Parque Nacional Cerro Verde

As we arrived in the national park everyone was just starting to pack up & by 5 there were a few policemen about. Shame as they missed a truly spectacular sunset with volcanoes poking up through a thick layer of clouds.

After a peaceful night it got really busy in the morning, and we joined the guided (guide & 2 armed policemen) hike up the Santa Ana volcano, along with at least 50 other people, but unfortunately without Maya.

It was a very pleasant walk & we were relieved to find it much easier than some of the other volcanoes we've tackled, although still a good couple of hours to the top. The view down into the bubbling & smoking sulphuric crater lake was pretty amazing.

After some improvised showers (I had to take the indoor one out after it was leaking) we feasted on pupuseas (thick tortillas stuffed with good things) and chips. Phil even managed to improvise a chip butty out of them! It then cleared out again and we had another quiet night huddled in the van watching a film.Read more