Lanzarote (part 2) - Volcanoes and the Liquid Landscape

raj808 (71) in travel • 7 years ago (edited)

View this post on Hive: Lanzarote (part 2) - Volcanoes and the Liquid Landscape

7 years ago by raj808 (71)

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thekittygirl (68) · 7 years ago

This is a fabulous post! Your writing is wonderful and very engaging! I love the pictures you paint with words and the way you bring the reader along, as if we're really there! The photos are great, but your words are even better! BRAVO for this excellent travelogue, and thank you for sharing it with #steemitbloggers 😊

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Many thanks for your lovely comment @thekittygirl it is really encouraging as travel writing is what I plan on building a career on at the start of next year when I will be leaving my home city to travel the world 🙂 I appreciate your support + fantastic comments on my blogs.

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tawasi (63) · 7 years ago

It was at this point that the harsh landscape of Lanzarote started to take its tole. I had set out on this hike in a pair of trainers and by the time we reached the slope of the volcano they were torn, soles flapping loose like a gutted lizard.

I love this line. People who have never visited lava flats may no realize how sharp the lava is. This line clearly spells out the danger which lava presents. Taking spill in a typical landscape can result in a few bruises or scratches, falling on lava rock could mean a trip to the ER for stitches.

I was nervous the whole time I was near an active volcano, I could smell the fumes and knew it could burp up enough gas to choke me out in a second and without warning.

Where I live in Oregon there are multiple active volcanoes. Though they haven't exploded in recent history, they are monitored and known to be shifting their mountain tops as magma ebbs and flows.

With the recent volcanic activity in Hawaii and Indonesia people are awakening to the dangers presented by volcanoes. It's another one of those things which preparing for makes a certain amount of sense. At least here in Oregon it does.

Thanks for this post. I really liked the pictures and descriptors.

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Thanks for your wonderful comment @tawasi. You're absolutely right about the volcanic rock, it's time for a trip to ER if you fall for sure. I remember actually having a few scratches on my hands after juggling those rocks lol

Where you are in Oregon sounds cool. I am aware I'm a bit of an oddball when it comes to these sorts of things but I'd love to go hiking in your kneck of the woods. I think it's a desire to always seek out the strange and inspiring places in this world, even though I know it's dangerous, I love scuba diving also and that's a dangerous sport. I guess it's pretty safe trekking volcanic areas these days as long as you keep track of the local monitoring services. I agree it's awful what has happened in Hawaii + Indonesia... But inevitable.

Thanks for reading my post 🙂

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tawasi (63) · 7 years ago

I live in Corvallis Oregon. It's in the Willimatte Valley. The hiking here is amazing, you can hike mountains or along the beach. There are deserts and rain forests. It's an amazing place.

People here are very outdoor oriented, people in Oregon like to bike, board, boat and pretty much any thing that can be done outdoors. People will go do all of these things rain our shine.

Safe journeys out there!

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apanamamama (61) · 7 years ago

Wow - interesting to explore the volcano and see you juggling some volcanic rock. Ha! We live at the base of a volcano in Panama. :)

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Ha ha, yes I thought it important to lighten the mood with a little juggling after the moral theorizing of the previous paragraph 😉

That's really cool that you live at the base of a volcano in panama. I am going to be passing through panama at some point next year, do you have any recommendations as to the best places to visit for adventure?

Glad you enjoyed the article @apanamamama, thanks for reading my blog 😊

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sharoonyasir (58) · 7 years ago

Wow, looks like such a cool place to explore. Were you even a little bit scared around the volcano? I know I would have been frightened :P

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

I was maybe a little excited and apprehensive at times but mainly just in wonderment of the scenery/feel of the place. I'm not a very sensible person @sharoonyasir 😆 between volcano hiking and scuba diving I'm always after a new way to endanger myself. In all seriousness though, I really live for these types of experiences, it's where I find my inspiration.

Thanks for your comment sharoonyasir and reading my blog 😊

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heartscally (53) · 7 years ago

Woah, just so much feels reading how you describe these places here! Pics are amazing too!

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Thanks for that lovely compliment @heartscally. I'm glad you enjoyed the pic's and the word pic's I painted in this article. I have a few more articles and a poem coming up inspired by that trip to Lanzarote 🙂

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thesteemengine (65) · 7 years ago

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borrowedearth (57) · 7 years ago

What fascinating terrain! Thanks for the tour!

