Amazing scenes have been unfolding on the TV screen recently, the Earth itself cracking wide open as bright orange fire laps around buildings and rivers of molten lava surge with unstoppable power through the darkness. This is, of course, the latest eruption in Iceland, the land of fire and ice, captured live and beamed in graphic detail straight to our news channels. Michaela and I have always been fascinated by volcanoes, but then who isn’t? Before we’d even met, Michaela had visited Etna and I’d trudged up the slopes of Vesuvius, and we’d both watched the intriguing sight of bubbling sea water and marvelled at what may be going on down there below the surface. In fact, volcanoes had been more than just a fascination for Michaela: indeed, when studying for her Natural Sciences degree, a study of volcanoes formed one of her most intense and enthralling subjects. These days, she will often tell me she’s forgotten virtually everything she learned…. and then proceeds to teach me more about how volcanoes work than I’ve learnt in all my previous years, all delivered with a casual, matter-of-fact air. Since we began travelling together, we seem to have been repeatedly drawn to such places and have now seen and walked upon volcanoes in several different countries – in Italy, Greece, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico. Without doubt the most amazing volcano experience so far was at Stromboli, more of that in a minute. In Greece, the spectacular sulphur crystal formations on the island of Nisyros are singularly amazing, though the usually bubbling pools were quiet on the day of our visit. Santorini of course provides one of the planet’s most precise views of the curve of a caldera, enhanced by its sea bound location, though the ring surrounding El Valle d’Anton in Panama is almost as spectacular if you can catch the right vantage point to look down on the encircled town. The results of volcanic activity can provide unusual experiences, such as walking on land which is younger than us, as we did on the Teneguia volcano on La Palma in the Canaries, wandering out on to a promontory which simply didn’t exist until 1971. Or, indeed, watching the clouds clear beneath us to reveal a lake nestled high up in the volcano itself – at Poás in Costa Rica. Our recent trip to the island of Fogo in Cape Verde provided fabulous views of the classic volcano outline, in the shape of the giant, and highly active, Pico da Fogo, in turn surrounded by probably the most remarkable lava field we have seen so far. The views from the top of both Volcan Baru and Arenal may have been amazing, but what made those particular volcano visits even more exciting was the method by which we made the journey back down: a series of zip lines. Racing down the forested slopes, speeding high above the dramatic valleys, knowing all the time that we are descending the slopes of a volcano, was absolutely exhilarating. And then there was Stromboli. Spending some time on the Aeolian Islands back in 2011, we visited both Vulcano, the island after which all volcanoes are named, and the amazing, active volcano of Stromboli. Climbing on foot from the village at the bottom in late afternoon and ascending the mountain just as twilight began to envelope the island, we stood at the top as darkness fell – the dark spectacularly illuminated now and again by brilliant orange displays. After strict briefings on conduct, we stood on a rim above the activity, looking down on to the fiery explosions below. Stromboli performed beautifully, firing glowing molten ash into the air in fantastic fountains of fire. Each time fire was cast up into the darkness, we were under instruction to then turn our backs and lower our heads as chunky burning embers were thrown towards us. An amazing experience. We understand that these guided midnight walks are still operating: if you have an interest in the spectacular, we can absolutely recommend this very different and exciting experience. Volcanoes have been one regular feature of our travels. It’s entirely possible that we will be seeing more in the future.
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