Holy Smokes

I never thought I’d see a live volcano erupting in front of me, or go to sleep to the rumble and roar of moving lava.  Tungurahua came alive yesterday and we saw it in real time.  Around 3 p.m., we were walking around Banos and noticed dark clouds of ash spewing from the top of the volcano. 

At dinner, we met an American couple from South Carolina who told us that, upon checking into their hotel, the proprietress promptly showed them the volcano evacuation route and gave them her personal cell phone number in case of emergency.  Granted, we’ve been here a week, but how come the lovely staff at the Hotel Monte Selva hasn’t mentioned nada about a volcano safety plan? 

Later on, returning to the hotel from dinner, we saw a chiva (party bus) loading up with volcano watchers.  The hotel staff was all in a tizzy giving us advice on where to go in order to see the best action.  It had the same feeling of New York during a blizzard.  (Except these volcanic eruptions happen two to three times a year, and sometimes last for months.)

Even though we were tired and ready for bed, we piled into a taxi and sped off to the highest vantage point across the valley.   But that road was closed – something about road closures earlier in the day due to volcanic ash (hmmmm).  So we went closer to town to the top of the ridge, passing packed chivas all the way up the winding mountain road.  We parked about a mile below the crater, maybe 4-5 miles away from the mountain. 

I can’t really describe how startling it was to look up into the night sky and see molten lava spewing forth.  It was unreal.  Neil and I have both seen lava in Hawaii, but that was slow moving lava, many miles away.  Last night, we experienced an exploding volcano, roaring, blasting, going bonkers, right in front of us.   It was awe-inspiring, bordering on terrifying.

Tungurahua at 10 p.m.

Lava explosions

Between taking pictures, we repeatedly interrogated our friendly taxi driver about safety.  According to him, the mountains between us and Tungurahua protect us.   The volcanoes here are like family.  According to legend, Cotopaxi is the father, Tungurahua is the mother, and Chimborazo is the child.  People joke that Tungurahua came alive for the festival of the Virgen de la Agua Santa last October, and awakes now just in time  for Carnival. 

We had actually gone to the Cathedral earlier in the day and had seen the many paintings of erupting Tungurahua throughout the centuries, never imagining we’d find ourselves in a similar scene just a few short hours later.  We’re not Christian, but we’re more than happy to join the locals here in trusting the Virgin to protect us. 

The Virgin protecting Banos from an earlier eruption

For added protection, we scoured the internet and twitter before going to bed.  Turns out this was a significant event – at one point the ash plume went up 40,000 feet and neighboring areas had zero visibility from ash clouds.  One road leaving town was closed for a bit, but everything's open now. Folks in Banos don’t seem concerned.  I guess we'll enjoy our last day at the pool, watch the Superbowl tonight, then leave as planned tomorrow!