September 24, 2007
Day 726
Walking around the lava.
Everyone from the campground went on a walk together this morning to the Sierra Negra Volcano. On the way up, the climate changed from cool and cloudy to cold and rainy to hot and sunny. It's crazy how the islands have their own micro-climates on the beaches and highlands. We were freezing when we started walking, but sweating by the time we arrived at the caldera.
I wasn't expecting the view to be so dramatic. It's the second largest caldera in the world, measuring 10 KM by 9 KM, and we could barely see to the other side. It last erupted in 2005, but I was assured that only part of the volcano still erupts, otherwise the entire island would be buried in a grave of lava.
We weren't allowed to walk into the volcano, but we did get the chance to walk around the lava of Volcan Chico, which was right next door. The dried lava was a mixture of black and red, providing an impressive array of colors for our eyes. We didn't get to see any animals other than a hawk because there's no food in that environment, but it was still interesting to see yet another part of the Galapagos. The islands have such a diverse landscape, there's simply nothing else like them in the world.
The photo album for this entry is here.
