Brian and the Volcano

We've spent 6 days on the Big Island now, with 4 days lounging on the Kona coast and 2 days in Volcanoes National Park. This is a really different Hawaii. There is black lava literally everywhere. Land at any other airport in Hawaii, and you feel like you have landed directly in the middle of paradise. Land at Kona airport, and you feel like you've landed on the dark side of the moon. Assuming the dark side of the moon has baggage carousels and rental car shuttles.

But it is lovely, and more than anywhere else we've ever been in Hawaii, the Big Island feels quiet and local. At the beach, Hawaiians outnumber the mainlanders. You drive through sleepy villages between the coasts that look scarcely touched by tourism. We saw signs selling an acre of land on the Big Island for $299 (guess what Andrea is getting for our anniversary?). Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of tourists around – but it's nothing like we've seen elsewhere. Last time in Maui, I regularly had to set off the car alarm to locate my vehicle, because every parking lot was full of white Chrysler Sebring convertibles that were identical to mine.

The beaches here are beautiful too, ranging from powder white to true black sand beaches (made from the ocean pulverizing fresh lava). The snorkeling has been impressive, with sea turtles, beautiful coral, and every tropical fish under the sun.

But in my opinion, the star of the show here on the Big Island is the volcano. 100 miles southeast of Kona is Volcanoes National Park, home to Kilauea, the most active volcano on earth. Today (and it literally changes every day), the caldera is simmering. During the day, plumes of white sulphuric smoke belch from the top – but as the sun sets the red glow of the caldera really comes alive. The glow fades and then brightens, it moves from yellow to pink to red, the smoke billows, and the acrid spell hit your nostrils – this thing is very much alive. And you are watching this from an observatory located less than a mile away, perched up high on the rim of the caldera – it's absolutely wicked. It also means slightly jumpy sleep – we are staying at a B&B less than 3 miles from the action. A car backfired last night and I almost evacuated.

The rest of Volcanoes National Park is impressive too – we hiked across a crater and lava lake from the 1959 eruption today (about 2 miles from the current fireworks), which is still venting steam. We also drove through the park down along the ocean until the road abruptly ended, thanks to a 2003 lava flow (definitely check out our Picasa pics for this – it's just incredible). In fact, lava has been flowing down the coast and into the water continually since 1983 – the longest recorded eruption in human history. You find steam venting all over the park, cracks in the earth that are popping (it sounds like Rice Crispies), and lava tubes big enough to hike through. It's a living, breathing place – even a 2006 guidebook in our room has completely useless information on where the volcano is erupting, which roads are closed, etc. So no promises on what this place will look like even next week – but the next time you are in Hawaii and want to do something other than drink mai tais on the beach (not that there is anything wrong with that), put this place on your list.

It's off to Maui tomorrow. I've got sushi to eat, sunsets to watch, fish to snorkel with, and car alarms to set off.