I've had just enough time to... look at life around an active volcano
The volcanic soils are the richest – we all know that
The volcanic eruptions are deadliest – we all know that
So would you live near a volcano?
Where lands are cheap and rich?
When will a volcano erupt – we don’t know that
When will we lose it all – we don’t know that
So would you risk everything?
For good living of duration you have no idea of?
Would you?
The picture above is of Mount Batur which is an active
volcano in north-eastern Bali. Mount Batur is actually inside a caldera
(volcanic feature formed by a collapse of land following a volcanic eruption)
measuring 7.5 kilometer wide 20,000+ years ago. You can see from the picture
that it is still active with the blackened area the path of recent lava flows
amid the vibrant green vegetation of the area. There are still many villages
living around the rim of the caldera and also in the foothills where they take
their chances that a big eruption will not occur during their live time.
The collapsed caldera was filled by water and formed the
serene Lake Batur and there are several fishing villagers at its edge. On the
right hand side is Mount Abang that is usually cloud covered. You can go to
Kintamani where there are many restaurants built on the rim of the caldera and
where you can have a good view of Mount Batur and the lake while having a
leisurely lunch.
