Three in the morning. We dive into a dark forest in the Guatemalan countryside and start walking. The path is covered with fine, black, volcanic sand.The guide is in the front, Burak is behind him and I am at the very back of the line. I follow their steps and soon, my boot is filled with sand. There is no point in stopping to clean it, the same thing will happen in 5 minutes.There is so much fog that when I turn on my head lamp, it is as if there is a white wall in front of me. From time to time I think, "Is there a veil over my eyes?"&nbsp;We climb for about 1.5 hours with a visibility of 2 meters. I think about my story of learning about Pacaya Volcano. It all started the night I climbed Acentenango Volcano&nbsp;to see Fuego Volcano,&nbsp;which erupts every 15 minutes. After watching Fuego spewing flames all night long, I came down and saw a poster with a picture of flowing lava and I was struck by it. The answer to the question "What is this place?" was Pacaya. While my legs are still aching from the climb, the question "Should I go to yet another volcano?"&nbsp;starts to circulate in my head. In bed, in the restaurant, on the streets of Antigua, I am always faced with the same dilemma. Is it worth it, or should I let it go because I have already seen the most beautiful one?<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/7/5/1659711567575.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.51" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Fuego Volcano<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">I finally decide to head for Pacaya at sunrise the next morning. They say there won't be much lava flow as there has been no activity lately. However, this news does not have much effect on a seeker of wonders whose curiosity is tickled. Worst case scenario, I will curse my legs that will ache even more and my knees that will hurt. For the last half hour, the ground turns from sand to rock. Hopping between sharp and black rocks, we follow the guide without knowing where we are headed. In the distance, we see another team with flashlights, it feels like we are meeting on a deserted planet. It looks as if they have landed their spaceship in the wrong place and are walking in a single file to the meeting place in dense fog. We are space cowboys in a surreal movie, trying to survive on a desolate and hostile planet.We move a little more on the rocks in the fog and stop at some point. If we don't stop, the risk of splitting our heads and eyes increases with every step. The rocks are sharp, it's dark, the lanterns can barely illuminate one step ahead of us because of the fog and we are still barely awake.Our guide takes out a pack of marshmallows from his bag. He puts them on sticks and inserts them into the crevice between the rock we are standing on and the rock next to us. After 1 minute, we start eating the fried marshmallow. The melted marshmallow gets all over my beard and mustache. I'm trying to clean them up. "This adventure is turning into a pointless one," I think in my mind. The fog that surrounds us, the dark sky, the fudge cooking between the rocks and the drowsiness combine to make it hard for me to comprehend what is happening around us.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/7/5/1659711660258.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.80" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Marshmallow all over Kerimcan's beard<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">After a while, the guide places a pot in the crevice and starts boiling water. I look for the source of the dark orange lava flowing around us, but there are black rocks only a few meters away. I put my hand into the crevice, it is hot as an oven. Our guide laughs and says, "Don't look around, it's just below us." He points to a small cavity a little further ahead. Through the hole, I see lava flowing beneath me.The rocks on which we jumped and then sat and rested are actually freshly frozen lava. We continue to rest just above that region that is boiling from inside the earth. As the first sun rays of the day reach the earth, I sip on a cup of coffee that is brewed by lava. The fog and my sleep lighten slightly, I become aware of my surroundings... What I see cannot be real!<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/7/5/1659711772353.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.80" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Lava seen through holes, Pacaya Volcano<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">I'm sitting on top of an active volcano, on top of lava that is still hot underneath and that has only cooled down a week ago... I finish my coffee. I look at the sun rising through the fog and take a deep breath. I want to walk around. Our guide asks us to check the ground with a light step. Since no one wants to take the risk of returning from the volcano with one foot left, we start walking on the black rocks with timid steps like gazelles. From time to time we look down through the holes we find and watch the flowing lava. The lava has a meditative power. Just as the first humans worshipped fire, the lava immerses itself in the depths and makes us watch it. We are actually facing the ancestor of that ancient god. It is the fire that created the world and started life.After the sun rises, noises start coming from the crater of the volcano right above us. After listening to the rumblings coming from Fuego every 15 minutes 2 nights ago, we don't care much about it. But soon the noises started to intensify and small pieces started to fall a few hundred meters away from us, our guide tells us to quickly pack up and take off. After a while, a small athletic race starts on the rocks that we naively control before we take a step. Meanwhile, the activity in the crater is increasing.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/7/5/1659711828238.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.80" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">The ground of Pacaya<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">Soon we come to a safe area. Everyone takes a breath. We watch Pacaya for a while, with rocks and lava fragments flying out of it. The slight tension in all of us gives way to joy. I look around me, I am happy and trying to digest what I am experiencing. There is a single tree up ahead, planted like a monument. I go to it and rest in its shade.I thank the world for making me feel like a character in a Jules Verne book.

