Nuts about Volcano Acatenango

by Abbey Wiseman (Australia)

I didn't expect to find Guatemala

As we began the steep ascent up Volcano Acatenango, Tom and I instantly felt regret. The path rapidly inclined within the hour. We began hurting in places we didn't know could hurt. Despite our second thoughts about the decision, rosy-cheeked and short of breath, we continued to put one foot after the other. After 2 hours of hiking we stopped for a well-earned snack break. I reached for a granola bar from my pack and passed one to Tom. Ravenous and lacking in energy, unsurprisingly Tom's bar was gone within seconds. Catching my breath, I took in the surrounding volcanic landscape which was soon interrupted by Tom's incessant cough. Tom was trying to tell me something through gasps of air. I thought he'd said "granola bar". Naturally, I reached for another bar. Tom's hand swiftly stopped mine. "Allergico" he managed to get out. I didn't think that was the right translation but I thought it probably wasn't the appropriate time to be correcting him on his Spanish. Realising the granola bar probably contained nuts, I looked at Tom, panicked and not sure what to do. Tom said he had an epipen in his pack but it wouldn't give us enough time to get down the Volcano. We were quickly detesting this volcano. So, the man I had fallen in love with over my month in Central America, proceeded to force himself to regurgitate the granola bar. I patted his back and strategised solutions. I wondered whether we could roll him down the volcano or call a helicopter. I then remembered that a) that's ridiculous and b) we're in Guatemala. Tom however looked up at me teary eyed and said, "let's keep going." One foot after the other, I continued up the volcano with Tom on my arm. I wasn't sure if he'd make it. I asked him why he didn't check the ingredients on the granola bar packaging. He said "Well I didn't expect to find a peanut in the bar that says may contain traces of peanuts." Frustrated with each other, and stressed by the possibility of imminent death, we continued up the volcano. After 7 hours of hiking we heard an eruption. As we curved around the path we saw the campsite overlooking the active volcano, Fuego. As we witnessed glowing lava disperse over Fuego, we no longer detested the hike we'd just struggled through. Fuego reminded me of my Year 7 volcano science experiment, but this was much larger, much more real and much more exciting. I smiled back at Tom and colour seemed to return to his face. I dipped into the bottom of my pack and grabbed the two bottles of red wine we had lugged up the volcano. We were told to bring 5 litres of water. Instead, we brought 3 and 2 bottles of red wine. Genius! With Fuego erupting in the background, fire dancers performing for us and the sun setting, we contently sipped on our red wine. "It was worth the near death experience!" Tom said. In sum, we learnt three important lessons that day: firstly, don't trust Guatemalan food packaging. If it says 'may contain traces of peanuts' it almost definitely has peanuts in it. Secondly, pack light so you can fit red wine in your pack. It makes for a romantic evening and who needs water anyways? Thirdly, the view at the peak of Volcano Acatenango is still worth 7 hours of pain and a near death experience!