Where there's smoke ...

October 20, 2012

Hot spot ... Cotopaxi, the world's tallest active volcano. Photo: Getty Images

On Ecuador's high-altitude trail to an active volcano, Lydia Bell feels the ghostly presence of a majestic Inca past.

The equatorial sun is on full beam as we power out of Quito on the Pan American highway - the same artery that Che Guevara followed on his way north from Tierra del Fuego to Venezuela in 1952. The impeccable visibility has buoyed the spirits of our guide, Antonio.

"This is most unusual, my lady!" he proclaims, as we take in the framed view of Cotopaxi through the car's windscreen.

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http://www.watoday.com.au/travel/activity/great-outdoors/where-theres-smoke--20121018-27sm1.html

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October 19, 2012

Volcanoes: The Top Hotspots of the World

In Pompeii, classic Roman ruins stand before Mount Vesuvius, which erupted in the year A.D. 79 and obliterated the human population of the city. Photo courtesy of Flickr user photographerglen.

The seemingly slow-motion ash plume of a distant and erupting volcano; the petrified rivers of lava on the slopes of a mountain; the stories of towns caught by surprise by descending volcanic avalanches: Such are the elements of vulcanism that amaze and terrify us—though not necessarily enough to keep people at bay, and volcanic landscapes, both dormant and active, draw countless tourists to rumbling mountains, rivers of lava and boiling geysers every year. Following are several of the most inspiring volcanic destinations.

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http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/adventure/2012/10/volcanoes-the-top-hotspots-of-the-world/

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Posted on October 16, 2012 by CJ

Avacha volcano is rather huge. Its height is 2700 meters (8860 ft), people start climbing it from the height of 800 meters (2625 ft). Thus, they should climb 1900 m (6233 ft) high. It is not so easy. It usually takes from six to eight hours to climb this height.

The following is a pictorial account of a group of climbers who made it to the top:

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http://englishrussia.com/2012/10/16/climbing-the-2700-meters-height/