Comments on: Volcan Pacaya, near Antigua, Guatemala (Lava roasted marshmallows anyone?)

By: Fred @ American Mamacita

Fred @ American Mamacita — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:12:58 +0000

Hey! Loving finding other bloggers who have also climbed this thing. My wife and I took our boys (native Guatemaltecos) to Guatemala this year. We added Pacaya to our list. Things have slowed down since the eruption in May. They said they used to get 300+ tourists a day, now its down to 170 or so… and honestly, the day we went, it seemed like probably less.

Here’s our Pacaya Pics:

http://www.americanmamacita.com/blog/volcan-pacaya-this-familys-first-active-volcano-adventure/

Your lava shot looks much cooler. We had to look down into a crevice to see the lava… mostly we just felt the heat and saw a slight red glow. We also visited a bunch of other sites in Guatemala — Chichicastenango, Antigua (as did you, it looks like), Tikal and Yaxha (up north in the tropics). More of our Guatemala adventure here:

http://www.americanmamacita.com/blog/category/guatemala/

Great pics… thanks for sharing the experience.

By: Sue Zamora

Sue Zamora — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:22:34 +0000

Had forgotten about this post (did read it in Jan.) You really are traveling the Pacific Ring, aren’t you.
Carrie, about the horse named, “horse”, I just saw the new Shrek movie (yes, there is yet another, but it is fun) Anyway, w/ your horse named horse, it makes me think of Shrek’s donkey named, “Donkey”

By: carrie

carrie — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:07:47 +0000

Hi Gaylene,

I feel completely unqualified to interpret what you might be hearing from God in prayer.

However, if you’re asking for my personal opinion, here it is.

I don’t know of any legend about taking lava from any volcano anywhere in the world.

When Carrie and I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2006 (in Tanzania, Africa), I brought home some shiny lava from the top of the volcano as a momento of having summitted the mountain.

I think that all of nature, including molten or dried lava, is God’s creation. By having some of the lava, and realizing that it is a part of the beauty of nature, you are actually appreciating and valuing God’s creation.

All evidence in my life would point to the idea that valuing this gift is a good thing for both the person who gave it to you and for you.

You’ll have to make your own judgment based on what you think is best, but I think having a bit of lava from Guatemala is actually pretty cool.

Hope that’s helpful.

Warmest,

Jonathan

By: Gaylene

Gaylene — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:11:30 +0000

What is the legend about taking Lava from the site… I was given some lava from a volcano in Guatemala . In prayer I keep getting that they were not supposed to take such a thing. Can you give me some feedback on this as I need to have closure on this. Thanks so Much

By: Marty Renee

Marty Renee — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:34:35 +0000

Great pictures of you & all!! I had a pinto house like that one through high school.
Lava composition-broadly classified into 4 compositions. If the erupted magma contains a high percentage (>63%) of silica, the lava is called felsic. Felsic lavas (dacites or
rhyolites) tend to be highly viscous (not very fluid) and are erupted as domes or short, stubby flows.
Viscous lavas tend to form stratovolcanoes or lava domes. Lassen Peak in California is an example of a volcano formed from felsic lava and is actually a large lava dome.
Because siliceous magmas are so viscous, they tend to trap volatiles (gases) that are present, which cause the magma to erupt catastrophically, eventually forming stratovolcanoes.
Pyroclastic flows (ignimbrites) are highly hazardous products of such volcanoes, since they are composed of molten volcanic ash too heavy to go up into the atmosphere, so they hug the volcano’s slopes and travel far from their vents during large eruptions.
Alaska’s Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, formed by the eruption of Novarupta near Katmai in 1912, is an example of a thick pyroclastic flow or ignimbrite deposit.
If the erupted magma contains 52-63% silica, the lava is of intermediate composition. These “andesitic” volcanoes generally only occur above subduction zones (e.g. Mount Merapi in Indonesia).
If the erupted magma contains 45% silica, the lava is called mafic (because it contains higher percentages of magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe)) or basaltic
They tend to be hotter than felsic lavas.
Some erupted magmas contain 45% silica, the lava is called mafic (because it contains higher percentages of magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe)) or basaltic
They tend to be hotter than felsic lavas.
Some erupted magmas contain <=45% silica and produce ultramafic lava. Ultramafic flows, also known as komatiites, are very rare; very few since Proterozoic. They are (or were) the hottest lavas, & more fluid than mafic lavas.