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

You are most welcome borrowedearth. I really enjoy writing these travel posts, trying to pick out the interesting nuances of place I visited and craft an impression of how I experienced the landscape ☺ thank you for your comment

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supernovastaffy (55) · 7 years ago

This is such a unique trip. Thank you for sharing it! I love that there are farms there to make use of the now fertile land. I wonder how the wine from the grapes will taste.

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Thanks a lot for your comment @supernovastaffy. Yes, you are right about the unique aspect of exploring Lanzarote. The place is so different and especially if you go places the tourists don't visit 😉

I can clear up the question of the wine from the cone farms, I drank a little while I was there and it was really nice. Very velvety like a rioja but with a different taste I can't quite describe. Really nice though.

Glad you enjoyed the article supernovastaffy, thanks for reading my blog 😊

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catweasel (56) · 7 years ago

"I have to be honest this is my idea of hell in a handbasket." Snap. Bear in mind, though, that there is a huge difference between you and the average moronic tourist. Look at the near misses in safari parks with the cute puddy tats.

Trust me, I'm a doctor.

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Ha ha, awwww catweasel

Bear in mind, though, that there is a huge difference between you and the average moronic tourist. Look at the near misses in safari parks with the cute puddy tats.

This made me laugh so much. I shared a video clip on my Facebook wall the other day of some stupid family getting attacked by cheetahs in a safari park because they had got out of the car to take a clearer picture. There is a fine line not to cross with the adventurers spirit and I think that i'm firmly in the camp of not putting myself in the way of predatory big cats ;-)

Thanks for your comment

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dedicatedguy (74) · 7 years ago

That looks like an amazing trip @raj808 those pictures are great!

You must have enjoyed it a lot! :P

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Yeah it was a blinder of an excursion and my favorite of the entire trip... well apart from the scuba diving which is still to be written about 😉

Thanks for checking out my article and I'm glad you enjoyed it

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thegoliath (66) · 7 years ago

I would love to visit volcanoes, it's cool to think about when they were all more active a long time ago, when there was nothing or little and the earth was still growing older with time.

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Yes, I get where you're coming from @thegoliath. Although I talk about thinking that area was active in the article, it was deep beneath the earth if there was any activity as the ground was only really warm. The main fascination and wonderment in the hike and the landscape was in imagining it all as eruptions were happening long ago. The solidified lava flow in the 7th pic, for example, really shows how the landscape would have been liquid when the eruptions were happening. Even now, as I look at it, I can imagine the red glowing rock flowing and the acrid smoke.

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easywriter (28) · 7 years ago

I've been to Lanzarote once and really liked the island. The moon like landscape is also very enjoyable for people with hayfever 😉

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Ha ha 😄 You've got that right @easywriter I didn't have one instance of the sniffles.

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watersnake101 (66) · 7 years ago

Wow that is quite a fascinating tour. Must be a sight to see once the grapevines are mature and ready for harvest. The volcanic soil and the air around must have an interesting effect on the wines produced. Awesome juggling btw.

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Thanks @watersnake101, I'm glad you liked the alternative Lanzarote tour 😉

Yes the fields of cone vines are very different in the summer, we were there in the winter so they were bare and I did think about putting a wikimedia sourced pic of the cone farms in summer in the article, but decided I wanted to keep all photography original. Here is the pic that I found on wikimedia

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watersnake101 (66) · 7 years ago

It looks awesome like a medieval vineyard with those rocks. It's amazing how they are setup.

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pandorasbox (59) · 7 years ago

Great tale! It seems to me like it would be amazing to see a volcano up close sometime. I can quite imagine how in the past people used to think they had to do with the gods - as they must be quite impressive!

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago (edited)

I understand that association between volcanoes and the gods/mysticism that people of the past believed @pandorasbox. There is something visceral and foreboding about the landscape and the heat beneath your feet in volcanic terrain. When you think about it, before scientific explanations it must have been so easy to assume that there was some divine power at work. I wrote a poem inspired by that trip, that I am going to publish in the next few days, which references the Norse gods and mythology quite heavily. It really is a landscape which inspires the imagination

I'm glad you enjoyed the article pandorasbox, thanks for your comment and reading my blog 😊

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ocd (77) · 7 years ago

@raj808, Your post was Resteemed by @OCD!
Congratulations!

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raj808 (71) · 7 years ago

Thank you @ocd for your support and resteem. Your tireless work to curate quality content on steemit is awesome and it really makes a difference encouraging us all to continue posting consistently both in frequency and quality.

Cheers 😁

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