that we have a very active volcano in our backyard?
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Driving from Austin to Argentina in a 1G 4runner
- Thread starter Ruined Adventures
- Start date
Did I forget to mention that we have a very active volcano in our backyard?
boondoggle
Member
Go toss some fish and fruit in the volcano as a sacrifice. That should hold you over for another 1000 miles or so. 
Ruined Adventures
New member
A smoke genie and fairy dust...gave birth to electrical gremlins?
Alright, my current theory is that the voltage regulator was the cause of these problems. In my research I've found a few other people who've either power-washed their engine or gone a little too deep in water crossings, then have diodes act up or voltage regulators crap out. This caused the alternator to uncontrollably overcharge, which possibly fried the ECU (or all my electronics), or caused a short by arcing a weak point in my wiring. These bumpy roads have certainly caused their toll...
I did notice this. There was a fusible link that I couldn't tell was melted or intact because the sight-glass was cloudy. I tried to pull it out and the contacts stayed in...it almost appeared like one contact had the plastic melted around it. The weird thing is that this is supposedly the spot where a diesel truck has a fusible link for the glow plugs (panel says "GLOW AM-1"). Do you suppose someone just jammed a spare fusible link in that spot? It's been like that for years, and I doubt it has anything to do with my issues, but it still made me scratch my head.
Unfortunately this short has pointed out how crappy of a job the alarm installer did...he actually zip-tied most of the wiring to the parking brake, which is completely idiotic considering that it is a constantly moving part.
I've found out the hard way that the brake light is not only a warning sign for the alternator not adequately charging, but it's also a sign of overcharging.
At first I didn't understand why both my batteries are still around 12.4 volts, even though I drove for another ten minutes after the poltergeist, plus I've bump started it a half dozen times since the poltergeist episode, while the alternator is putting out less than .5 volts. The batteries were just that overcharged, remember I said I saw the cheapo voltmeter reading 24v! Luckily my batteries are both Odyssey PC1200 (dry cell), so there were no explosive results, but I imagine the excessive charging was not easy on their lifespan. As long as they make it to Argentina.
Yesterday I was doing some wire tracing and I'm a little puzzled. So far I've found no chafing points or any signs of singed wiring or worn insulation. In regards to the smoke genie that came from the tilt column, I've realized that the little puff of smoke could have actually come from the alternator (or anywhere under the hood), and traveled thru the tube that the steering shaft travels thru the firewall. I've found no evidence of the smoke genie's origin. Although I've noticed there's gold fairy dust all over my turn signal/combo switch (recently the brights stopped functioning normally due to a poor contact, this is fairly common and the 2nd time I've had to clean the contacts).
I traced the ignition wire from it's harness and found that it has over 12v all the way to the soldered points behind the ignition cylinder (solid brown wire). When I turn the key, I can hear the continuous duty solenoid (batt. isolator) click like normal, but no other sign of life asides from that. Everything that's powered by the fuse panel under the hood is fine, along with everything powered by the aux battery.
I can start the engine by doing the starter/screwdriver trick, and it runs just fine, so this tells me the computer is at least half-alive. Of course with the computer unplugged it's dead in the water. So there's still a possibility that the ECU is a culprit.
I'm pulling the alternator to rebuild it. I had the foresight to bring the alt. brush assembly on this trip (most common piece to fail on the alt.), but of course I didn't bring the IC regulator :cry2:. Luckily there's an electromechanico two blocks away who rebuilds alternators and I'm praying he can replace that. If not I'll be headed to Chimaltenango or Guatemala City to find a replacement. If I head that way, I'll take the ECU with me to test/replace. After the alternator is good, I may drive the 4runner to a nearby mechanic who speaks english and get a little help tracing down this short. I'm no good with wire chasing and I'm too distracted right now with Guatemala's Independance day! :drink:
It certainly could be worse. We're camping for free (with cold showers) and we're in an awesome city. The other night we had a great view from our camp, showing the lava explosions from Volcan Fuego's recent activity. That same night there was also fireworks and lightning at the same time...pretty memorable stuff.
So yes, my current theory is that the voltage regulator allowed the alternator to overcharge, which gave the smoke genie motivation to impregnate the switch combo fairy, who gave birth to an electrical gremlin! Makes sense, right?
