HIKING TO AN ERUPTING VOLCANO (and baking bread over lava!): Would you dare to do it??

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I was in mainland Spain, sipping on my café con leche when I saw the news on TV about a volcanic eruption happening on an island called La Palma. I would like to think that I am well-travelled having lived in six continents but I had never heard of the Canary Islands up until that point. The island region located next to Morocco was apparently part of Spain, and it looked very exotic. And although I had hiked several active volcanoes before, I had never been to one that was erupting. There was a travel warning, advising people not to go there due to air pollution from volcanic ashes, potential earthquakes, wildfires and landslides amongst many other natural disasters caused by the eruption.

I don’t usually deliberately put myself in life threateningly risky situations but the chance to see an erupting volcano and real lava flows seemed too good to be missed out on. I opened up Google Maps, found a hotel on the island and called them up to see what the current situation is actually like. The owner of the B&B picked up the phone with a calm tone and informed me that despite the horrible air quality, there are tourists flooding the island to witness the event, that it is possible to hike up certain routes with caution and that he has space to host me. Excited, I booked my flight to the Canary Islands.

I first flew into Tenerife, an island somewhat bigger and has connections to mainland Spain and major European cities. From there I needed to take a ferry to get to La Palma, which was an adventure on its own. Seeing the sky turn grey and rain clouds approaching I realized a storm was on its way as I boarded the ferry for the three-hour journey. The sea was rough, the waves were huge and we were told not to get up from our seats until a further announcement was made. There were vomit bags being offered while kids on board started to scream and cry. When I lifted up my head to take a deep breath, the screen in front of me read “the island is currently in volcanic alert” with a flashing red light next to it.

We finally arrived, safe and sound and got welcomed by pouring rain and flooding roads. I dragged my bags out of the ferry, knee deep into the flood, searched for a dry spot to hide and check my phone to figure out where I was going. I then got on the bus and headed straight to the B&B.

Looking out the window I could feel this island was very unique, different to Tenerife and exactly what I was expecting Canary Islands to be like, exotic, tropical and extremely green. So far, I haven’t seen any sign of a volcanic eruption and kept staring out the window to the rainy green scenery. The bus went up a hill on a mountainous road to arrive to my stop. With that first step I took off the bus, my hiking boots got covered in dark black ash. I was leaving footstep marks on volcanic ash that was covering the street, including the cars, garbage bins, trees, roofs of the houses and their doorsteps. I could feel ash raining on me as each raindrop left a black mark on my skin. I felt far away from the real world, like I had teleported to an alternate reality where the modern world did not exist. It was mind-blowingly incredible to be there.

As soon as I stepped into the hotel, a Spanish guy staying there asked if I wanted to go to a viewpoint where we can see the volcano. I immediately dropped my bags, and we headed out before the receptionist arrived to do the check-in.

He told me he lived in Gran Canaria, and was in La Palma to see the volcano. We climbed up in the rain, found a local bar outside on a cliff facing the eruption and ordered two beers. Initially my brain couldn’t register what was happening. I was facing straight into the town and everything was red. And on fire. The mountain was spewing lava and it all flowed downhill faster than a speeding car. How could nature be this powerful?

I looked up at the sky and it was crystal clear, I could count every star in the galaxy. I clinked my beer and cheered him, feeling grateful to be alive and to witness this extraordinary event.

I woke up with my bed shaking in the middle of my first night on the island and realized that earthquakes would be quite frequent but they were nothing to be feared. I set my alarm to wake up early to hike closer to the eruption site before going back to sleep.

In the morning, I met a group of travelers who had the same plan as me. From varying ages, they all seemed quite adventurous and curious. They had a map laid out on in front of them and were debating the best route to get as close to the eruption site as possible. I eavesdropped while spooning my cereal and told them I would be joining in.

We split into two cars as there were eight of us brave enough to go for the hike. We met up at the base of the mountain, and without clear mapping or instructions, started the trek towards what we hoped would be a safe path reaching the lava flow. It was extremely windy, rainy and cold, and you can imagine just how much ash was blowing everywhere. My boots were getting sucked into the rocky and ashy terrain with each step I took, and walking against the wind was making it extra difficult to move forward. It was impossible to speak to one another over the sound of the storm and the bursts of the volcano.

We stopped for photos several times with the epic background that totally seemed staged and too good to be real. I will admit that I had Googled if you can cook marshmallows over lava previously and inspired one of the members of our trekking team, who ended up bringing a piece of dough to the trek in the hopes of baking some bread on a stick (and it worked!).

After half a day of trekking we reached the lava flows. Well, we reached the point where we could see them. The land beneath our feet was shaking and we thought lava could burst from anywhere at any moment, and it may not be so safe to proceed any further. However, we had our dough to be baked and we had made it this far to give up too soon, so we took the risk and kept trekking until we could feel the heat on our skin from the streams of orange gooey looking stuff and see the steams coming off.

Many photos and videos were taken. We were mesmerized by the scene while at the same time still processing what was happening. Then one member warned us that it was getting late and that we should start heading back before sunset.

Rain had gotten heavier and I was tired. Two hours into the hike, I was already begging one of the guys to give me a piggy back as I had no more strength in my legs to move me forward. And just at that point, we all realized we had been going down the wrong path. Google maps had failed us, and we were lost in the forest. I was exhausted and also starving. We also had run out of water.

A brave one volunteered to jog fast to figure out the route and come back and inform us while we waited. We finally made it back to the hotel after midnight! Alive, exhausted and feeling accomplished!

For those of you wondering, there were no deaths on the island due to the volcanic eruption, although the economy and day to day life was negatively affected. For the following days of my stay, I volunteered to help clean up ash from the streets with many other volunteers.

We also road tripped all across the island and visited different areas; caves, waterfalls, forests and banana plantations. There are many natural parks and beautiful treks for all fitness levels.

I fell in love with the beauty of La Palma, its volcanic black sand beaches, tropical climate, exotic plants, its people and of course the fleeting volcanic moments, that I had to get a volcano tattoo before I left the island! I will forever be thankful for having the chance to witness its beauty and nature’s extraordinary power in its wildest form!

If you enjoyed this adventure, you might also like my blog post about hitchhiking across the Atlantic Ocean!

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