The two expeditions I made to the Danakil Depression, the hottest place on earth, in the Northeast of Ethiopia, both rank among the most challenging and most expensive ones I have ever undertaken. But nothing, nothing will ever take away these memories: each day brought a new highlight, each minute something unseen, unique and spectacular!
One of the highlights was looking down into one of the few permanent lava lakes on the planet, atop of the volcano Erta Ale - Once at the edge of the crater, we held our breath – we looked into the red, orange and even whitish lava boiling away about 20 meters away. Back in 2011, when daring to shuffle up to the very edge of the crater, we stood on an overhang, which actually meant standing above the lava lake. It did take some guts! 5 years later, the crater had changed shape, and there was some kind of huge stairs going down, tremendously improving the sight of the bubbling lava. Believe it or not: it was even more impressive! The feeling was awesome! Fear and strong respect for the forces of nature were counterbalanced by pure amazement at the sight of the 100 meter wide mass of lava, boiling, bubbling, and spitting in all directions.
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