I'm sure we left the car here somewhere...Thanks to Anouk for the following photos of Hawaii. 

Damn, I knew I shouldn't have left the ring at home... 

Frodo and Sam, sorry - