This was the last afternoon destination and we returned to Santiago Island...but a different area of the island then the first time we stopped on Santiago Island.
This side was desolate. Even though the first stop at Santiago Island had a lot of black lava, it also had green and bushes and life.
Here, it was just destruction. Black lava as far as the eye could see.
I really had a hard time walking on the uneven lava with my twisted ankle so didn't venture quite as far as some of the other photographers but I was still able to see so many different types of lava.
The volcano erupted about 120 years ago and just now, pioneer plants are starting to take hold. The pioneer plant is the first plant that starts to grow on the lava.
As I walked on the lava my mind started wandering about Mother Nature. How She destroys as easy (or maybe easier) than She creates. Tornados, tsunamis/hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes destroy so much life in seconds / minutes / hours or even days and then it can take years or centuries for life to come back.
During the walk, the naturalists showed us where a tree died, we saw some fossils.
I know it is natural, I realize that, but my heart ached for all the life that was lost the 120 years ago when the volcano erupted. Life I can't even begin to know or understand.
The thoughts put me in a solemn mood as I hobbled along and then finally sat on the lava just watching the impossible blues and greens of the water.
One day when the time is right, the island will be teeming with life again. It starts with the pioneer plant and then other plants will take hold then the birds will come back and maybe some mammals.
The island is just biding its time until it can once again support life. Until then, it was a beautiful reminder that life can change in a heartbeat and that all things truly are beautiful if you have the correct perspective.
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