Volcanoes, Lava and Magma Flows
Lanzarote has over 100 volcanoes which make up an amazing lunar landscape. Created after a devastating eruption in the 18th century, these eruptions lasted over five years from 1730 to 1736 and destroyed over 26 villages across the island defining the landscape you can see today.
This landscape of craters, twisted lava rock and black sand beaches blend together into a place of unique beauty, expressed through a pallet of black and grey, deep umber and sedimentary shale. It’s a landscape you can lose yourself in, a dream of another place otherworldly and raw.
Timanfaya national park covers around 20 square miles of Lanzarote and includes areas of inactive volcanoes and a small area (Islote de Hilario) of geothermal activity thought to be caused by a magma intrusion just under that part of the island. This area is highly regulated and policed by a troupe of rangers who stop any travellers/hikers from visiting those volcanic peaks (calderas). This type of thing drives me absolutely nuts if I’m honest. I researched the area extensively and from what I learned there are only a few no-go danger zones which any hiker with any sense would stay away from.
Here is an excerpt from www.lanzaroteguide.com which shows how regulated the national park is, mainly to allow for the monetization of the tours.
While visitors are not allowed to roam freely around, they do get to view the park from one of the coaches that carefully threads its way around the ‘Ruta de los Volcanes’ – a narrow road, closed to normal traffic, that snakes through the most spectacular areas of the National Park. This short coach trip around the park is included in the entry fee, and, notwithstanding the somewhat dated audio commentary and music, shouldn’t be missed.
Some people may say ‘What’s wrong with you? That sounds like a perfectly nice day out.’ I have to be honest this is my idea of hell in a handbasket. Trouped around the place while being piped facts from an audio commentary, unable to touch/smell the surrounding landscape. I'd rather not bother, so I decided to go my own way. After a little internet research and checking Google Maps for the closest Caldera to the border of the patrol zone we set off on a real adventure, a mission to find the tiny track which would lead to the base of an inactive volcano.
Lunar Landscape and the Spirit of Man
The road to Mount Doom proved to be a little off the beaten track. On the way, we passed these strange fields of sunken concave holes all in lines running to the base of the volcano. This mystery proved a real head-scratcher and inspired many theories as we drove through this surreal landscape of lava flows. I had an idea that they must be some form of farming but later research uncovered the truth and a great example of human ingenuity.
This pockmarked landscape is a field of furrows, a farm with a difference. The holes contain young grape vines for the islands artisan wine industry. High wind speeds on Lanzarote can cause problems in the initial growth stages but the highly nutrient-rich volcanic soil is perfect for growing grapes along with other crops which thrive in soil that absorbs water and retains moisture for long periods of time. Ash also acts as an insulator, keeping root temperatures consistent. The holes are dug to keep the young vines protected until they mature and spread above the lip of their concave homes.
There is a beautiful ingenuity about this set-up and a lesson about the human spirit that even this cynic can't ignore. In the 18th century before the eruptions mentioned above, Lanzarote was a lush island with a strong agricultural economy. When the volcanoes erupted the whole island was buried in ash, decimated by lava flows and transformed in its entirety into a blackened rocky wilderness. These fields of volcanic ash represents the hopes I see in human endeavour. We as a species are capable of terrible destruction through our inventive nature but equally capable of growth and transformation working with nature. It's this duplicity of intent we need to change in our habits, the ingenuity of these fields give me hope that one day we can achieve this change.
Ha ha, lets shake off that philosophizing with a GIF of me juggling volcanic rocks.
The Accent of Mount Doom
We found the road to the base of the volcano after becoming lost in the vastness of the lunar landscape a few times. I remember driving down the road in our rather small Corsa and it becoming increasingly impassable. This seemed to be a theme in Lanzarote once you got off the main roads, disconcerting when you find a large boulder lying in the middle of a road in a supposedly inactive area. How the hell did that 10 tone rock get there? I had to give up about 2 miles from the base of the volcano as we were in danger of damaging the car. I parked it up at the side of the road and we proceeded on foot.
As we walked along the road, we could see the jagged lines of craters big and small scaring the skyline, like teeth tearing the sky apart. The vista looked like something from the final passages of Lord of the Rings, fire mountains in the distance as the wastes of Mordor stretched all around us. The analogy didn't end there as the vegetation consisted mainly of scant moss and thorny bushes.
As we reached the base of the volcano, the road turned into a path, littered with lava rock and completely swamped by flows of sharp magma. It was at this point that the harsh landscape of Lanzarote started to take its tole. I had set out on this hike in a pair of trainers and by the time we reached the slope of the volcano they were torn, soles flapping loose like a gutted lizard. Despite all this, I absolutely loved this hike. The wind whipped across the lava field and we were the only people as far as the eye could see. There is a lonely luminosity in the clarity of the light contrasting with the black ash that inspires a kind of nostalgic aching, I'm not sure what for, but this is how the place made me feel. Perhaps it is the spirit of all that life decimated by the tumultuous earth, rising through the pores of the magma, tendril fingers of remembered growth tingling down the pathways of the mind. Perhaps it's just the wind and the jagged lines of the horizon.
