The only drive in volcano in the world and a mud bath to remember

After having spent most of our day hiking Gros Piton, it was now time to see the volcano.

This would be the first time we’d see a volcano live, so we were both really nervous and anticipating we’ll see a big mountain-like volcano with bubbling lava and eruptions, cooling streams of melted rock, similar to what you see on the TV documentaries.

Soufriere Volcano is considered to be a dormant volcano. Last time it erupted it was in the late 18th century and scientists predict there is only a very slim chance that it will erupt again in the next 100 years.
It only takes 15 minutes to reach the Sulphur Springs Park from Gros Piton, by car. We parked at what we thought was the base of the volcano and then we started walking towards the entrance.

We later found out that the ground on which the roads that lead us there were build, is also part of that same volcanic structure.
We bought the tickets, which cost us EC $22 each, we joined a guided group, as you can’t do the tour on your own and we headed towards the crater of the volcano.

As we reached the crater, the smell of rotten eggs got really intense. It was the sulphur making it’s way out thorough the crater. The view was quite unique. We were surrounded by lush forest, but where the crater was, everything had died. Instead of grass and trees you’d see steam and boiling mud. It looked like something had burned to the ground.

A walk to remember

There is a wooden fence that keeps the tourists from getting too close to the hot spot. However, we have been told by our guide, that it hasn’t always been like this. When the tourist attraction was first open to the public, tourists were allowed to walk on the crater’s thin crust. But there has been an incident, when during one of the tours, a guide fell in and ever since, visitors have been requested to stay behind the fence.

Sulphur Springs

Despite having created image of an arid landscape in your mind, it’s not all about the fire. There is water in the volcano, hot water, that creates more than 20 hot springs and fumaroles. All of which form the so called Sulphur Springs.
The hot water comes from the rain that falls on the ground. Which then is heated by the hot rock, which on itself has been heated by the underlying magma. The hot water becomes buoyant and rises back to the surface through the cracks and it even turns into steam.

There are some concerns regarding the large amounts of gases (e.g. carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide) the volcano emits, probably that must be the reason why tourists are not allowed to spend too much time on the tour. Or maybe it’s just that they have lots of visitors and they don’t want to get overcrowded.

Black Water Pool – Sulphur Springs

Once we have finished our tour of the crater, we went back to the car. Right next to the parking lot another attraction seemed to get a lot of attention from the visitors. It was the Black Water Pool. Entry tickets were, at the time, EC$13.75 and it has to be one of the best natural Spas ever.
So it’s basically an outdoor bathing pool, filled with water enriched with volcanic minerals and health-giving properties. The stream that runs through the crater, makes it’s way down to the pool and just like that it creates a heaven for the human body. It’s well known among the tourists as having therapeutic qualities for the skin.

Before we entered the pool we indulged into a mad bath, with proper therapeutic mud from the river bed. And now it was time to get in the pool. To be honest, we were a bit concerned of the water’s temperature. It was hot outside (30 Celsius/86 Fahrenheit), but once we got in it was indescribably hot – 38.7 Celcius/101.6 Fahrenheit. Nevertheless, if other people could do it, so could we. As we went completely underwater, after slowly getting used to the temperature, we could feel our blood pumping through every single one of our veins. We only stayed under for a couple of seconds, but that was more than enough to feel amazingly re invigorated once out in the open air. Even though the temperature outside was around 30 Celsius, we actually felt cold once we got out of the pool.

End of a perfect day

And this, folks, has been the end of a perfect day. We have had the pleasure to enjoy a couple of hours at a natural Spa in the heart of the drive-in volcano, after hiking the second highest peak in ST Lucia.