Volcanoes, Day 3

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We were left speechless. Today, we visited Volcanos National Park. The drive there is already impressive. The route takes us between Mauna Kea (4200m) (which we will visit tomorrow) and Mauna Loa (4169m, which had a strong eruption just 3 months ago) and then to our destination, Kilauea. It is the most active volcano on Earth. We explored many craters and hydrothermal activities on foot and by car. We even had a glimpse of the lava lake in the main crater. Suddenly, around 2:30 PM, the ground beneath our feet started to shake. An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 was recorded. We drove 19 miles down the Chain of Craters Road to the sea. This is where the youngest landmass on Earth is located. During the last eruption of Kilauea in 2018, the island expanded here as lava flowed into the sea. We were everywhere here, at the top, bottom, and even in the middle. We also visited a lava tube, a passage through which lava once flowed.

On the way back, the car was very quiet.