Volca-NO

Volcanoes and I don’t have the best relationship. My first time climbing a volcano was in the 90’s in Ecuador. It was the Cotopaxi and I wasn’t told that I needed sunglasses to protect my eyes. Due to the snow and being on the equator, I ended up burning the corneas of my eyes. The optometrist said that my contact lenses saved my eyes from the tiny ice particles and possible blindness. Another volcano I climbed was Mt. Fuji in Japan. I had a really hard time due to altitude sickness and ended up with some physical ailments that took about a year to overcome. Then, there was the Villarica volcano in Chile. I almost lost my life on that one. That was the tipping point that helped me realize that maybe I shouldn’t be climbing volcanoes.
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​Volcanoes tend to represent the duality of creation and destruction, death and rebirth. Myths are created around them, deities are associated with them. The legend of Popocatepetl and Iztaccíhuatl is one such story that is worth a read. The Izta actually does look like a woman lying down. Volcanoes can trigger earthquakes, tsunamis, mudflows, and pyroclastic flows. Pyroclastic flows and surges are the most dangerous as they are fast moving (as in 62-435 mph) hot (1800F) gas and volcanic matter. It’s what took out the people of Pompeii. I’ve been to Pompeii and warily stared at the still active Mt. Vesuvius. The largest active volcano is Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii - also a place I have visited. 

Within the last few years, volcanoes have started showing up in my dreams, or maybe I should say nightmares. I’m used to tornado dreams which signify for me that big change is coming. I’m still figuring out what the volcanoes mean for me. In general, they can signify a repressed emotion that, unless dealt with, may surge forward. Most typically, they represent repressed anger. They can also represent transformation. They can reflect the stress, anxiety, and upheavals of our waking life. If you find there’s a recurring theme to your dreams, it’s time to pay attention. 

My most recent volcanic adventure was last spring in Mexico. I woke up one morning to ashfall - like snowfall, but ash. Surprisingly, ash is really heavy and it gets EVERYWHERE. The Popocatepetl was way more active than usual. We wondered if an eruption was soon to follow. 
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Translation: The Popo at 7am, this is why there's so much ash. Source: unknown

​I was staying at a place just inside the evacuation zone. The ash was no joke, it made it hard to breathe and hurt like no other when it got into your eyes. I was pretty shocked that the mask and goggles I ordered on Amazon showed up the very next day. I had a go-bag ready, and spent nights watching the live feed cameras as material ejected from the crater. If you’re caught in a pyroclastic flow, there's pretty much no escape. There was a point when I wondered, is this how I die? That sucked. I watched interviews of people who lived the closest and in the biggest danger zones. They’ve lived with the volcano their entire lives. One woman said in an interview that she didn’t know how they expected people to evacuate when the roads were covered in potholes and speed bumps. Other than a woman who worked at the place where I was staying (and insisted we were all going to die), everyone else just went about their daily lives. I got the following video on social media and laughed a ton of the stress away. 
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Source: unknown

​Thankfully, el Popo quieted down. Hundreds of millions of people around the world live near or even on volcanoes. They are a terrifying, yet beautiful force of Nature. And, for some reason, have been an integral part of my adventures and life. 

​                                                                                                                                      Heart Hugs, Adrienne :)
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