Alright, my current theory is that the voltage regulator was the cause of these problems. In my research I've found a few other people who've either power-washed their engine or gone a little too deep in water crossings, then have diodes act up or voltage regulators crap out. This caused the alternator to uncontrollably overcharge, which possibly fried the ECU (or all my electronics), or caused a short by arcing a weak point in my wiring. These bumpy roads have certainly caused their toll...
I did notice this. There was a fusible link that I couldn't tell was melted or intact because the sight-glass was cloudy. I tried to pull it out and the contacts stayed in...it almost appeared like one contact had the plastic melted around it. The weird thing is that this is supposedly the spot where a diesel truck has a fusible link for the glow plugs (panel says "GLOW AM-1"). Do you suppose someone just jammed a spare fusible link in that spot? It's been like that for years, and I doubt it has anything to do with my issues, but it still made me scratch my head.
Unfortunately this short has pointed out how crappy of a job the alarm installer did...he actually zip-tied most of the wiring to the parking brake, which is completely idiotic considering that it is a constantly moving part.
I've found out the hard way that the brake light is not only a warning sign for the alternator not adequately charging, but it's also a sign of overcharging.
At first I didn't understand why both my batteries are still around 12.4 volts, even though I drove for another ten minutes after the poltergeist, plus I've bump started it a half dozen times since the poltergeist episode, while the alternator is putting out less than .5 volts. The batteries were just that overcharged, remember I said I saw the cheapo voltmeter reading 24v! Luckily my batteries are both Odyssey PC1200 (dry cell), so there were no explosive results, but I imagine the excessive charging was not easy on their lifespan. As long as they make it to Argentina.
By the way, did you know there's two fuses and a relay behind your climate controls & glove box?
Yesterday I was doing some wire tracing and I'm a little puzzled. So far I've found no chafing points or any signs of singed wiring or worn insulation. In regards to the smoke genie that came from the tilt column, I've realized that the little puff of smoke could have actually come from the alternator (or anywhere under the hood), and traveled thru the tube that the steering shaft travels thru the firewall. I've found no evidence of the smoke genie's origin. Although I've noticed there's gold fairy dust all over my turn signal/combo switch (recently the brights stopped functioning normally due to a poor contact, this is fairly common and the 2nd time I've had to clean the contacts).
I traced the ignition wire from it's harness and found that it has over 12v all the way to the soldered points behind the ignition cylinder (solid brown wire). When I turn the key, I can hear the continuous duty solenoid (batt. isolator) click like normal, but no other sign of life asides from that. Everything that's powered by the fuse panel under the hood is fine, along with everything powered by the aux battery.
I can start the engine by doing the starter/screwdriver trick, and it runs just fine, so this tells me the computer is at least half-alive. Of course with the computer unplugged it's dead in the water. So there's still a possibility that the ECU is a culprit.
I'm pulling the alternator to rebuild it. I had the foresight to bring the alt. brush assembly on this trip (most common piece to fail on the alt.), but of course I didn't bring the IC regulator :cry2:. Luckily there's an electromechanico two blocks away who rebuilds alternators and I'm praying he can replace that. If not I'll be headed to Chimaltenango or Guatemala City to find a replacement. If I head that way, I'll take the ECU with me to test/replace. After the alternator is good, I may drive the 4runner to a nearby mechanic who speaks english and get a little help tracing down this short. I'm no good with wire chasing and I'm too distracted right now with Guatemala's Independance day! :drink:
It certainly could be worse. We're camping for free (with cold showers) and we're in an awesome city. The other night we had a great view from our camp, showing the lava explosions from Volcan Fuego's recent activity. That same night there was also fireworks and lightning at the same time...pretty memorable stuff.
So yes, my current theory is that the voltage regulator allowed the alternator to overcharge, which gave the smoke genie motivation to impregnate the switch combo fairy, who gave birth to an electrical gremlin! Makes sense, right?
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Ruined Adventures
New member
Here's a little post that Shannon wrote while I'm dealing with our electrical issues...
Even though we had been engaged for a year, we didn't actually decide where our wedding was going to be until about three months before the actual event. After seeing photographs of Lake Atitlan and getting confirmation from several other about how amazing the lake was, the decision was made to have our wedding there.
