Waking Up To See The Volcano
My friend asked me if I wanted to see a volcano for Christmas. I said 'Sure.'
The alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. I was already dressed since it was cold in our hotel, The Lava Lounge. I didn’t brush my teeth, but headed out the door. The sky was black but filled with stars—it’s been a long time since I’ve seen as many stars. You could even see the Milky Way. Ellen, Ivy and I aimed to walk across the lava field to the volcano crater, but we were unsure how long it would take.
We climbed down the steep road to the lava field. Hundreds of jeeps and motorcycles were rushing by us with their lights blaring. We quickly got off the road when we hit the floor. The sky was still dark. Luckily, Ellen had her flashlight. We walked across the lava floor. As the sun rose, I could see the floor filled with dark sand. Parts of it were almost black from the ash. It had rained enough, so it wasn’t too dusty. I was surprised to see some grass growing in clumps. I had thought the soil would be too acidic.
We walked to the base of the crater. The smells made me cough and short of breath. The volcano spewed out a toxic mix of sulphur and carbon, making breathing harder. I borrowed Ellen’s scarf and began ascending the crater. Up high, I could hear the coughs and spits. I was winded when I finally reached the top.
We could walk most of the way to the top of the volcano. Looking down, we saw steam and fumes billowing out. The top wasn’t too crowded, but we could see many people around before the fumes became too heavy for me, coming. We walked, so I climbed down first.
I waited below with people selling hats and warm clothing. I was sweating in my track pants and sweater. There were horses around to take people back to town. Ivy and Ellen came down, and we walked to this strange Hindu temple in the middle of the lava field. We looked around, and they were preparing offerings to the gods. The temple was a lovely, quiet oasis, set apart from the jeeps and bikes that came to climb the volcano. We then walked back across the lava fields, taking pictures and watching others as we went.
I rode a motorbike up the steep road for $5 CDN. I got back to the.m. It was a great morning, and we quickly decided to stay at the hotel for another night, starting at 7:30.