Guatemala is hot

Hola amigos,
if people would ask me for the most adventurous parts of our journey, I thought spontaneously of the encounter with the killer whales in the Johnston Strait, the paragliding flight at lake Atitlan, the backcountry camping on the Appalachian trail and the camera chase on Vancouver Island, to name only the most impressive ones. Since yesterday this list has to be completed by the visit of the active volcano Pacaya near Guatemala City.
I think we all know that the solid ground we walk upon everyday is not as stable as it appears to us, because down under our feet the earth's crust is actually drifting very slowly on hot, semifluid magma. Nevertheless it is surprising to watch this magma oozing steadily out of a little gap in the soil. The spot we visited yesterday was located right next to a hot lava stream, highly dangerous and a little unreal. In Europe enforced regulations would never allow the stay of so many people so close to burning hot lava.
Let me try to describe a little bit more pictorially what this place is alike.
All of us have surely done a barbecue. Now, please imagine a big grill made of black, sharp, cavernous rock; and you are not the man behind the grill but the piece of meat right upon it. However it is much more fun, because you do not suffer alone. The grill you are standing upon is so crammed with people from all over the world like the beach of El Arenal on Mallorca during the main season. All these people can only manage being so close to each other, simply because everybody is standing only on one leg at a time. And this actually happens due to the fact that everybody tries to save the soles of his shoes.
After pushing and pulling on foreign jackets and backpacks you get next to the red, hot lava for the ultimate snapshot. But watch out now! When the lava stream gets too close to your skin, every single hair will burn away immediately.
So, now you know why I woke up this morning, finding the face in the mirror already shaved.