We decided to keep the wedding to family and invited only a few of our closest friends. We wanted to keep things as simple as possible. We were originally planning to have our wedding alone, with no guests at all, so this was a stretch. Considering the short notice, we figured ten, maybe fifteen people would commit to the occasion. You can imagine our surprise when thirty-one loved ones RSVP'd.
Our good friend Katie recommended staying in San Marcos La Laguna at Hotel Aaculaax. At Aaculaax we made friends with the owner Lily, who recommended talking to her friend Ana who happens to be a wedding planner and owns a hotel in Santa Cruz La Laguna.
Our honeymoon suite at Hotel Aaculaax...only a slight adjustment from sleeping in the 4Runner.
The honeymoon suite's balcony at Hotel Aaculaax.
Wedding planner? No thanks, sounds expensive and you know wedding planners…they always go over the top. That's what I thought anyway. Brenton and I met with Ana and her assistant Karen at Hotel Isla Verde, a short fifteen minute lancha ride from San Marcos.
After talking with Ana and Karen for less than an hour, I was proven wrong. Ana and Karen were both down-to-earth and didn't try to make our wedding anything we didn't want it to be. Not to mention, their whole business is based on being eco-friendly, which is something we appreciated. We waited about a day for word on what the total cost would be and again we were pleasantly surprised. For what they were quoting us, we didn’t feel like we could do it on our own for any less. It wasn't long after that we decided to do our wedding at Hotel Isla Verde.
Our family all arrived within a couple of days of each other and we spent the first few days exploring the beautiful city of Antigua. On the third of August, we all piled into a bus and made the three and a half hour drive to San Marcos La Laguna on Lake Atitlan.
The first night we enjoyed a wonderful meal and drinks at Fe Restaurant. We called it our "non-rehearsal dinner" since we didn't plan on actually rehearsing anything. Half of our family stayed with Brenton and I at Hotel Aaculaax, the other half stayed about fifteen minutes down the main road at Pasaj-Cap. Both places were wonderful, beautiful, and our hosts were amazing.
The first course from our amazing dinner at Fe Restaurant.
...and of course we had to wash down that incredible dinner.
The breathtaking view from Pasaj Cap, where we had a bbq together. This is also a great place to camp if you find ever find yourself in San Marcos La Laguna.
The next day, the fourth of August, we headed over to Santa Cruz in lanchas. I headed over a couple of hours earlier to get ready. Brenton and the rest of our guests came over in two different boats. As people arrived they enjoyed the incredible view and drinks from Hotel Isla Verde. We decided the ceremony would start at four o'clock, though I didn't actually come down until four-thirty. That's not too bad right? Brides are supposed to make a fashionably late entrance.
We married on the dock, surrounded by our family, with "the most beautiful lake in the world" as our backdrop. Amazingly, we didn't get rained on either. Remember, we chose to get married in Guatemala, in the rainy season, in the late afternoon. That's prime time for a downpour.
Exchanging vows.
Our officiant has a problem with pacing, especially when public speaking.
Did I mention my now brother-in-law was our officiant? We couldn't think of a better person to do it. As Brenton mentioned in the previous post, his sister Marissa, her husband Jay, and our nephew Cooper came down a couple of weeks before everyone else so we could spend some time traveling a bit with them. It was at this point when we asked Jay to officiate. We didn't give him much time, so we're grateful he agreed.
Note the Mayan girls enjoying the show through the windows.
Brenton and I decided to write our own vows and we also wanted Jay's part to be unique and personal. We looked up traditional vows and found some aspects that we liked, gave them to Jay, and told him to go wild. You could tell that Jay had poured his heart and soul into the role, and we couldn't have been happier with our choice to have him as our officiant.
You may kiss the bride!
Our Wedding Day in Guatemala
Even though we had been engaged for a year, we didn't actually decide where our wedding was going to be until about three months before the actual event. After seeing photographs of Lake Atitlan and getting confirmation from several other about how amazing the lake was, the decision was made to have our wedding there.
We decided to keep the wedding to family and invited only a few of our closest friends. We wanted to keep things as simple as possible. We were originally planning to have our wedding alone, with no guests at all, so this was a stretch. Considering the short notice, we figured ten, maybe fifteen people would commit to the occasion. You can imagine our surprise when thirty-one loved ones RSVP'd.
