View From The Edge

The payback for the uncertainty of living on the edge of a volcano. The view across the lagoon towards the central vent.

City on the Edge of Forever

The Venus in my previous post looks out onto this view; a city perched on the rim of an ancient volcano. The mountain erupted violently 3500 years ago, destroying the original larger island and leaving behind a shattered ring of islands circling a now calm lagoon. The tsunami and ash falls following the eruption is thought to have destroyed the Minoan civilisation. I guess that this is the reality behind the myth of Atlantis.

There's more than the beautiful view to give my Venus pause for thought. In the center of the lagoon, volcanic vents still jet out gas and steam. There are places where the sea is warm enough to swim even in winter. A city built on the cliff overlooking a volcano. A precarious place to live.

It strikes me as good metaphor for life and its fragility. We cling on, always on the edge of infinity.