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The mighty Nyiragongo. Never heard of it? I'm not surprised. Located in Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it's not quite as famous as the volcanoes of Hawaii, Eyjafjallajökull of Iceland (aka, that volcano that disrupted air travel in 2010), Mt. Vesuvius or Krakatoa. Active Lava Lakes: - Erta Ale, Ethiopia - Mount Erebus, Antarctica - Kīlauea, Hawaii, United States - Ambryn, Vanuatu - Nyiragango, Democratic Republic of Congo The Nyiragango having the largest lava lake of the past century. Recently a new lava lake appeared in neighboring Nyamuragira, although visiting it would be a bit more challenging due to the lack of tourist infrastructure. Not that Nyiragongo is truly developed, but in comparison, it's doable. Of the above, Mt. Erebus is undoubtedly the hardest and most expensive to get to, but I hope to one day find a way. Meanwhile, Erta Ale and Ambryn are on my short list. "Wonder is the beginning of wisdom." -Socrates One of the most amazing and wonderful sights of my life. For some time now I've become enamored with the idea of climbing a volcano to see a lava lake or at least see a somewhat active eruption. Granted, there are other active volcanoes around the world, but so few have the chance of seeing an actual lava lake in all its glory. Molten magma! It's right up there with some of the best experiences and sights I've seen, be it the Northern Lights, exploring Antarctica, the first time I saw the Grand Canyon, or any other view that takes your breath away. I've rambled on and on, but, what is it like? With the rim of the volcano reaching an elevation of 3,470m (11,382ft), it's quite cold! You would expect the volcano to throw off a lot of heat, and while you can feel some warm drafts, it's not that warm. The lava lake is an ever-changing web of fiery magma. Real 'end of days' kind of stuff. The amount of smoke spewing out, I was lucky to see it when I did. In fact, after about a solid 30-45mins of a solid showing, the s

While taking a short city tour of Ilulisat, I met this friendly local. He introduced himself and asked for my name and invited me to take this photo of him. He then carried on about his business dragging his groceries behind him.

I've always wondered just how big igloos are in real life. It turns out, they're both bigger and smaller than I would think. While I wouldn't say this is a particularly large igloo, you can see how a couple people could easily fit inside. It's not ostentatious at all, and you're not about to find a McIgloo here. The igloos families live in are a bit bigger, and sometimes multi room igloos (connected by tunnels) are built. The openings to the igloos are always a bit below ground level as that helps prevent heat loss when the door is opened by sheltering it from the wind. It's kind of crazy (impressive) that body heat alone is all that's needed to heat igloos. Considering the extreme cold, it's amazing that you can get inside temperatures up to 20-60F.