Volcano Alert - We are OK

Just a quick note to let you all know that while the NY Times describes the volcanic explosion as "southern Chile", we are not near to Puyehue-Caulle volcano. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/06/04/world/americas/AP-LT-Chile-Volcano.html?_r=1&ref=americas

If you want to see some interesting photos of the eruption go to: http://www.latercera.com/noticia/nacional/2011/06/680-370882-9-hinzpeter-evacuados-por-erupcion-volcanica-podrian-volver-en-tres-dias-a-sus.shtml

We have however, driven by the volcano and stopped in the towns that are now evacuated. The volcano is near the Argentina/Chile border crossing on the route to Bariloche. We drove past the volcano on our way to Bariloche back in October. Good thing we are not in Bariloche now as residents are being warned to stay inside and cover their nose and mouth if they must go out. The city is getting hit with volcanic ash. And the border crossing nearest Bariloche is closed as part of the evacuation order.

Lastly, just to prove that we live in the land of Never-a-dull-seismic-moment, we felt tremors Monday from a 6.2 earthquake in BioBio and there was a 5.8 earthquake yesterday in Maule. Both earthquakes were back page news. All anyone here wants to talk about are the tornadoes in the US.

We've been watching news reports on TV - it's amazing! Both Lisa and Mike have visited areas that have been devastated by volcanoes, but we've never seen an area devastated after we've visited. The TV showed a huge ash cloud rising over the volcano filled with lightning and lit from below by orange glowing lava. They reported from Lago Puyehue, which is covered with a layer of pumice, and from Bariloche, which has a layer of ash 10-20 cm deep (expected to reach 40 cm shortly). Footage from Bariloche mid-afternoon looked like a snowstorm at night - the sky was completely dark. There has been a stream of Chilenos returning from Bariloche, as there are no easy crossings for hundreds of miles in either direction (and some might be closed for the winter). It reminded Mike very much of pictures of Mt. St. Helens after the eruption in early 1980. (He visited there in 2005 - definitely worth a look!)