Volcanos and lava fields
“I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel’s sake.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
The Land of Fire and Ice, today we were aiming to see the fire!
Fagradalsfjall Volcano trekking sounded like fun and we hoped to see a glimpse of hot orange red lava near the cooling rocks of hardened lava, even if meant walking for hours to see it.
After talking to the ranger, we decided to head down to the lava field first.
The old black lava was solid hard snaking and zigzagging in rivers of dark formidable masses. Occasionally, there were hissing sounds here and there, as if warning us to keep a safe distance. And if that did not do it, the sulfur fumes would keep us at a safe distance anyway.
But walking on the cold parts of this huge black mass extending forever and ever till our eyes could see, was a weird feeling in itself. The lava crumbled like a cookie under our feet in some areas, gently reminding us that was but a few weeks old.
“Without new experiences, something inside us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.”
Then we decided to head in the direction of the volcano which was very quiet today. No new lava………..
We walked and walked and walked, it seemed like for ages. Up and down mountains and along the ridge of the hillside, sometimes rocks, sometimes gravel and sometimes sand. This was a ‘trail’ that never ended.
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all” -Helen Keller
All the time we looked into the distance, to see if we could spot an ‘orange red glow’. The more we walked, the more we were determined. But after being alive as long as I have been, if there is one thing I have learnt, it is that nature has no timetable. Looked like today was not our day, the clouds hung low and the volcano was just smoking and hissing, but no lava!
Now we were about three quarters of a mile from it and had a clear view. We decided to wait for a little bit and were contemplating our walk back. We had started in the morning, and it was almost six in the evening. We were hoping to walk a different route back, the way the lava took flowing down a few months back.
And just as we were about to turn around, it happened! Loud rumbling and a sudden violent eruption! Red orange molten earth flew from the depths of the crater high into the sky. As we turned around with our mouths open in amazement, everyone started running up the mountain to see deeper into the crater.
But we really need not have……the lava started exploding and erupting higher and higher. And then suddenly, one wall of the crater collapsed……… rivers of lava started flowing down the mountain side. The bubbling and smoking and hissing all mixed with the clouds. We could not believe it. It was like the earth was alive, the mountain was alive and gurgling………Molten rock, ash, steam all rolled together in the orange lava coming from the very crust of the earth and splashing out from the crater……..
“For some moments in Life, there are no words”- David Seltzer
We watched mesmerized, people running toward the mountain, closer and closer. Never had we imagined this force of nature, this miracle unfolding before our eyes. Helicopters from news channels started flying over the eruption. How long did we watch transfixed, we don’t know, maybe an hour, maybe two?
And then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped; the bubbling and rumbling stopped and the eruption went down and was quiet. The orange lava rivers continued running down quietly along the hillside. We walked back in silence, stumbling and sliding down hills savoring our memory of one of nature’s infinite miracles that we were fortunate enough to see.