Hey everyone, it's Mark Wiens I'm in Guatemala and this might be the only place on Earth where you can eat a pizza cooked in a volcano. Hey everyone, hope you're having an amazing day! It's Mark Wiens I'm in Guatemala and Guatemala is home to over 33 volcanoes. There's one volcano which is called where there is a man who makes pizza. he bakes the pizza in the lava of the active volcano.

Maybe the only place on Earth where you can get a volcanic cooked pizza that's the best pizza I've ever had on a volcano. We are on our way now. This is going to be an incredible experience. Okay, that was a great Drive I mean it was about a about an hour and a half or so we've made it.

Oh that's a cold breeze and I guess you can't take horses up too as they immediately greet you with horses. but we're gonna. We're definitely hiking. We need the exercise so we're ready to get started.

but as soon as you step out of the car I mean volcanic soil crunchy Rocky and it's pretty amazing. The scenery already even though we haven't even started yet. but you see the one of the main volcanoes uh Volcan de AWA I believe which is the one of the volcanoes you can see from the from Antigua and then we're climbing this volcano. Lillian Okay Lillian Mucho gusto! Very nice to meet you and Lillian is going to be our guide.

Okay and here is an elevation and the names. The Parking La Corona No Beer Yeah Corona is the names. the Parking: and elevation here is 1800 meters elevation. This part for coming only that and the red uses for you chicken, the um volcanoes, the Pacific the chicken and here and these great parts.

and two is the elevation 2 200 meters. Yeah, it's for coming only up at 1 20 minutes up and then maybe three kilometers up three kilometers down. Let's go Vamanos! So we are off on the hike. I think maybe they have some experience.

They follow you with the horses because I think some people they start hiking and then they get tired and then realize oh, sitting on a horse would be convenient but I think we'll I think we'll be able to make it but beautiful already and I mean you can already just see the lushness, the fertility of the volcanic soil and that's why so many crops are grown on the sides of volcanoes villages. Come on! Oh yeah, fresh fresh air. Now we are starting the short ascent. Uh, from what we were discussing, there are approximately 33 maybe 39 volcanoes depending on who you talk to in Guatemala and this Volcan one of the easiest to climb and also it has a elevation of Just 2 500 meters for exercise.

Okay, it's a national park. It's enjoyed by I mean tourists who come here to visit, but also it's a popular place for just exercise for locals as well who come here from the city from Guatemala City or from Antigua to do a little bit of exercise. So far I am loving the hike. just feels great to be in nature to I mean get some exercise from all the food we've been eating and we're just going off on a side Trail here to see something.

This soil is here. Volcanic soil has turned to like sand as we come around this. Ridge the wind is really picking up howling. Oh that's because we are at the we are at a little bit of a Confluence here a ridge.

where this is this is the Pakaya Volcano. You see a number of valleys and then over there and those are the volcanoes that are really visible from Antigua that's a full wherever. it's brown, dark, dark like that. That's I mean that's just straight lava flow.

Oh wow look at this. View Oh spectacular. This is gorgeous and I was just asking her what some of the crops are that they uh grow here. avocados, peaches, coffee.

um I mean I'm sure there's corn as well corn, anything else? Mostly those are the main crops that are that are uh grown on the the fertile slopes of this volcano. Thank you! And the other thing is that we are getting really lucky today so far with the weather bright. Sunshine Cool Breeze Not raining. It's been raining almost every day since we've been to Guatemala we're in the rainy season and I mean also because of the benefit of the rain.

Everything is green and also everything is clear. The the air is really crisp and clear. Oh perfect conditions for baking a pizza in a volcano. Yeah, but once once the ashes settled, that's sulfur.

Okay, so freak. Ash and Ash with iron. Oh okay and that's the cycle of the volcano after erupting and exactly you have to make a psych like it has to erupt and many many years have to pass in order for this to actually be comfortable. Yeah, this is the Cyclone these are the minerals and things.

That and that is what leads to the to the soil being so fertile. but it takes time hundreds of years or yeah exactly. Well for it to be. you know, absorbed by the plants because they do use this.

but you need rain you need like the moment it explodes, everything is chaos and the ashes are actually very bad for the crops and everything. Yeah after that it becomes a very fertile round. But after rains and everything right? So yep. okay Guatemala man thank you thank you Goodbyes forever Have a good hike.

Nice to meet you. we're well on our way. I Can almost smell the the fumes of the pizza. No I'm just joking.

not yet. but I can I'm dreaming about it. Hola buenos dias gracias you oh that's that same Beetle but in it's gonna coming out of the Kakuna Cool Oh a caterpillar. Okay, it will be a butterfly.

Yeah, yeah. Okay, so there's a lot of a lot of beetles on the volcano. Yes, these are some toilet paper leaves. Yeah, nice flat.

Just leaf for toilet paper is very very good. That's some Essential Knowledge right there and just in case just in case. This is the leaf you're looking for. If you need need have a have a slight emergency on the trail, this is the leaf you're looking for.