Our good friend Katie recommended staying in San Marcos La Laguna at Hotel Aaculaax. At Aaculaax we made friends with the owner Lily, who recommended talking to her friend Ana who happens to be a wedding planner and owns a hotel in Santa Cruz La Laguna.
Our honeymoon suite at Hotel Aaculaax...only a slight adjustment from sleeping in the 4Runner.
The honeymoon suite's balcony at Hotel Aaculaax.
Wedding planner? No thanks, sounds expensive and you know wedding planners…they always go over the top. That's what I thought anyway. Brenton and I met with Ana and her assistant Karen at Hotel Isla Verde, a short fifteen minute lancha ride from San Marcos.
After talking with Ana and Karen for less than an hour, I was proven wrong. Ana and Karen were both down-to-earth and didn't try to make our wedding anything we didn't want it to be. Not to mention, their whole business is based on being eco-friendly, which is something we appreciated. We waited about a day for word on what the total cost would be and again we were pleasantly surprised. For what they were quoting us, we didn’t feel like we could do it on our own for any less. It wasn't long after that we decided to do our wedding at Hotel Isla Verde.
Our family all arrived within a couple of days of each other and we spent the first few days exploring the beautiful city of Antigua. On the third of August, we all piled into a bus and made the three and a half hour drive to San Marcos La Laguna on Lake Atitlan.
The first night we enjoyed a wonderful meal and drinks at Fe Restaurant. We called it our "non-rehearsal dinner" since we didn't plan on actually rehearsing anything. Half of our family stayed with Brenton and I at Hotel Aaculaax, the other half stayed about fifteen minutes down the main road at Pasaj-Cap. Both places were wonderful, beautiful, and our hosts were amazing.
The first course from our amazing dinner at Fe Restaurant.
...and of course we had to wash down that incredible dinner.
The breathtaking view from Pasaj Cap, where we had a bbq together. This is also a great place to camp if you find ever find yourself in San Marcos La Laguna.
The next day, the fourth of August, we headed over to Santa Cruz in lanchas. I headed over a couple of hours earlier to get ready. Brenton and the rest of our guests came over in two different boats. As people arrived they enjoyed the incredible view and drinks from Hotel Isla Verde. We decided the ceremony would start at four o'clock, though I didn't actually come down until four-thirty. That's not too bad right? Brides are supposed to make a fashionably late entrance.
We married on the dock, surrounded by our family, with "the most beautiful lake in the world" as our backdrop. Amazingly, we didn't get rained on either. Remember, we chose to get married in Guatemala, in the rainy season, in the late afternoon. That's prime time for a downpour.
Exchanging vows.
Our officiant has a problem with pacing, especially when public speaking.
Did I mention my now brother-in-law was our officiant? We couldn't think of a better person to do it. As Brenton mentioned in the previous post, his sister Marissa, her husband Jay, and our nephew Cooper came down a couple of weeks before everyone else so we could spend some time traveling a bit with them. It was at this point when we asked Jay to officiate. We didn't give him much time, so we're grateful he agreed.
Note the Mayan girls enjoying the show through the windows.
Brenton and I decided to write our own vows and we also wanted Jay's part to be unique and personal. We looked up traditional vows and found some aspects that we liked, gave them to Jay, and told him to go wild. You could tell that Jay had poured his heart and soul into the role, and we couldn't have been happier with our choice to have him as our officiant.
You may kiss the bride!
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Ruined Adventures
New member
After the ceremony we enjoyed incredible food, dessert, and a fun night of dancing and spending time with the people we love. Our day was amazing and everything we could have wanted.
Things got a little emotional during the father-bride dance.
Since we were still on the lake, I surprised Brenton with a night at Hotel Isla Verde exactly one month after our wedding, on the fourth of September. Since tourist season is slowing down right now, we almost had the whole place to ourselves. We enjoyed a romantic dinner and slept in a comfy room with an amazing view of the lake.
A nice little surprise, the girls at Isla Verde pulled out all the stops for us...again!
We are so grateful to all of our family and friends who made it to our wedding and for all the wonderful people who helped to make it possible. We couldn't have asked for more.
Things got a little emotional during the father-bride dance.