As we ascended the final stretch of the cone, you could see the path of the lava flow from an extinct volcano clear as day (check the picture above), the cone in the distance blown apart from the awesome power of past eruptions. This picture still leaves me in awe of natures power, nowhere else I have visited has ever left me with this impression of a liquid landscape. As the day wore away with the soles of my shoes, we scrambled up the final slope to the precipice of the crater. This last slope comprised loose ash and small rocks, the air smelled like a bag of charcoal and I could feel that the ground was warm through the bottom of my shoes. I'm convinced to this day that this area was in the path of the active seam of magma that intersects with the crust beneath the surface of the island. We struggled to the top and found a sight worth all the toil.
The cauldron of the volcanoes crater descended at least 100 metres of sheer sharp rock. I looked around for a path down into its depths as I wanted to find out if the cap was hot, to confirm my theory that the areas was still somewhat active below the surface. If you look at the picture above, you can see the cracks in the rock at the base of the crater which caused me to think there must be some small movement in the rock to keep them open. I imagined looking through the cracks and seeing glowing magma flowing through a channel just beneath the surface. In reality, I doubt this would have been the case as the heat in the area would have been immense but I get like this when I encounter a mystery. In retrospect, I suspect the cracks were made by hot air being forced up from deep underground.
We circled all the way around the lip of the crater; it was surprisingly flat and easy to walk. There were one or two spots where the lip became thin, about an arm-span but other than that it was plain sailing. We reached the far side and stopped for lunch. I lay down on the black earth, meditating with the distance as I chewed my sandwiches. This is something I often do on a hike. After a long hike staring at the horizon causes an interesting optical illusion which catapults me into Zen every time. The distances recede while simultaneously staying still. It's a strange juxtaposition, my mind always quietens in this observation, as the landscape marches off in conflict with itself. Laying on the ground, the heat was noticeable, despite the wind warmth radiated from the earth, enveloping me in a comfortable glow I have to admit is a little strange. I guess that reminder of the impermanence of something we take so much for granted as solid and immutable, reassured me. Staring out at this liquid landscape, it was like a gentle warm reminder of my mortality, mother nature laughing in the most caring way at all my worries. Beyond all this, it was also just lovely to be warm, close to the ground and out of the wind.
Join us @steemitbloggers
Animation By @zord189
This is a fabulous post! Your writing is wonderful and very engaging! I love the pictures you paint with words and the way you bring the reader along, as if we're really there! The photos are great, but your words are even better! BRAVO for this excellent travelogue, and thank you for sharing it with #steemitbloggers 😊
Many thanks for your lovely comment @thekittygirl it is really encouraging as travel writing is what I plan on building a career on at the start of next year when I will be leaving my home city to travel the world 🙂 I appreciate your support + fantastic comments on my blogs.
I love this line. People who have never visited lava flats may no realize how sharp the lava is. This line clearly spells out the danger which lava presents. Taking spill in a typical landscape can result in a few bruises or scratches, falling on lava rock could mean a trip to the ER for stitches.
I was nervous the whole time I was near an active volcano, I could smell the fumes and knew it could burp up enough gas to choke me out in a second and without warning.
Where I live in Oregon there are multiple active volcanoes. Though they haven't exploded in recent history, they are monitored and known to be shifting their mountain tops as magma ebbs and flows.
With the recent volcanic activity in Hawaii and Indonesia people are awakening to the dangers presented by volcanoes. It's another one of those things which preparing for makes a certain amount of sense. At least here in Oregon it does.
Thanks for this post. I really liked the pictures and descriptors.
Thanks for your wonderful comment @tawasi. You're absolutely right about the volcanic rock, it's time for a trip to ER if you fall for sure. I remember actually having a few scratches on my hands after juggling those rocks lol
Where you are in Oregon sounds cool. I am aware I'm a bit of an oddball when it comes to these sorts of things but I'd love to go hiking in your kneck of the woods. I think it's a desire to always seek out the strange and inspiring places in this world, even though I know it's dangerous, I love scuba diving also and that's a dangerous sport. I guess it's pretty safe trekking volcanic areas these days as long as you keep track of the local monitoring services. I agree it's awful what has happened in Hawaii + Indonesia... But inevitable.
Thanks for reading my post 🙂
I live in Corvallis Oregon. It's in the Willimatte Valley. The hiking here is amazing, you can hike mountains or along the beach. There are deserts and rain forests. It's an amazing place.
People here are very outdoor oriented, people in Oregon like to bike, board, boat and pretty much any thing that can be done outdoors. People will go do all of these things rain our shine.
Safe journeys out there!
Wow - interesting to explore the volcano and see you juggling some volcanic rock. Ha! We live at the base of a volcano in Panama. :)
Ha ha, yes I thought it important to lighten the mood with a little juggling after the moral theorizing of the previous paragraph 😉
That's really cool that you live at the base of a volcano in panama. I am going to be passing through panama at some point next year, do you have any recommendations as to the best places to visit for adventure?
