40th post - Lava tunnel

Today I spent money on an activity for the first time in a long time - a guided tour through a lava tunnel.

We found ourselves in Saint-Rose, in the south-east of the island, at around 11:15 a.m., right next to the solidified lava flows from 2001 and 2004.

There we waited in the unfortunately heavy rain for our guide, who recognized us immediately and introduced himself as Roby.

We went to his car and were all equipped with helmets, headlamps and knee pads. He was making jokes the whole time and I was sure that it would be an absolutely fun tour.

After about 5 minutes of walking across the lava field, we arrived at the entrance to a cave. We went straight in (it was raining, after all) and found ourselves in a kind of entrance hall (there were even benches to the left and right, all of which were natural).

While we sat on the (rather damp) benches, we were given an introduction to the formation of a lava tunnel and the various structures in the lava, as well as all the metals and gases that play a role in all the colors. And then we went into the dark tunnel.

We saw some really amazing formations and colors. I found it particularly exciting that you could see all the roots hanging from the ceiling. Some were very delicate and small, others were really solid and permanent.

Sometimes the formations didn't look real at all; here, for example, it just reminded me of crumpled up aluminum foil or plastic.

Some of the colors were really impressive, as was the sharp change between the structures.

At first we spent most of our time standing, but the further we went into the tunnel, the more often we had to bend down, crawl or even creep. Surprisingly, I didn't feel claustrophobic at all, because the temperature in the tunnels is a pleasant 22-24°C, there is a slight breeze (honestly, I have no idea how that can be haha) and the air is pleasant to breathe.

At one point we all turned our lights off and it was pitch black. I don't really know how to describe it, but I've never experienced such darkness. Your eyes open wide and you really can't see anything. The darkness isn't dark grey, it's pitch black. It was a really intense experience.

After spending about three hours in the tunnel, we emerged from the ground to rain that was still pouring down. We were wet anyway, though, because water drips from the ceiling everywhere in the tunnels.

I am super happy with the trip and learned a lot of interesting things - now I just hope that the volcanic eruption won't be long in coming!