Visiting this land one is made acutely aware of the difficulties of daily living.  At this time our country’s division is a major worry...here is a list of their daily concerns here:

Volcanos

Earthquakes

Landslides

Sulfur dioxide poisoning

Hot stem fissures

Road cave ins

Tsunami

Wild pigs

Jumping spiders

She bombs..chicken manure

 But onto more optimistic notes

TODAY IS OUR MICHAEL’S 30TH BIRTHAY, A DAY OF CELEBRATION FOR A WONDERFUL SON

We head ashore to meet our guide Mary Lou .  She is a sweet, talkative lady who intermingles personal anecdotes with island history.  We visit a huge crater that has formed from the recent volcano, it sent lava 36 miles away devastating a residential community.”Lava jetted skyward and rained backdown, our senses were overwhelmed by the eruption, we could see it, feel it, and smell it.”  Afterwards there were hundreds of minor earthquakes.

We stopped at a small coffe farm, then to an Orchid store.  I love them so and this was wonderful, so many unusual varieties.  I purchased a chocolate scented one and one named Volcan Queens hoping they will eventually find a home on my Florida palm trees.

We then stopped  to sample island candies, macadamia nut overload.  

We went to Rainbow Falls a beautiful site where we encountered our second rainbow of the day, and saw some wild pigs too.  Last stop was a black beach, lava formed, small pools of clear water filled with fish,turtles and swimmers.

At night, early dinner, followed by a magic show, 70’s dance party featuring ABBA, and piano music as our bedtime lullabye