I love hiking. Sometimes I run up the hills, sometimes walk fast, sometimes listen to music. I've always liked setting the pace for a group of friends when we hike. But I never thought I would run from a tour guide. A week ago a large group from our squad got to hike up one of the only 20 active volcanoes in the world, right in Guatemala! Some rode horses going up the steep incline, but most of us walked. Everything was fine until we took a break after the first five minutes of walking. We then walked about 5 more minutes until another break. While standing there, all I could think of was how I wanted to just keep going. I figured I would wait with the group; until we had our third break. As a couple friends and I stood ahead of everyone we kept looking at eachother and around the corner to the unknown getaway toward the volcanic rocks we wanted to get to. "Should we make a run for it? On the count to 3-let's run!" I said.
As we shot up the hill, us three girls just giggled and said here goes adventure #1 of the day. Jail Breakers. We saw some of our friends on the horses up ahead as they stopped and waited for the group. We decided to keep going to find a few others ahead. As the clouds rushed in around us, all we could see was foggy. We stopped, looking for anything that looked like our group until we saw moving dots. We then began to follow the moving dots (our friends) until we finally reached them.
Once we reached the top, all the clouds parted in front of our eyes and we could see everything! I began to run around the volcano, yelling, and skipping, saying, "I am on top of the world!" At this moment I remembered what my dad told me about his past experiences. "Make sure not to race up and down the mountain. Once you get to the top; enjoy. One thing I regret is not taking the time to enjoy every moment of getting to the top, sometimes we just need to do the things like smell the roses. It's not a race." Right then is where I put my arms wide open, breathed in through my nose, thanked God for allowing me to enjoy every moment. I felt a vast love, peace, and overwhelming joy come upon me.
As the rest of the squad arrived I decided to keep going. Walking through the heated rocks, which my squad roasted marshmellows on, I stood in awe that we were standing in the center of a voncano that errupted 2 years ago and I could feel the heat. Unexpectedly, a few of us stopped as we found a group of 4 people telling us and showing us jewelry made from the lava from the volcano.
to be continued…………………….