Since we were still on the lake, I surprised Brenton with a night at Hotel Isla Verde exactly one month after our wedding, on the fourth of September. Since tourist season is slowing down right now, we almost had the whole place to ourselves. We enjoyed a romantic dinner and slept in a comfy room with an amazing view of the lake.
A nice little surprise, the girls at Isla Verde pulled out all the stops for us...again!
We are so grateful to all of our family and friends who made it to our wedding and for all the wonderful people who helped to make it possible. We couldn't have asked for more.
lovthistruck
New member
Awesome trip and great story! This is so cool! I am inspired!
Oh and Congratulations!
Oh and Congratulations!
Ruined Adventures
New member
Thanks guys, we appreciate the love. A 3rd gen 4runner is a great vehicle for the trip...there's actually quite a few Pan-Am travelers on the road now who are in 4runners:
Life Remotely in a '97 4runner
Home on the Highway in an '87 4runner
Capitol Southbound in a '95 4runner
Apollo's Journey in a 2000 4runner
Adventure the Americas in a '95 4runner (I think they've finished their trip recently)
Life Remotely in a '97 4runner
Home on the Highway in an '87 4runner
Capitol Southbound in a '95 4runner
Apollo's Journey in a 2000 4runner
Adventure the Americas in a '95 4runner (I think they've finished their trip recently)
chayos00
New member
This is a pretty awesome journey you and your lovely new bride are taking! I hope all goes well with the rest of your trip! Good luck finding out what the electrical gremlins are, wish I could be down there to help you out as I've worked electronics my whole working career, starting out as an aircraft electrician in the USAF working F-16's!
I'll be waiting for the diagnosis.
I'll be waiting for the diagnosis.
Ruined Adventures
New member
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Another month has passed along with another long period of silence on our end. We've since crossed several borders and it's hard to believe how much has happened since we left our little bubble of peace in Lake Atitlan. For the sake of consistency, our story will pick up where our last broadcast left off, but in regards to our 4Runner.
Of course, if you get impatient and once every month or two isn't enough for an update...you can keep closer tabs on us with Facebook.
Apparently when folks head south, once they get to Guatemala, the miles really begin to add up and it's typically time to replace a few things. Toothbrushes, book lists, maybe a timing chain. The 4Runner was starting to misfire terribly since we left for El Salvador and our wedding was quickly coming.
I decided now would be a good time to let someone else do the work and cross my fingers that the rig would be waiting for me after the wedding. Luckily, fellow travelers Home On The Highway and Capitol Southbound had already been in that boat, so we followed their recommendations for a mechanic in Guatemala City.
Driving in Guatemala City (or any capital south of the border) can be a little intimidating. Take the typical mishaps of driving in Latin America, Guatemala's lack of useful signs mixed with plenty of nauseous one-way boulevards, a notorious reputation for crime, and you've got a giant bowl of scary spaghetti to get lost in. The very thought of driving through Central America's largest city is enough to put any tough-guy Clint Eastwood into the fetal position, sucking his thumb. No problem though, we had been practicing for this…couldn't be worse than Mexico City right?
Even though I had studied several maps of the city and I already had the GPS dialed in for this little venture, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried for the drive to the mechanic's shop in Zona 8 (see: sketchy-ville). You see, my first time driving into the capital was to meet with my sister, brother-in-law, and my 4 month old nephew when they flew in for our little side-trip to El Salvador. Sure we got really lost before we up with them, but at least I had the best navigator in the world helping me thru every wrong turn (I'm referring to Shannon of course, not the GPS). Only this time I would be driving solo, while Shannon entertained the first of our guests who were starting to arrive in Antigua for our wedding.
Of course the 4Runner battled me every second of the drive. It was like dragging a spoiled child to the dentist to get all of their wisdom teeth pulled. Knowing fully well that we're too cheap for proper anesthesia, this was going to hurt, and the 4Runner was kicking and screaming the whole way in protest. I didn't even think that I would make it to the top of the first hill as I left Antigua…but like a broken horse, the 4Runner eventually submitted and miraculously dragged me all the way to Guatemala City in a fit. I was amazed when I realized that I didn't get lost in the city once, and I even made it in decent time, though I was hardly able to break 45mph the entire drive.
