Photo of the Day (5.23.09)

by Brenda Yun on

Just a quick glance at this photo from styggiti, which was taken just two months ago in March 2009, shows that the Big Island’s volcano — the most active in the world today — is alive and well. My last visit to the magical Volcano National Park was during a full moon, and the a’a (fresh, smooth, hard lava rock) glimmered in the moonlight so white that I felt like I was walking on water.

This stunning photo captures the natural wonder of Hawaii’s active volcano. You can touch the warm rock and snap photos of it, but you mustn’t take even a single stone home with you. Pele, Hawaii’s fire goddess, has a reputation of making your life miserable if you do, and there are countless stories of visitors returning stolen lava rocks to Volcano.

If you have some great travel shots you’d like to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day!

7 Eco-adventures that may be hazardous to your health

by Kraig Becker on

Many adventure travelers like to mix a sense of danger into their travels. It’s not enough to just go somewhere and experience the culture and explore the landscapes. For some, they have to feel the rush of adrenaline while they risk life and limb for their next great thrill. Fortunately, Treehugger has just the list of travel experiences for them, offering up 7 eco-adventures that could get you killed.

As you can probably guess, there are some wild suggestions on the list. For instance, they recommend volcano boarding in Nicaragua, something we wrote about awhile back. For an entirely different thrill, Treehugger recommends heading to Bolivia and taking a mountain bike for a spin down the Highway of Death, a particularly nasty stretch of road that we spotlighted back in March.

Some of the experiences are relatively quick, and over in a short time, like BASE jumping off of a Himalayan peak, while others demand much more of a commitment. For example, climbing Annapurna, a 26,545 foot mountain in Nepal, which would require weeks to climb, months to train for, and years to gain enough experience to even try.

The other suggestions on the list are equally intense and offer their own level of challenge and fear. But for someone looking to add new experiences to their life list, perhaps you’ll find something here that will inspire your next adventure.

Volcano Boarding: Sledding Down An Active Volcano

by Kraig Becker on

The New York TImes has the scoop on a new sport that can trace its origins back to the slopes of Cerro Negro, a 2388 foot tall volcano in western Nicaragua. The new extreme sport is called Volcano Boarding, and participants use a small piece of plywood to rocket down the side of a sometimes active volcano, reaching speeds of up to 50 mph.

The article credits Darryn Webb, an Australian tour guide working in Nicaragua, with coming up with the idea behind volcano boarding. Webb grew up in Queensland, where he learned to sandboard, which is a bit like snowboarding on sand dunes. Back in 2005, when he first set eyes on Cerro Negro, he immeditely began plotting a new way to go down its slopes.

Webb says they tried a variety of different concepts when looking for their “sled”, including boogie boards, mattresses, and even a minibar fridge (!), before eventually going with their current design, which is little more than reinforced plywood with formica on the underside to increase speed. Boarders don a jumpsuit and goggle designed to protect them should they become separated from their rides, and begin the arduous 45 minute climb to the summit, carrying their board.The ride down is, as you would expect, unlike anything else. The writer reports of high speeds, but also a very bumpy and noisy run, in which rocks, dust and ash flew everywhere. Controlling your speed is a challenge to say the least, and when using a technique for slowing down that was shown to her by an instructor, she ended up crashing out of control. But once the ride was over, she wanted to go again, which says a lot for the experience as well.

For extreme sports junkies, hurling down the side of a mountain isn’t nearly extreme enough of course, so the lure of an active volcano makes it all the more exciting. Cerro Negro is young, geologically speaking, and still very active. Since 1850, the volcano has erupted 20 times, and I suppose there are some who come to ride its slopes who have visions of outrunning lava flows as they go. So far, that hasn’t happened, but then again, this is a new sport.

Costa Rican rooms have volcano view at a bargain

by Tom Johansmeyer on

How many hotels give you a great shot of one of the 10 most active volcanoes in the world? Shoot down to Arenal, Costa Rica for a few days, and you’ll see it first hand from your room at the Lost Iguana Resort & Spa. This top-shelf property has only 42 rooms right in the rainforest. You’ll be surrounded by trees that have more than three centuries behind them, and the hiking trails through the jungle can’t be beat.

But, you want to see the lava, right?

The Lost Iguana Resort & Spa’s rooms face the lava-flowing side of the local volcano. Other sights include the Hanging Bridges (a short walk from the resort), La Fortuna Waterfall, and the Tabacon Hot Springs. Wildlife guides are available to help you understand the local scenery.

This unique experience is made more accessible by some steep price cuts. If you stay two nights, you get a 10 percent discount (to $166.50 a night). Three nights brings the price down to $157.25 per night, and a four-night stay brings the average down to $148 (a 20 percent discount).

Still on the fence? Don’t worry, you have until December 15, 2009 to make up your mind.

12 Amazing Crater Lakes

by Kraig Becker on

Environmental Graffiti, the same website that brought us those amazing views from the tops of the Seven Summits last week, returns with even more great images. The subject of their latest story is the 12 Most Incredible Crater Lakes on Earth. These amazing natural wonders are created not from the impact of a meteorite, but instead they are formed when the collapsed cone of a volcano fills up with water over time.

Some of the amazing places that make the list include Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, which was formed more than 84,000 years ago. The lake remains largely unexplored even now, and stretches to more than 340 meters (1115 feet) in depth. Its shores are lined with mountains, and there is still a great deal of volcanic activity in the area that was once home to the Mayan civilization.

Half-way round the globe from Lake Atitlan in the heart of Turkey, is another unique crater lake that sits atop a dormant volcano called Nemrut. The caldera of this mountain contains not one, but two very distinct lakes, one a cold body of water reaching 155 meters (508 feet) in depth, while a very short distance away is another lake that reaches more than 100 meters (328 feet) into the ground. That second lake has a constant temperature of near 140º Faherenheit, making for quite a contrast to it’s companion.

The other crater lakes on the list span the globe from Alaska to Australia and a number of points inbetween. They each are unique and wonderful, offering visitors some of the most amazing scenery on the planet.