Today my friend Georjean and I went to Volcano National Park to see the volcano here on the Big Island and the view was absolutely tremendous! In the photos shown below, we are overlooking large craters and although not shown, there were hundreds of steam vents. On the opposite side of the crater, hot lava pours into the ocean (which we didn’t have time to see, but there’s always next year). We could feel an immense amount of heat in the air and the energy was thick — and also felt many tremors. The smell was unforgettable. I never figured a volcano would have “a smell” but it did and left everyone coughing because it was practically impossible to breathe. I’m not sure if it was the smell of sulphur (someone said it is hydrogenized sulfide or something) or magnesium (if you know, feel free to discuss!) but for these shots, I had to hold my breath as long as I could. It was breathtakingly beautiful and reminded me somewhat of the grand canyon. So many beautiful areas of Hawaii that are unforgettable… secluded beaches, beautiful volcanos, craters, black lava rock… wow… having such a blast out here.

Tomorrow morning I fly back home and will arrive early on the 19th. I dread the jet lag. I will sincerely miss this place. It brought out a side of me I didn’t realize I had. What an amazing time. Afterwards we had pasta at Rio’s in downtown Kona and listened to live bands. I’ll miss all the live music here in Hawaii: everything from Hawaiian chants, to ska and reggae music, to cover bands, to guys playing banjos and ukuleles…

Also today we burned our boards (the obstacle/outcome boards) and tossed the ashes into the ocean, an ancient Hawaiian tradition… then made an offering at the volcano.

Special thanks to Georjean for shooting these shots:

Here are two shots at Rio’s:

And here is a (photoshopped per her request) photo of Georjean:

Love
Isabella
xoxoxoxxo