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Cold. Bleak. Depressing.

Climbing the final ascent of Central America's highest peak was just plain frigid. Sure, it was summer below in Quetzaltenango but up there in the volcanic rise of Tajumulco hail was peppering our tents lightly as a polite patter to the not so polite rumble of my tent mate's snores. It was 4.30 Am and soon we were herded out of our tents by our school principal and a guy who looked a lot like an Ewok (However, I feel obliged to point out that he lacked the requisite agility and strength that they possess. This old geezer was always a good 45 minutes behind the group during the climb. Really, he only had the effusive body hair and sticks that he used for the dual purpose of a walking aide and to poke recalcitrant students out of bed).

The (not so) Popular Voice of the Mormon Guerrilla

Patrick Gatland
2006-09-30 10:36:15

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Cold. Bleak. Depressing.

Climbing the final ascent of Central America's highest peak was just plain frigid. Sure, it was summer below in Quetzaltenango but up there in the volcanic rise of Tajumulco hail was peppering our tents lightly as a polite patter to the not so polite rumble of my tent mate's snores. It was 4.30 Am and soon we were herded out of our tents by our school principal and a guy who looked a lot like an Ewok (However, I feel obliged to point out that he lacked the requisite agility and strength that they possess. This old geezer was always a good 45 minutes behind the group during the climb. Really, he only had the effusive body hair and sticks that he used for the dual purpose of a walking aide and to poke recalcitrant students out of bed).

The group of 15 or so students from the language school had bandied together at 5 AM the day before and piled into two mini-buses that slowly made through the dry and dusty highlands of Guatemala to the base of Tajumulco. Apart from a few addled Dans who failed to show due to excessive drinking the group excitedly chatting about the possible effects of the altitude we were about to ascend to. Rumours of head spins, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting were quickly put from our minds as we stopped at a market near the base of the volcano to fill any empty space in our packs - that wasn't already occupied by excessive supplies of water - with as much chocolate, biscuits or other sugary foods that would sustain us on our epic voyage.

I had been excited about this trip for some time for a few reasons. The views from the top of Volcan Tajumulco are breathtaking. From one side of the summit you are able to see strings of volcanoes, crudely paving the way across Guatemala. Immediately on the other side lies the frontier between Guatemala and Mexico. I was looking forward to getting a view of Chiapas, the state of Mexico that I was planning on visiting. However, the main reason I was ...