Powerful, mythical, unpredictable and dangerous. Here in Hawaii, I got to meet one of them. The formation of the Hawaiian Islands is mainly due to volcanic activities; till today the volcano on Big Island is still active.

Once we landed on the Big Island, everything seems to be volcano related. The coffee plantations, as I mentioned in the previous post, were able to flourish because the coffee farmers leveraged the cool temperature brought by the altitude of the volcano and the minerals in the rocks. Kicking off the long-waited volcano tour, we drove to Hilo, the city on the east side of Big Island, via the high way that passes through between 2 volcanoes - Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. As we started driving from our hotel on the sandy beach, we first stopped by the refreshing coffee estates at a slightly higher altitude, up to endless fields of green grass where herds of sheep are grazing, and then still endless but dark charcoal terrain of lava rocks.

Within half an hour, the landscape changes again to a rainforest with a misty veil. Before we know it, the highway ended and the side of the roads were populated with residences. Here for the first time in the whole trip, we are in a non-touristy part of Hawaii. Where people live their lives independent of tourists but with the volcanoes.

On the way to the Kaimu Black Sand Beach, we passed by Pahoa, which was a town very recently in 2014 had part of the community engulfed in a lava flow. Pulling over by the side of the road, there were endless ridges of black rocks with cracks throughout its surfacing coming down from the top of the mountain, called "a' a'" in the native Hawaiian language. Porous, rugged and often with a rainbow-like reflection.

Unlike composite or cinder cone volcanoes, the lava flows in Hawaii from shield volcanoes flow slowly but steadily, and gentle but still powerful to destroy what's in its way.

Standing on the Kaimu Beach, which wasn't even a piece of land before the lava flow took over, the color contrast is mesmerizing. The earth is charcoal and the sky and ocean are both deep deep blue.

Occasionally, we also see life thriving between the black rocks.

Next to the Black Sand Beach, we also saw a local Hawaiian gathering festival being setup. None of the fancy tourist-friendly merchandise or performance, just local bands and booths of local genuine foods.

Entering the Volcano National Park, we first saw the crater in between mists. From far away behind the railing, I could still see the vague glow and steady steam coming out of the vent.

After seeing the effect and presence of a'a' in Pahoa, we came across another type of lava flow - Pahoehoe, which is in the form of smooth undulating or ropy masses. Taking a different turn, we came to the "lava tube". In the middle of the rainforest, the opening of the lava tube awaits us. As if it's a cave, the lava tube can comfortably accommodate the height of a standing person and more. Formed as lava flows in between this hardened surface, lava tube is another example how volcano puts me in awe.

At last, after the sun has set. We came to our final destination and closest encounter to the last active volcano - Halemaumau Crater. The bright violent hue of orange lights up in the darkness. It was such a special sensation standing by an active volcano, something you can only do at a handful of places in the world. Most of the land surround you is pitch black lava rocks, lifeless. Yet in the middle of the darkness, the flowing, boiling, bubbling molten rocks embodies the energy directly from the center of the earth.

I've traveled to cities around the world, saw the ancient civilization in Rome, sacred religious establishment in Vatican City, timeless temple in Angkor Wat, romantic landscape of Paris, human cultivation of grapes in Napa Valley and the sleepless city lights of New York City, just list a few. These are great great things that men accomplished. Even the Grand Canyon in Nevada or the Three Gorges in China are the aftermath effect of nature after centuries of flowing water, wind and earth movements. Yet here in Hawaii, the nature is in present tense. Standing by the Halemaumau Crater, you see the volcano that started to form after an eruption a long time ago, yet it never ended.

Thank you, Hawai'i, for showing me that the earth is alive.

The Haute Way to Live

Orange Glow and Pitch Black Lava