Ruta

The journey to Pacaya Volcano through a dark forest

Brewed by lava: Pacaya Volcano

🌈&nbsp;Lake Atitlan: In the ancient Mayan language, Atitlan means the place where the rainbow takes its colors. The Mayans probably didn't think much about this name. It was enough for them to climb one of the mountains surrounding the lake one morning and watch the sunrise. Then they unanimously called the lake Atitlan.💃&nbsp;Antigua: Perhaps the most beautiful city in Central America. You can travel through time in its center, find delicious restaurants and relax. It is also an ideal city to learn Spanish.

🌈 Atitlan Gölü: Eski Maya dilinde Atitlan gökkuşağının renklerini aldığı yer demek. Mayalar muhtemelen bu isim üzerine çok düşünmediler. Bir sabah gölü çevreleyen dağlardan birine çıkıp gün doğumunu izlemeleri yetti. Sonra da oy birliği ile göle Atitlan dediler.💃 Antigua: Orta Amerika’nın belki de en güzel şehri. Merkezinde bir zaman yolculuğuna çıkabilir, enfes restoranlar bulabilir ve sakinleşebilirsiniz. İspanyolca öğrenmek için de çok ideal bir şehir.

Bu bültende sizlere en büyük hayallerimden olan, ki yakında bu hayali gerçekleştirmek için planlamalara başlayacağım, Talisker viski markasının düzenlediği Atlantic Challenge yarışmasından bahsedeceğim.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2021/11/3/1638351790071.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.72" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, 2012 yılından bu yana gerçekleştiriliyor ve Atlantik Okyanusunun doğusunda yer alan Kanarya Adalarından başlayıp 3000 deniz mili batıdaki Antigua ve Barbuda bağımsız ada ülkelerindeki limanda son bulan, ekiplerin sadece kürek çekerek yol aldığı muazzam bir yarış. Üniversite yıllarımda ben de ODTÜ Kürek Takımında 2 yıl kadar kürek çektiğim için beni ayrıca heyecanlandıran bu yarış, Atlantik Okyanusunda kendi başınıza veya ekibinizle yaşayacağınız eşsiz bir deneyim aracı bana kalırsa.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2021/11/3/1638351120235.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.72" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">2021 yarışı 10 gün sonra 11 aralık günü başlayacak. Yarışı ve tüm ekipleri <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">buradaki link</a> üzerinden izleyebilir, yine aynı link içerisinde yarış ile ilgili detaylı bilgiye ulaşabilirsiniz. 2020 yılına ait 9 dakikalık kısa yarış özetin de nasıl bir şeymiş diye merak edenler için <a fr-original-style="" href="https://youtu.be/TlAGaJeNjD8" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">buraya</a> bırakıyorum. *bu sene itibari ile aynı yarışın Pasifik Okyanusu için olan ayağını başlattılar. Önce Atlantiği geçelim, sonra Pasifiği düşünürüz diyor olabilirsiniz. Ama hem Atlantik hem de Pasifik için gaza gelen varsa bana ulaşsın. Yeterince macerasever kişilerle bir ekip kurarız belki...

• Antigua ve Barbuda, uzaktan çalışanlar için yeni bir "Dijital Göçebe İkamet Programı" başlatıyor. Program, yılda en az 50.000 dolar kazanan uzaktan çalışanlara, kendilerini ve eşlik eden aile üyelerini geçindirebilecek birikime sahip olduklarını göstermeleri koşuluyla iki yıla kadar yaşama ve çalışma izni verilmesini hedefliyor.&nbsp;<ul><li>Bir adım geriden: Daha önce Gürcistan, Endonezya, Estonya, Barbados ve Bermuda da uzaktan çalışanları hedefleyen ikamet programı çalışmaları yürütmüş ve "dijital göçebelere" bazı haklar tanımıştı. Hepsinin ortak hedefleri arasında duran turizme alternatif modeller geliştirerek ülkenin ekonomisini canlandırmak var. &nbsp;</li><li>Bir adım ileri: Bu gelişmeler bize uzun süredir gelecekteki yeni tip vize uygulamalarının habercisi gibi geliyordu. The Guardian da bu "yarı turistler"in yaşamlarını yakından incelemiş ve bu dijital göçebelerin hayatını kolaylaştıran uygulamaları derleyerek bir durum analizi sunmuş. Dijital göçebe adayları <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://link.apostonews.com/click?uri=aHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLmFwb3N0b25ld3MuY29tL2NsaWNrP3N0b3J5PTVmNzcyNzc3ZDE0ODY0MDAwNzU4MzJkYSZ1c2VyPTVlYjU0M2NmNzA2NDk0MjU1ZWNmNmE4MCZhdXRob3I9NWVkMTE2Y2QyYzZiYzMzNGE2YTc3N2JmJnVybD1odHRwcyUyNTNBJTI1MkYlMjUyRnd3dy50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20lMjUyRnRyYXZlbCUyNTJGMjAyMCUyNTJGc2VwJTI1MkYyNSUyNTJGdGhlLXJpc2Utb2YtdGhlLWhhbGYtdG91cmlzdC13aG8tY29tYmluZXMtd29yay13aXRoLWEtY2hhbmdlLW9mLXNjZW5l"">buradan</a> inceleyebilir.</li></ul>

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