The Arch in Antigua in front of Volcan de Agua.
The highlights of my time in Antigua were: eating a whole cocoa bean, climbing a volcano, and hearing God's voice.
The hotel we were staying at was owned by a coffee and chocolate maker. He also owned a Café right next to the hotel where we ate all of our meals. He made hand-made chocolates, varying in form and flavor. His specialty was chocolate covered whole cocoa beans. Because of my research in college and experience in the confections lab at IFF, the owner [Fernando] was very eager to talk with me about chocolate and his experiences. He told me all about the species of cocoa he uses and how it was only 5% of all cocoa production in the world and it was grown in Guatemala and other surrounding countries. For the chocolate covered beans, he has to remove each and every bean by hand. They cost about $0.50 a piece [I paid $5 for a box of 10]. Every night after dinner, I some how made my way to his work bench and was discussing something chocolate related. It was fascinating to see how he made his chocolate from bean to bar on a smaller scale than I am used to. Fernando also gave me a lot of free samples, and sneak previews. 🙂
Our last full day in Antigua, we ventured out to Mount Pacaya, one of the few active volcanoes in the world. It last erupted in 2010.
Looking back at the peak on the way down when the clouds cleared.
There was no lava flowing, but we could see the steam and feel the heat coming out of the vents. We even roasted marshmallows in one of the vents in a matter of seconds. The vent looked like a natural oven and a local told us that you could cook an entire barbecue in it. Keeping a group of fifty people climbing uphill together is not easy. Slowly, small groups kept breaking off from the large group since we were going painstakingly slow up the mountain. First it was Seth Sr. and Anton; then Nathan and Brian; and then after a fifteen minute break after five minutes of hiking, Jessica, Kaitlin, and I made a break for it. There was a corner up ahead and we made a run for it: sprinting up the side of the mountain. Best decision all day!! We made it to the top long before the rest of the group, and even caught up with the guys that had gone ahead. We were on the hunt for a vent to cook our marshmallows, but ended up walking right through the "kitchen" [lava field of the most recent eruption] and spending almost an hour talking to some locals at a lava art stand. The view from the top of Mount Pacaya was spectacular, that is when we weren't enveloped in a cloud. We even saw Volcan de Fuego erupting across the valley behind Volcan de Agua [the volcano I climbed 9 years ago the last time I was in Guatemala]. I ran the entire way down the mountain, high on eating half a bag of marshmallows. I was filled with so much energy and joy for the rest of the day.
Volcab de Agua and Volcan de Fuego as seen from the top of Pacaya
[Fuego is behind the clouds, but you can still see it's puff of smoke].
The most memorable thing that happened to me at debrief happened the night before the volcano trip. We were having or usual session after dinner in the restaurant. Hayden and Carly were leading worship. I took the time to sit and read some scripture, but I got stuck after reading just two verses. I couldn’t get past it and I pulled out my journal to pray about it. Sitting there, I asked God question after question and waiting for Him to answer. He answered every single question. None of the answers were what I wanted to hear, but I knew it was what I needed to hear. After talking with Him for a bit, He told me to find KK and talk with her about it [she is one of our three squad leaders]. I looked around the room and couldn't see her any where. I got up and walked around the entire restaurant trying to find her, thinking maybe she was tucked away in some corner: still nothing. I sat down and starting talking to God again, asking Him who else I could talk to. He wouldn’t budge and just told me, "I said find KK." So, I grabbed my journal, bible, and bag and headed out of the restaurant, determined to find her, even if she was back at the hotel in her room. I turned the corner of the café and KK happened to be standing right at the bar. I told her I had been looking for her and she said she literally just walked in. It was such a divine appointment and our conversation that followed was just what I needed. God told me exactly what I needed to do and I am so glad that I was listening to hear it, and that I was determined enough to do what He told me to do.
