The
Edge
Ever had an extraordinary
experience that empowers your mind but wrecks you physically?
Well,
let me tell you about mine! Lauren Trenkner is the daughter
of one of the directors of Volcanic Earth and on a recent
trip to Tanna Island, Lauren and I decided to ride horseback
from one side of Tanna Island to Mt. Yasur volcano on the
other. Jack, a very experienced rider was to be our guide
on this maiden voyage.
Now,
Lauren is a 19 year old, endurance rider, whereas I'm
a retired lawyer and slightly older (LOL)! If five hours of
non-stop riding, rugged mountain terrain, thick jungle foliage
and knife-edge ridng tracks weren't enough to kill a 51 year
old, then the full speed gallops on the ash plains (once we
emerged from the underbrush) came very close!
Still,
it was an absolutely awesome trip. Coming across indigenous
Ni Vanuatu, living much the same as they always have, was
an experience I'll never forget ....... men with their hunting
bows, arrows and spears; women working hard in their gardens
or around their traditional thatched housing; the young children
happily running around naked or emerging from thick jungle
brush to get a better glimpse of us as we passed by. The only
concession to modern day life was the accasional pair of board
shorts, a cotton lava lava or island dress.
As Lauren
and I (and our trusty guide, Jack) neared the far side of
the island, the unmistakeable, thundering voice of Mt. Yasur
boomed out across the landscape and high into the sky above
- in an uncompromising and uncaring manner. What did Yasur
care about my numb behind, my aching right knee (an old skiing
accident that I don't want to talk about) or my dry, parched
throat? - zippo, silch, zip, nothing....that's what!
When
we finally arrived on the expansive, open ash plains of Mount
Yasur, Lauren and Jack saw this as the perfect oppportunity
to race each other over long distance, at full gallop. I remember
thinking to myself, "HELLO! Has the world gone completely
mad". Still, not wanting to be left out (or worse
still, called a whimp), I reluctantly followed suit. In hindsight,
all I can say is that I must have been temporarily out of
my mind!!
Now,
when it comes to living on the edge, I thought that being
transfixed by the awesome, raw power of Mt. Yasur was as "close
to the edge" as I ever want to get in life. WRONG! Riding
horseback, at my age, from one side of Tanna all the way to
the volcano comes mighty close. What actually tops
Mt. Yasur is the blood-curdling reality that the poor horse
has to get back home somehow and can hardly make the trek
by itself.
............and
so, another five hours (the following day) of non-stop riding,
rugged mountain terrain, blah, blah blah, to get back to where
we began, is now my version of living on the edge!!
|
|
|
 |
| Me
at arrival at Yasur |
Me
after the ride back! |
If you
want to see some closeups of me suffering, then you're out
of luck - cause this is as close as you're going to get to
seeing me this fragile!!