Soft, non-poisonous and oh wow, that really is soft. That's like that's like triple ply. Better than triple ply. Oh one more kilometer.

Oh hi guy, How many times do you go up the volcano every day? We're getting to all the antennas and Lillian said we have about 20 minutes left to go this way and the smoke is steamed and sulfur. Okay, so we're getting our first look at the Steam and sulfur coming out of the Pacaya volcano. How far do we go from the top? It's probably 2 200 meters. Okay, yeah.

okay, so it's like 300 more meters to the top from where we're from where we're going now. Talk about a nice place to take a little nap. That's what I'm talking about. Yes and yeah, so you're not permitted to go to the top very top of the volcano because it is dangerous.

The gas is the silver. Oh I think I'm starting to smell some of the sulfur can you smell? Oh and now we're like on the lava flow here and we're starting to get above the the tree line as well or the the lava flow that has gone over the trees in the vegetation we are approaching. Pizza You can you see that little red umbrella in the lava? that is where we're going? Wow! Rounding the corner and seeing the lava flow in the top of Pakaya Volcano. It's absolutely spectacular.

Oh man, this is gorgeous. This is really incredible to see. We really are getting into moonscapes. It's otherworldly and here you can see some grass and some vegetation.

some Moss starting to form on the the lava as well. And the last time there was a big eruption it was 2021 and so I mean it's very recent. it's 20 23 right now filming this video. and I mean this volcano is active, it's live, it's it, can be unpredictable.

um but yeah. and then he said the last time it just exploded um creating a lot of this flow. and then there's also another flow on the other side of the volcano as well. But I mean something that Guatemalans living at the base of volcanoes or on volcanoes know is to always the unpredictability of volcanoes but then also just the the respect that you must give them.

and now the the soil starting to get really loose just compressed. Ash Lava Petrified Stone It is definitely interesting that volcanoes are a breeding ground for beetles. Butterflies? never would have guessed. So we are now walking for the next part of the hike to get to the Pizza umbrellas.

We are now walking on the Petrified Lava So otherworldly moonscapes. and you do want to be careful because they are extremely sharp. Like very. Jagged Rugged, Extremely sharp and possibly some of them are hot.

But I mean it's actually it's really quite light though compared to what it looks like. Yeah, I mean it is a little heavy but quite light. 2010 2014 2021 Such a contrast section difference. So where we first walked over that was the 2021 eruption and you can see it's darker in color.

but then as it starts to get older you can see like some of these rocks are more pressed and a little wider and you can even start to see moss forming on them. That was from the 2010 eruption. So it uh as it gets older it starts to change color. Growth starts happening as well.

That's a crater. Yes oh that's a crater. A mini crater. Now we're starting to see pockets of steam coming out as well.

the view and we have actually arrived to volcano. Pizza Yes Oh I Can hear the dough. Yes he is the volcano. Pizza Master Pizza Maker Oh the fresh dough.

All the ingredients right here in the volcano tell me Okay because we got it. It fell out. Okay, Okay, he's ready. All right.

Oh man. Oh, we literally arrived to the volcano and David is getting started making the pizza immediately. Okay, Perfect. Marcus Yes Marcus Okay Marcos Yes this is the oven.

Okay, but look around the oven is a steam. Oh yeah, yeah. Oh I Didn't barely notice pockets of steam coming out. Yes, look the pepper.

Uh-huh we have a pepper. Okay, look in the cave. Okay, this is a a first oven. Steam steam is not good for though.

Okay, when I make pizzas in natural as Steam the pizza is not roasted. Ah okay. I need a little charcoal and cake for more heat and roasted. Pizza Okay, otherwise it will steam instead of okay.

look this is steamer. It's a water. Oh yeah. immediately.

Yeah, it's possible down in there it's magma and water. So that's why it's That's why it's steam because there's moisture with heat. Yeah, and it creates the steam. Okay and look in the oven.

Okay I need a little charcoal here? Okay and roasted pizza? Oh so you use you use some of the lava Stones yeah plus a little bit of charcoal or wood to burn. Yeah, okay. in inter and oven is no, there's no steam, it's more heat. Yeah okay.

this team is lost. Okay, okay, amazing. or uh for two years ago I make pizzas and lava flow but the moment is no Lava floating. Okay, no no pizzas.

Okay, look this is lava Whoa. Pizzas is ready in one minute. Okay, oh wow. Okay, look.

okay. yeah. and I mean that's because of a volcano. Volcano is unpredictable.

Sometimes it's flowing, sometimes it's not. Uh, now at the moment there's no hot lava flow. It's steam. So that's why he's had to make his own pizza oven from the lava rocks and create a little fire on the inside to create more heat.

But it kind of depends on when you get here and the year. A few years ago, it was red hot foreign. So how many? how many years have you made the volcano? Pizza Uh, five years, Five years? Okay, okay in every days up here in volcano for make pizzas. Uh, people booking pizza for uh, one month ago, Six months ago? Or one year ago? Whatever is for uh, only? Uh.

booking. Okay, okay, it's possible that pizza people come here and visit and buy the pizza, but we have a doubts. Extras for pizzas. extras.

