We got up around 7:00 under overcast skies with a high ceiling. I took a shower. It had one of those weird Central American electric hot water heaters that serves as a shower head and/or electrocution implement but never works terribly well--at least for showers!.

We went over to the restaurant. The waitress from the night before understated the absolutely incredible view of the entire Santiaguito domal complex and Santa María. We got a ringside table. As we ate our great breakfast, the volcano erupted in classic Vulcanian style. It started with rockfalls cascading off Crater Caliente and down the side of the dome. The ash plume was not as big as those I saw in 1973 and 1976 but it was a good show nonetheless. It gave off a smaller ash eruption about 15 minutes later.

Wanting to stay but needing to go, we made reservations to return with the students with the dueña, Isabel Juárez. I also bought 5 lbs. of coffee grown on the finca of which the hotel is a part. We bid farewell and headed down to the coastal highway where we turned eastward. I had not been here before.

Before long, we saw Fuego, Acatenango, and Agua looming before us. We turned northward on the road to Panajachel but it was too cloudy to see Atitlán, Tolimán, and San Pedro. Off to the east, Fuego gave off a small Vulcanian eruption.

We reached the crest and drove into San Lucas Tolimán on the lake's edge. The clouds dissapated as we reached the town. Not finding a lakeside road, we returned to the highway and stopped at a couple of roadside miradors that had excellent views from the southeastern side of the lake. We also stopped to fotograf the Panajachel fan delta and the debris flow brought down by Hurricane Stan. After entering the town, we went straight to the Hotel Monterey where we made reservations to bring the students. We then had a pizza downtown at the Circus Bar.

We decided to take the road less traveled back to the capital. We stopped at a marvelous exposure of the Los Chocoyos tuff. The magnitude of that eruption was much greater than the Minoan eruption on Santorini.

We arrived at the airport around 8:00. It took a while to locate Melvin Leal, our car rental agent, but he finally found us. He and Stan did paper work for the van rentals, while I waited for the students. I recognized David McAlpin because he wore suspenders. The others trailed out over the next 15 minutes. We loaded the vans and headed for Antigua. Stan had told me it was confusing getting out of the city and he was right. We made several wrong turns. David drove our van. I think he was caught off-guard by the steep road down to Antigua and had to learn that downshifting is a frequent necessity on Guatemalan roads. We made it to the Casa Mía. Magnus was there to greet us. He was wearing a pistol in his belt which shocked most of the newcomers.

We walked a few blocks to a pizzeria for dinner. Magnus had called to ask if they would keep the kitchen open late. We ate and I started to get to know the students. It was 1:00 by the time we walked back to the hotel. I crawled into bed and fell asleep knowing I had to get up at 6:00.