Overnight Hike on the Santa Maria Volcano

The last weekend in January, David and Cruz set out on a father/ son adventure.  They joined four other dads and eight other high school boys for an overnight hike/ camp out on the Santa Maria volcano near Quetzaltenango.  In spite of the hike up and down being way more strenuous than they had anticipated, they had a really fun time.  They enjoyed being together with the others and having this shared experience between them.

 

heading out from the house for the drive to Xela

David's bag weighed forty-two pounds.  I think they would have liked it more without all the extra weight to carry. 

 

 

Driving towards the volcano on Saturday morning 

 

 

the group ready to start hiking 

 

 

Somewhere along the way up, the strap on Cruz's bag broke.  That made the rest of the hike a challenge.  It was their first overnight hike like this.  We did not have adequate gear for it, but if they go again, we will definitely invest in better equipment.

 

stopping to rest 

 

 

views on the hike up 

 

  

 

Once everyone arrived at the top, they set up camp.  

 

The sunset was amazing! 

 

Morgan and Cruz 

 

 

 

other volcanoes in the distance 

 

You could see Santiaguito volcano down below.  It is active.

 

 

Sunday morning sunrise 

 

 

 

 

Canon and Cruz 

 

Enjoying the views and trying to stay warm.  A cold front had come through that weekend and it was cold! 

 

packing up for the hike back down 

 

 

a group photo after the hike

 

They drove from there to Fuentes Georginas where they spent some time hanging out in the hot springs. It was a great way to relax their tired bodies after the two day hike.  They had lunch and then drove back home. 

 

 

Cruz bought this patch to remember his trip.  We collect patches from National Parks and will now add this one to our collection.  Before he even unloaded the car, he ran in to show it to me.  He knew I would be proud.

 

I am thankful they had this time together.  They made some great memories and strengthened their bonds with friends.

Camping

Our family loves camping.  Since our return to Guatemala, we have been eager to make a trip to Finca Florencia to do just that.  Finca Florencia is located in Santa Lucia, which is only about a twenty minute drive from our house.  It offers a great outdoor space with plenty of room to run, play, and explore.  We started camping there during Covid and plan to continue that tradition for years to come.  On this trip, we were joined by the Contreras family.  Camping is fun by ourselves, but it is extra enjoyable when we have friends come along with us.  

 

All loaded up and ready to go!

 

 

 

The boys helping David set up our tent.

 

We always camp in the same spot.  This is our "kitchen".

 

All set up and ready for some downtime in the great outdoors.

 

 

Between the two families, we had three hammocks.  We all took turns relaxing in them.  

 

We took a late afternoon walk.  This tree was budding the most beautiful pink flowers.

 

The kids enjoyed playing

 

and helping us gather fire wood.

 

That evening we made taco salad for supper.  Later, we had hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows for S'mores.   We sat around enjoying the fire until we all went to bed.

 

 

 

Our volcano view the next morning.  It was a beautiful, clear day.

 

The boys were up early, as usual.   It was cool so we built the fire and all huddled around it.

 

I got busy cooking breakfast.  We had sausage, egg, black bean, and cheese burritos.

 

Enjoying more hot chocolate to warm up.

 

David keeping me company while I cooked.

 

 

After breakfast, they spent some time playing soccer.

 

morning snack break

 

We went on a long nature walk.  It is one of my favorite parts of camping there.

 

The kids stopped to play along the way.

 

 

After lunch, we played wiffle ball.  

 

Sweet friends!

 

 

Somehow I failed to get a photo of the group or the adults together.  Here is a photo of us all taken about a week earlier on another outing together to a Guatemalan theme park. We are thankful that God brought this family into our lives.  They have been a joy to get to know.

 

That afternoon there was a group of drone racers who came and set up on one of the open fields.  We went and watched them.  It was cool! 

 

Our family had seen them there before on a previous camping trip but it was Ethan's first time to watch them.  He was excited as you can hear on the video.

 

That evening we roasted hot dogs and made S'mores again.

 

We use Chiky cookies to make our S'mores.  Normally we just use the chocolate ones but this time I tried to new blueberry flavor.  It was amazing!!   I ate way too many of them!

 

Gathering by the fire on our last morning.

 

The volcano view from our tent. 

We packed everything up and headed home mid-morning.  We were all tired and ready for a hot shower.  It had been a very fun few days together.  

 

I am already looking over my calendar trying to find a date that we can return.  It really is one of our family's favorite things to do here.