I met with Adrian of Krazy Kustoms, and I was glad that we had found him to work on our baby. Not only was he a nice guy, but he seemed passionate about his work. We chatted for a while and I got to know him, and I felt at ease as I handed him the keys to our home. So what do we do now? I suppose I just sit back and enjoy the fact that several friends and family have come together in Guatemala just for our little wedding. This should be no problem while some stranger manhandle's our little girl right? Right?
Another month has passed along with another long period of silence on our end. We've since crossed several borders and it's hard to believe how much has happened since we left our little bubble of peace in Lake Atitlan. For the sake of consistency, our story will pick up where our last broadcast left off, but in regards to our 4Runner.
Of course, if you get impatient and once every month or two isn't enough for an update...you can keep closer tabs on us with Facebook.
Apparently when folks head south, once they get to Guatemala, the miles really begin to add up and it's typically time to replace a few things. Toothbrushes, book lists, maybe a timing chain. The 4Runner was starting to misfire terribly since we left for El Salvador and our wedding was quickly coming.
I decided now would be a good time to let someone else do the work and cross my fingers that the rig would be waiting for me after the wedding. Luckily, fellow travelers Home On The Highway and Capitol Southbound had already been in that boat, so we followed their recommendations for a mechanic in Guatemala City.
Driving in Guatemala City (or any capital south of the border) can be a little intimidating. Take the typical mishaps of driving in Latin America, Guatemala's lack of useful signs mixed with plenty of nauseous one-way boulevards, a notorious reputation for crime, and you've got a giant bowl of scary spaghetti to get lost in. The very thought of driving through Central America's largest city is enough to put any tough-guy Clint Eastwood into the fetal position, sucking his thumb. No problem though, we had been practicing for this…couldn't be worse than Mexico City right?
Even though I had studied several maps of the city and I already had the GPS dialed in for this little venture, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried for the drive to the mechanic's shop in Zona 8 (see: sketchy-ville). You see, my first time driving into the capital was to meet with my sister, brother-in-law, and my 4 month old nephew when they flew in for our little side-trip to El Salvador. Sure we got really lost before we up with them, but at least I had the best navigator in the world helping me thru every wrong turn (I'm referring to Shannon of course, not the GPS). Only this time I would be driving solo, while Shannon entertained the first of our guests who were starting to arrive in Antigua for our wedding.
Of course the 4Runner battled me every second of the drive. It was like dragging a spoiled child to the dentist to get all of their wisdom teeth pulled. Knowing fully well that we're too cheap for proper anesthesia, this was going to hurt, and the 4Runner was kicking and screaming the whole way in protest. I didn't even think that I would make it to the top of the first hill as I left Antigua…but like a broken horse, the 4Runner eventually submitted and miraculously dragged me all the way to Guatemala City in a fit. I was amazed when I realized that I didn't get lost in the city once, and I even made it in decent time, though I was hardly able to break 45mph the entire drive.
I met with Adrian of Krazy Kustoms, and I was glad that we had found him to work on our baby. Not only was he a nice guy, but he seemed passionate about his work. We chatted for a while and I got to know him, and I felt at ease as I handed him the keys to our home. So what do we do now? I suppose I just sit back and enjoy the fact that several friends and family have come together in Guatemala just for our little wedding. This should be no problem while some stranger manhandle's our little girl right? Right?
Ruined Adventures
New member
Volcano climbing and an eruption
After our last wedding guests left town we still had some time to kill while the 4Runner was getting some surgery. We met a couple of fun German backpackers, Fabian and Puck, while hostel-hopping and they had convinced us to tag-along on a day-trip to climb Volcan Pacaya. It was less than $9 usd per person, and we were tired of worrying about our vehicle, so we were game.
We didn't realize we would be part of a large tour, but we still enjoyed the short 1.5 hour hike up this active volcano. The tour guide was in his sixties, but he was built like a 25 year old. He said he makes the steep hike twice a day, 6 days a week.
The guide's dog was following the whole day too. We named him 'Black Fred', in honor of Guanajuato Fred, because this dog was obviously a badass too. He climbs volcanos every day, what does your dog do? Lick himself to sleep?
It was funny to see a mini gift shop at the top of the volcano, allegedly selling "Lava Jewelry", but no one was there and we didn't see any molten gems on display. We did get to see some interesting thermal vents and Shannon even climbed inside. Then the tour guide roasted some marshmallows using the heat from one of the vents, the typical volcano tour photo op.
