Volcancillo (Dec 20th)

Photo: Exit of a lava spout inside the crater.

Since we needed a little hiking, we decided to visit Volcancillo. Close to El Ciclo Verde, the Christmas tree farm, there is a signal off the main road into a little town. There you kind of have to ask around to find the beginning of the trail… yeah, the ever non existent signage!
We got really lucky on our adventure since there was a mountain biker at the beginning of the trail and he actually showed us the way to the Volcano. Although the trail is wide and mostly marked, there are no actual signs or maps that explain what the marks look like (blue paint on some trees) nor that there are other trails that farmers have made that intersect the trail! We had heard from the workers at the tree farm that the trail was about an hour’s hike, the bike guy said about 30 minutes… I think the tree guys were closer! It was a lovely hike up pine forests and lava flows, but it probably took a good hour up hill.
Volcancillo is a volcano that erupted a mere 800 years ago. The lava flow has been great seeding ground for all sorts of pines and firs, but it is still sharp, rugged and almost surreal in some areas. The crater itself is breath taking, and Vertigo inducing. It is surrounded by a series of caves and lava spouts that end up in the impressive sheer walls of the crater. Some hikers actually go into the lava spouts and come out on the precipice edge, but they come with more equipment than we did! It’s quite a view, but for the looks of some little white crosses on the edge of the crater, it is also a dangerous view!
After a nice hike (easier if you have not had a baby in precious months!) we stopped at La Joya, a town on the road back to Xalapa that is famous for its cheeses and other milk products. It was a great drive home sharing delicious La Joya Cheese and Butter Bread!