Day 2- Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Day 2: Veda Gujral
We spent the day and night at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. We hiked around and saw many beautiful viewpoints, and the most spectacular part of the whole day was seeing the lava flow at night time. The steam was glowing red and slowly rising up into the sky. We couldn't see the actual lava because it was too low down in the Halema'uma'u crater, but it gave me a new bucket list item - to eventually fly over it at night to see all that is going on down there. The craziest thing is how small these natural wonders make me feel. This lava flow happens every day and night and it attracts people from all over the world, but even without all the visitors watching and taking pictures, this still goes on. It is just the Earth doing what is does naturally, and we are all watching the spectacle.

Veda walks out to view the smoldering crater for her first view of the caldera and to place our offering to Pele..


 Janel Pereyda

On today's adventure, we went on a hike down to the caldera where the Halema'uma'u crater has lava bubbling inside and where the goddess Pele lives. During the hike, I touched all the leaves and tried to feel the energy flowing through me from the plants. It was a beautiful moment because I felt, for the first time, connected to the island and its spirits that inhabit every living source. The leaves were wet from the rain earlier and every time I touched them, I would get sprinkled with the water. I enjoyed this because it felt like a cleanse that cleaned out all the negativity and brought my mind to a positive place. It was one of the most relaxing moments I've experienced so far in Hawai'i.

Janel hikes down to the Halema'uma'u caldera in HVNP.





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