Fabian has been carrying around some traditional liederhosen around Central America, for an "art project" he's been doing for university. He takes a photo wearing the liederhosen in random places that you wouldn't see in Germany. So we talked him into bringing the liederhosen. At the top of the volcano, he snuck behind a rock and changed for us. It was a good laugh, and everyone enjoyed the irony.
Unfortunately they try to sell all the tourists on taking this trek, even some who physically shouldn't. A woman with hip problems was told that the hike was "easy" and she would have no problems. They offer a horse ride to the top for a small fee, but there was no option for the slippery walk back to the bottom. The poor thing seemed to be having a terrible time, but luckily she had some nice German boys to help her down the volcano.
For more photos of Volcan Pacaya, go to our Facebook page.
Later that week while we camped at the Tourist Police headquarters, the Antigua area made international headlines. The nearby Volcan Fuego had been more active than usual, and we were fortunate enough to see some eruptions. Over 30,000 villagers were evacuated to the southwest of the volcano, but luckily we were safe in Antigua since we were to the Northeast, even though we were only 6 miles away.
It was very doomsday looking, but the locals all just continued with their day, so we followed suit. From our campsite at night we could even see the lava pouring down the side of the volcano, with an occasional eruption. It was a powerful display to witness and I feel lucky to have been there at that time. It's also a humbling experience, knowing that one minute we can be living our every day lives, the next minute we could be running our asses off while 10,000 degree lava chases us. Just a friendly reminder to take stock of what you have, and of course it's never a bad idea to sacrifice a virgin for the sake of the villagers.
After our last wedding guests left town we still had some time to kill while the 4Runner was getting some surgery. We met a couple of fun German backpackers, Fabian and Puck, while hostel-hopping and they had convinced us to tag-along on a day-trip to climb Volcan Pacaya. It was less than $9 usd per person, and we were tired of worrying about our vehicle, so we were game.
We didn't realize we would be part of a large tour, but we still enjoyed the short 1.5 hour hike up this active volcano. The tour guide was in his sixties, but he was built like a 25 year old. He said he makes the steep hike twice a day, 6 days a week.
The guide's dog was following the whole day too. We named him 'Black Fred', in honor of Guanajuato Fred, because this dog was obviously a badass too. He climbs volcanos every day, what does your dog do? Lick himself to sleep?
It was funny to see a mini gift shop at the top of the volcano, allegedly selling "Lava Jewelry", but no one was there and we didn't see any molten gems on display. We did get to see some interesting thermal vents and Shannon even climbed inside. Then the tour guide roasted some marshmallows using the heat from one of the vents, the typical volcano tour photo op.
Fabian has been carrying around some traditional liederhosen around Central America, for an "art project" he's been doing for university. He takes a photo wearing the liederhosen in random places that you wouldn't see in Germany. So we talked him into bringing the liederhosen. At the top of the volcano, he snuck behind a rock and changed for us. It was a good laugh, and everyone enjoyed the irony.
Unfortunately they try to sell all the tourists on taking this trek, even some who physically shouldn't. A woman with hip problems was told that the hike was "easy" and she would have no problems. They offer a horse ride to the top for a small fee, but there was no option for the slippery walk back to the bottom. The poor thing seemed to be having a terrible time, but luckily she had some nice German boys to help her down the volcano.
For more photos of Volcan Pacaya, go to our Facebook page.
Later that week while we camped at the Tourist Police headquarters, the Antigua area made international headlines. The nearby Volcan Fuego had been more active than usual, and we were fortunate enough to see some eruptions. Over 30,000 villagers were evacuated to the southwest of the volcano, but luckily we were safe in Antigua since we were to the Northeast, even though we were only 6 miles away.
It was very doomsday looking, but the locals all just continued with their day, so we followed suit. From our campsite at night we could even see the lava pouring down the side of the volcano, with an occasional eruption. It was a powerful display to witness and I feel lucky to have been there at that time. It's also a humbling experience, knowing that one minute we can be living our every day lives, the next minute we could be running our asses off while 10,000 degree lava chases us. Just a friendly reminder to take stock of what you have, and of course it's never a bad idea to sacrifice a virgin for the sake of the villagers.
