Volcano

Today, we got up super early to start a hike up one of the nearby volcanos, Pacaya Volcano.  The bus picked us up with about 10 other guests and drove us to the trailhead.  The trail up the mountain was steep and dusty, and we had to dodge a bunch or horse poop with every step we took.  Soon though, the trail was a little more picturesque as we hiked into the low clouds and up over the crater ridge.  We hiked down to the lava flow, which we were told was active about three months ago.  Today, it was mostly crumbling and brittle sharp rocks.  We didn't see and lava, but we did find a hole that reached down into the ground to a place much warmer than the surface.  Here, we could poke sticks with marshmellows on them to "toast" them to a scrumtious perfection.  It was a good hike and a great view from the top.  The weather was cool and comfortable. 

Later on today, we checked out the Church of San Francisco's colonial ruins and also went to Casa de Santo Domingo, which is a new hotel on old cathedral ruins.  There are about 6 museums to check out and a lot to see.  We spent most of the afternoon wandering around and exploring the area.  Tonight, for dinner, we found an Israeli restaurant which had a relaxed atmosphere with floor seating and lots of nearby hostelers hanging out playing games.  We're off to Xela tomorrow, so we are calling it an early night.