I had never understood people's fascinations with them until we visited the Galapagos Islands where you can't ignore their mighty power.
We went to the shocking Isla San Salvador for a walk around a lava flow island which burst into creation in 1887.
It was like going to a different planet because the surface was so alien - hard, black and radiating heat. Our guide Edwin said on a hot day you can fry an egg on the rocks. As we walked the heat flowed upwards like a fire. It's a beautiful thing to see an island created by the random placement of hot lava. There were cracks so large you could lie down in them and there were bizarre 'ropes' of lava which looked as if they'd been sculptured by an artist.
Patterns formed all over the surface of the island and in some places the lava was piled up in a spiral as if an enormous dog had stopped to relieve himself.
So now I have a new appreciation of nature's ferocious volcanoes and the mess they've left behind in the Galapagos waters.
Next stop: The ridiculousness of trying to take a group photo.
Check out more photos from my trip in my Flickr album.
Read more of Kelly's blogs.