Glad you enjoyed the article @apanamamama, thanks for reading my blog 😊
This is such a unique trip. Thank you for sharing it! I love that there are farms there to make use of the now fertile land. I wonder how the wine from the grapes will taste.
Thanks a lot for your comment @supernovastaffy. Yes, you are right about the unique aspect of exploring Lanzarote. The place is so different and especially if you go places the tourists don't visit 😉
I can clear up the question of the wine from the cone farms, I drank a little while I was there and it was really nice. Very velvety like a rioja but with a different taste I can't quite describe. Really nice though.
Glad you enjoyed the article supernovastaffy, thanks for reading my blog 😊
Great tale! It seems to me like it would be amazing to see a volcano up close sometime. I can quite imagine how in the past people used to think they had to do with the gods - as they must be quite impressive!
I understand that association between volcanoes and the gods/mysticism that people of the past believed @pandorasbox. There is something visceral and foreboding about the landscape and the heat beneath your feet in volcanic terrain. When you think about it, before scientific explanations it must have been so easy to assume that there was some divine power at work. I wrote a poem inspired by that trip, that I am going to publish in the next few days, which references the Norse gods and mythology quite heavily. It really is a landscape which inspires the imagination
I'm glad you enjoyed the article pandorasbox, thanks for your comment and reading my blog 😊
Wow, looks like such a cool place to explore. Were you even a little bit scared around the volcano? I know I would have been frightened :P
I was maybe a little excited and apprehensive at times but mainly just in wonderment of the scenery/feel of the place. I'm not a very sensible person @sharoonyasir 😆 between volcano hiking and scuba diving I'm always after a new way to endanger myself. In all seriousness though, I really live for these types of experiences, it's where I find my inspiration.
Thanks for your comment sharoonyasir and reading my blog 😊
Woah, just so much feels reading how you describe these places here! Pics are amazing too!
Thanks for that lovely compliment @heartscally. I'm glad you enjoyed the pic's and the word pic's I painted in this article. I have a few more articles and a poem coming up inspired by that trip to Lanzarote 🙂
What fascinating terrain! Thanks for the tour!
You are most welcome borrowedearth. I really enjoy writing these travel posts, trying to pick out the interesting nuances of place I visited and craft an impression of how I experienced the landscape ☺ thank you for your comment
Congratulations!
@ocd now has a witness. You can vote for @ocd-witness with SteemConnect or on Steemit Witnesses to help support other undervalued authors!
Thank you @ocd for your support and resteem. Your tireless work to curate quality content on steemit is awesome and it really makes a difference encouraging us all to continue posting consistently both in frequency and quality.
Cheers 😁
"I have to be honest this is my idea of hell in a handbasket." Snap. Bear in mind, though, that there is a huge difference between you and the average moronic tourist. Look at the near misses in safari parks with the cute puddy tats.
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
Ha ha, awwww catweasel
This made me laugh so much. I shared a video clip on my Facebook wall the other day of some stupid family getting attacked by cheetahs in a safari park because they had got out of the car to take a clearer picture. There is a fine line not to cross with the adventurers spirit and I think that i'm firmly in the camp of not putting myself in the way of predatory big cats ;-)
Thanks for your comment
That looks like an amazing trip @raj808 those pictures are great!
You must have enjoyed it a lot! :P
Yeah it was a blinder of an excursion and my favorite of the entire trip... well apart from the scuba diving which is still to be written about 😉
Thanks for checking out my article and I'm glad you enjoyed it
I would love to visit volcanoes, it's cool to think about when they were all more active a long time ago, when there was nothing or little and the earth was still growing older with time.
Yes, I get where you're coming from @thegoliath. Although I talk about thinking that area was active in the article, it was deep beneath the earth if there was any activity as the ground was only really warm. The main fascination and wonderment in the hike and the landscape was in imagining it all as eruptions were happening long ago. The solidified lava flow in the 7th pic, for example, really shows how the landscape would have been liquid when the eruptions were happening. Even now, as I look at it, I can imagine the red glowing rock flowing and the acrid smoke.
I've been to Lanzarote once and really liked the island. The moon like landscape is also very enjoyable for people with hayfever 😉
Ha ha 😄 You've got that right @easywriter I didn't have one instance of the sniffles.
Wow that is quite a fascinating tour. Must be a sight to see once the grapevines are mature and ready for harvest. The volcanic soil and the air around must have an interesting effect on the wines produced. Awesome juggling btw.
Thanks @watersnake101, I'm glad you liked the alternative Lanzarote tour 😉
Yes the fields of cone vines are very different in the summer, we were there in the winter so they were bare and I did think about putting a wikimedia sourced pic of the cone farms in summer in the article, but decided I wanted to keep all photography original. Here is the pic that I found on wikimedia
It looks awesome like a medieval vineyard with those rocks. It's amazing how they are setup.
Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!
You can see your post's place along the track here: The Daily Whistle Stops, Issue #136 (5/16/18)
The STEEM Engine is an initiative dedicated to promoting meaningful engagement across Steemit. Find out more about us and join us today.