I made it to the island today.

Weather was much better today so the tour out to the volcanic island went through. The boat ride took about an hour and fifteen minutes each way. The island is named White Island because of the continual steam that roils off of it. There are huge deposits of sulphur on the island- early in the twentieth century a small mining operation was set up on the island to mine the sulphur, but since the island is an active volcano all the mining operations failed. It was really amazing to think that the miners lived on the island because the island itself is so desolate and has a really harsh atmosphere- we had to wear hard hats and gas masks when we were walking around. At times the sulphur content in the air just got so high that we had to wear the gas masks just to be able to breathe.


The only two colors on the island were gray and yellow. There were a few trees, but none had any leaves on them. The guide said that the only way the trees survive is by growing a root, sucking any nutrients they need out of the soil, and then the root dies and a new one grows because the soil is so caustic. There were bubbling mud pits everywhere, and steam just billowed up from underground vents. The yellow came from all of the sulphur. There was actually one spot of green on the island- there was a lake formed by water underneath the surface that was so rich in minerals that the water was a really opaque greenish color. The guide said that scientists had measured the acidity of the water and judged it to be between 0 and -0.1 pH, extremely acidic.

The island was a really interesting experience. Apparently the landscape changes every couple of years because of landslides and eruptions. It is not a magma-filled volcano, so all of the eruptions are just the result of changing pressures beneath its surface. The guide did a demonstration where he dropped a rock onto the surface, and you could clearly hear in the resulting echoes that the island was very porous. I can't imagine anyone living there- surveying the island all you can see is boiling steam clouds and rock. Definitely not your typical Pacific island. There was one side bonus. On the way back a school of dolphins swam up and started playing in the boat's wake. They were jumping out of the water, swimming up to and underneath the boat, and were definitely enjoying themselves. Weren't very big, only a couple of feet long, but they stayed near the boat for about ten minutes so there was plenty to see.




I checked out the local farmer's market in the morning before the tour. It was really small though; all of the vendors only had one or two tables set up, and there wasn't a large variety of produce at all. I got a small container of blueberries, but they were the only fruit that I saw. The market overall was a little bit disappointing, but the blueberries were quite tasty.

This was the largest stand at the market- had corn, tomatoes, melons, some kind of lettuce, and potatoes.

We now have a family at the hostel. A couple of people left today, but two who were going to take a bus out have been stranded because the buses were full. Now there are only four of us- me, two German girls, one twenty and one thirty, and the other biker. We had dinner together- takeout pizza and salad for me- and then watched the second Lord of the Rings. We have quasi-adopted each other since we work together so well. Are all leaving tomorrow. I'm the only person heading east though.

Andre, Judy, Kristina, and me thoroughly enjoying our ice cream.