So Christmas finds me on the Big Island - active volcano country! Sadly, my stay will be ending before the January 2nd official kickoff of Volcano Awareness Month, but I think I can manage a little advance celebration. January 3rd is the 27th anniversary of the ongoing eruption of Kilauea. That's right - this volcano has been erupting continuously for 27 years in a more or less civilized manner that lends itself to being a tourist attraction. Although the former residents of Kalapana might disagree with the civilized part. But it's amazing - almost indescribable - to be able to look into the active vent at night and see the red glow of liquid earth.
Active crater vent under a full moon, May 2008
And you can hike over the older flows and imagine how the liquid lava flowed and poured and dripped as it gradually cooled into fantastic formations.
Pahoehoe lava on Mauna Loa, December 2009
It's a landscape like no other. I guess some people would call it bleak or barren. They might give it a name like "Craters of the Moon." But it's remarkable how quickly plants take root in the cracks and crevices. Although some of the terrain is definitely inhospitable. I remember a friend of mine telling me the reason the jumbled, rocky form of lava was called "a'a" was because that's the sound you made if you had to walk on it. The National Park Service describes it as "jagged and clinkery" and warns that "falling on lava can result in severe wounds."
The difference between the jagged a'a lava and the smooth, ropey pahoehoe lava is pretty distinct and makes for some really interesting hiking.
Photos of pahoehoe lava flow over older a'a lava, December 2009
On my May 2008 visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, I stayed at the Volcano House, Hawaii's oldest, continuously operated hotel. Some of the rooms overlook the active crater, and you can see the red glow from the window of the restaurant while you're eating dinner. The Volcano House is a funky old place. It's got a huge fireplace with rocking chairs in front for those chilly, 45-degree Volcano nights. And Uncle George's Lounge where the bartender, Cy, entertained us with photos of the wild pig he had killed on a recent hunting trip somewhere on the island.
So I get to enjoy exploring an active Hawaiian volcano on my Christmas vacation, while people in the Phillipines are evacuating and preparing for a major eruption of the Mayon volcano. I'd say that's a pretty good Christmas present.
