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Climbing a Mexican volcano Adventures in a lava landscape Kev Dynan writes... "The afternoon of February 20th, 1943, was just like any other for local farmer, Dionisio Pulido. He and his faithful beast were ploughing his cornfield, preparing it for the latest crop, when the ground began to shake and jets of steam, sparks and hot ash rise from the furrows. Dionisio valiantly attempted to stem the flow of the emerging molten lava by covering the moving earth but realising the impossibility of the task, he unshackled the plough, grabbed his horse and fled for his life. It was on this fateful day that the volcano Paricutin was born. It continued to grow until 1952 and now stands majestic over the 20 square-kilometre Lunar landscape of solidified black lava that was once Senor Pulido’s cornfield.  As geographers, my friend and I had an almost anorak-like obsession with volcanoes and made a point of visiting Paricutin on our trip to Mexico. We started our journey at 6am from the ‘tourist complex’ of ‘Los Cabanas’ where we were met by our guide and three horses. Having never been close to a horse before, let alone ridden one, it was with some trepidation that I approached what was to be the five-hour excursion. I very quickly mastered walk, trot, canter and gallop although was later to find out that my horse wasn’t too happy with ‘trot’ or ‘canter’, electing to either walk or gallop purely at his own discretion. The landscape was like nothing I had ever seen before. The winding trail to the base of the volcano took us around the sea of ankle-breaking black lava and through sparse pine woodland. My fear of falling from my mount eased as the trail took us through ground made up of soft, sandy, black volcanic ash. We reached the base of the cone and we gracelessly dismounted. The guide tied up the horses, covered his face with his hat and relaxed as we began our ascent of the mighty Paricutin. The climb wasn’t particularly demanding but was made more difficult by the fact that we were now both walking like John Wayne.  Paricutin has been dormant since 1952, but as you ascend, you pass smaller cones emitting gentle wisps of steam. We finally reached the top of the cone and peered deep into the crater. The smell of sulphur hung heavy in the air as we gazed across the vast expanse of solidified lava Paracutin had erupted. From the top of the cone you could make out the ruins of the two villages that the lava flow had engulfed. Emerging defiantly from the black rubble you could quite clearly see the broken-down towers of the church at San Juan.We sprinted down the cone to the base of the volcano like demented five-year-olds where our guide and horses were waiting for us, unimpressed by our descent. We saddled up with a little more grace than before and made our way to the crumbling basilica of San Juan. The church at San Juan had looked spectacular from the top of Paricutin but was even more impressive from the ground. The church towers rise, almost in protest, from the lava field and as you walk around what used to be the  village of San Juan Parangaricutiro you have to take care not to turn your ankle on the jagged black lava rocks that inundate the windows, doors and walls of the ruined buildings. After the five-hour tour of the ruined village buildings we headed back to the comfort of ‘Los Cambinos’, walking with a slighted expanded gate and vowing never to travel on horseback ever again. To climb Paricutin, you can get the bus from the town of Uruapan in the western highlands. You get off at the bus stop at Angahuan, a typical Purepecha village with dusty streets and small wooden shacks. It’s here that you can meet the guides who, after selling you their services, will take you to the ‘tourist complex’ of ‘Los Cabanas’ which houses the museum and cheap, comfortable, hostel-like cabin accommodation."  Click here >> for more Mexico info |
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