PACAYA

Today, Schu travels to a volcano. THIS volcano, to be exact:

Excerpts from Wikipedia:

“Pacaya is an active complex volcano in Guatemala, which first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. After being dormant for a century, it erupted violently in 1965 and has been erupting continuously since then. Much of its activity is Strombolian, but occasional Plinian eruptions also occur, sometimes showering the nearby city of Antigua with ash…

It lies on the southern edge of a sizable caldera formed in the Pleistocene age which contains Lago de Amatitlán. The caldera has been the source of at least nine very large explosions over the last 300,000 years, erupting a total of about 70 km³ of magma…

About 1,100 years ago, the volcano's edifice collapsed, causing a huge landslide. Deposits from the landslide travelled about 25 km from the volcano down to the Pacific coastal plain. The landslide left a large crater, within which the current active cone has grown. The presence of a magma chamber at shallow depths beneath Pacaya means that distortion of the cone leading to instability and future landslides remains a hazard to the surrounding areas…

Following the end of the Guatemalan Civil War in 1996, endemic poverty and the large numbers of guns held by the general populace led to an upsurge in crime rates, and Pacaya was one of a number of popular tourist sites where armed robbery became a serious risk. Tour groups began visiting the volcano with armed guards, and incidents of robbery on the mountain have become very rare…

During 2006 a slight increase in Pacaya's volcanic activity allowed for the creation of several lava rivers that slowly flow down its slope. Word about this phenomenon spread, and local tourism increased significantly.”

Damn. I hope Schu remembered to hire an armed guard… Remember, Schu, if it erupts and there’s a rockfall, roll into a tight ball!