One of the advantages to having our tour guides, is that both did an excellent job of understanding not only the basic workings of the volcanoes, but also portraying the feelings and emotions of those connected to the island. I should have put these first few pictures in yesterday's post. In order to access the lava tube, we needed to descend into a volcanic vent. This huge hole had been foliated with various types plants to "add color." Because of the plants, it is hard to see just how deep this hole is.
Again, here we are in front of the tube. No-he took the picture for us.
I just thought this was a cool picture, the dead tree extended out over the edge of the crater. If a squirrel climbed out on the log, he would have a LONG way to fall. That would be a great way for him to crack his nuts. Except it wouldn't be a squirrel, it would be a mongoose.
Tyler took over as our guide at this point. He talked to us about the Lava Trees, the Oe'He tree. I don't think the spelling is even close. The lava tree has a special bark that helps cool the lava around the bark, insulating the tree for a while. Eventually the heat does burn up the tree, but not before the tree creates a natural vent for the lava steam and emissions, as well as a place for new plant life to begin growing.
We drove back down the hill to the coast again.
Tyler stopped some of the lava projections to teach us about some of the properties of lava. There was also a turtle down in the water eating the seaweed off the rocks.
The black lava rock forms a precarious and intriguing coastline. The layers of the various flows become very evident as we step out onto the rocks.
It is easy to see how the lava came this far and was stopped, more or less, by the ocean. There are many places where the waves have broken away the layers of the lava.
When the ocean rages against the rocks, natural arches, pools and caves are formed. Tyler took my camera down into these rocks to take my picture. He took other cameras or cell phones as well. I;m just glad it was someone else's cell phone he dropped under some rocks and not my camera.
We then drove down to the area where an entire town has been wiped out, except for one lone merchant - Uncle Robert. This used to be a beautiful black sand beach in front of Uncle Robert's café and country store. All the houses, stores, farms, everything, was pushed aside by lava flow from 1983 through 1998.
We walked out onto the flow about 1/4 mile to the ocean.
Again, the ripples and flows of the lava are evident. It is easy to imagine the rock face cracking as the lava cools un-evenly.
In places, the lava is pushed up, much the same way ice expands and cracks as it freezes.
When Uncle Robert's wife had terminal cancer, she started planting coconut trees on the flow to help prepare the rock face for other growth. After she passed away, many others have come and planted coconuts in her memory.
The result at the ocean is again a black sand beach. Access to the beach is not quite as easy as it was back in the 1970's
We see other growth starting on the flow now. In another 100,000 years or so, we may see the fertile soil that the Island enjoys.
Uncle Robert still runs a thriving business.
He may be more famous now. His café serves excellent food at reasonable prices, and --- the tables are always full.
After dark, we drove out into the active flow area, as close as they could let us go. We are about 3 miles away from the flow at this point. Tyler told us this was the first night in a couple of weeks that they had this kind of view. He may have been trolling for a larger gratuity, I don't really know.
At any rate, the lava continues to flow, but most of the lava is deposited in the ocean under the water line. When the water and lava meet, the lava cools immediately, often causing an explosion of the lava, resulting in 'black sand."
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