27/05 A cave close to hotel

It was year 1985. Hotel was just rebuilt on 1983 lava in same spot than restaurant destroyed by that eruption.

I was 11 years old, my brother 14. We loved adventure on young lava seeking for warm spots where it was possible to burn newspapers and pieces of wood. I still remember that humid and sulphuric taste of those white hot spots in a sea of black lava.

On one of our walkings we have been attracted by a natural easy patch on cold lava rivers. Running on those we seemed autobahns respect all rocky lava around we reached an strange zone where lavas seemed molten chocolate on a deformed cake.

To the top of this island of beutiness we found a big hole which revelead our eyes an extraordinary discover: A cave!

It was long time I didn’t reach this forgotten cave. Today I decided to rediscover it and see if it would be possible for our guests to reach it.

It took a bit of time but yes, it wasn’t hard. I reached it and, except for 2001 and 2002 ash making path even easier, our cave is still there and in good health.

I didn’t enter. I was alone and entrance requires attention (at least until we make it easier). It was an emotion to find down in cave same blocks of lava we used 25 years ago to leave cave. I hope soon to go back and use them again.

On way back to hotel I decided to create some “caims” [thanks Julie for translation!] to help people who want to reach cave. It costed me both hands skin so if you wish to join to this work don’t forget gloves.

I also remember somewhere in that big lava valley, on road to 1910 crater, a big circle of lava inside a depression and another little cave (I wouldn’t surprise me to know me and my brother have been only two people to ever have been there, this one was far by anything else.

I wouldn’t know how to find that and probably I will never see it again but yes, it’s plenty of surprises in that big sea of 1983 lava which sourrounds hotel.