Okay, okay, but most of the time you should pre-order Yeah, pre-order a pizza. Okay, you definitely don't want to risk it. so you should definitely make a booking order. Pre-order a pizza before you you hike to avoid the disappointment of not not getting a pizza on the volcano which is a once in a lifetime Pizza Opportunity Culinary experience: The oven is heated.

I Think we are ready to start the pizza. Six kinds of cheeses? Yeah. Wow. Oh nice.

Oh nice. Prosciutto? Yes Prosciutto Salami. This is pepperoni. Hey see so you can see because of the environment, the natural environment, the windy conditions.

kind of gotta press the toppings in so they don't Pepperonis don't go flying off the pizza like a sausage. Yeah oh yes. Jalapenos, Onions? yeah onions. Oh thank you.

Extra chili? Yeah this is a good sauce. Nice sprinkle of oregano. Oregano? Yeah. Olive oil.

Okay there it is. This is a gourmet. Gourmet Pizza On a Volcano in Guatemala Okay okay 15 minutes is ready? Okay yeah or 10 minutes? huh? The pizza is coming along nicely starting to to Brown on the crust. the Aromas are coming out.

A volcano has never smelled so good. Oh yeah the cheese. The pepperoni feels nice by the by the by the pizza oven too. these are more these rhymes.

Okay okay pizza's ready. Okay okay. Pizza ready. Pizza is ready.

Look he's full of Jesus Okay okay yes okay. thank you. Oh for the cheese. Oh fall cheese full veggies.

Gracias Muchas gracias. There it is. Volcano Rock Table I'm gonna sit down here. Oh man oh okay here we go.

That cheese is all melted. I Love the jalapenos. the he said six different types of cheese on a volcano. perfectly cooked.

Um that's the best pizza I've ever had on a volcano in my life. It is really good though. the crust is perfect. It's so crispy, lots of stringy gooey cheese on it.

the all those different Meats The pepperoni, the chorizo. Oh I Really love the crunch of the onions I Love the jalapeno, the green peppers, the tomatoes. Man, that's good. That is cheesy and delicious.

Um, oh yeah. well. I'm tasting some of that that hot sauce as well. Oh, that's really nice.

The freshness, the sprinkle of the of the oregano on top. Um yes and then yeah. W did give us more of that hot sauce. The saucepicante.

Oh, it's a fiery winner of the 2022 fiery challenge. Oh, it's like a lava lava salsa picante. Okay, let's try a little bit more of this salsa on it, even though he specially added some to bake onto the pizza as well. Oh, it's thick.

okay, um, that is delicious. Oh, the salsa is really nice garlicky spicy, but it also has a really nice herbaceous herbaceous flavor to it as well. Lots of herbs in there. Excellent.

Very good. Yeah. I Like this a lot. Oh no, how's the pizza? Pablo has the pizza over there.

Got a little bit more of this and it's like very Herby Almost. There's so many Meats going on on this beach I Almost forgot there's also a prosciutto as well. We got the everything Pizza Omaka's moving on for another slice. Already moving on to a second fish going on for another piece as well.

Next slice of pizza. gotta add all that. that salsa is so good. Different background this time back home I mean I Just love everything about this experience.

David is just so passionate. He's so friendly. He loves what he's doing. He's doing something totally unique.

Um, and the pizza is tasty. With this view, this is truly one of the more unique I mean no doubt this is the most memorable Pizza I think I might ever have in my life. Oh did you hear that crispiness? Oh look at that Char on the bottom. oh it's Christmas Oh I Didn't know she's a famous dog.

What is her name? Toffee. She's always here every day she's here. Yeah, she's here on Pakaya every day. Oh she lives here.

Yeah yeah, oh you are a good good dog. Good dog. The chili sauce. yes it's so good.

Oh last piece of pizza still good. Here we go Guatemala Final bite of Pizza Volcano Pizza Um oh that was delicious. Pizza You will never forget Muchas Gracias! Thank you very much! How many more pizzas do you have? Will you cook today? Today is possible at six pizzas, Six pizzas? Okay, yes. great.

Keep it up. Don't get up. It's an amazing experience. Thank you very much Muchas Gracias Gracias Gracias! So again Gracias David That pizza was delicious and what an environment we are heading back down.

That was so cool! Highly recommended And oh yeah, one pizza costs 400 quetzales. Highly, highly worth it! I Mean they bring up all the ingredients they Brave the elements, the wind, the potential explosions, eruptions of the volcano. so you get a pizza cooked in the volcano? Yeah! Highly recommended. Amazing experience! If you haven't seen all the videos in this Guatemala food series, make sure you go back and watch this entire Series where we started in Guatemala City We went all the way around the country eating some of the best local traditional foods of Guatemala and street food.

It's been an incredible trip and so make sure you check out this entire series. I Want to say a big thank you for watching this video? Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. Leave a comment below I'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed, make sure you subscribe now for lots more food and travel videos. Highly recommended and thanks again for watching! I Will see you on the next video.

Foreign.