June 5 We saw real live lava at Chirpoy!

 It was now early Sunday morning, the next day, and we were anchored off Chirpoy, a place of living breathing moving lava - that day at least! There had been reports that the volcano had been erupting but they weren't sure if it was still active so a small party went out very early in the morning to check it out. We got the green flag and we were away, a small flotilla of black rubber duckies and kayaks heading for the lava flow. First we simply saw old lava flows ragged, sharp and craggy. We passed towering cliffs spotted with nesting kittiwakes and then rounded a point and ..... wow!

Up close it is awesome and somewhat frightning

At the edge of the flow - hot rock and ash tumble into the sea sending up clouds of steam and smoke 

We were confronted by a huge smoking crumbling 'cliff' about 30-40 meters high extending about a kilometre. It was a wall of smoking rock - black, brown, reddish-brown. Every 5 minutes or so a section would collapse into the sea creating great clouds of steam and smoke filling the air with sulphurous fumes and rending the air like thunder. It was mighty! Awesome! A once in a lifetime kind of thing. The kayakers got so close they could actually see glowing lava in cavaties - what an experience! 

The contrast squawking, chattering birds squabbling in the cliff seems so quiet after the roaring earth,

We got our fill of it - almost! But eventually we had to leave and headed back to the ship flying across quite choppy seas, getting doused with spray as we smashed through the waves, but buoyed up with the wonder of seeing the earth move so to speak, trying to imagine the force that kept pushing billions of tons of rock into the sea. We worry about rising sea levels - here we saw it live with the added dimension of tons of green house gasses being released into the atmosphere. Words fail me!  That afternoon we wandered quietly on an island at peace. 

The ewcha wide sweep of black sand dotted with drift wood and gifts from the sea

A perfect holiday cabin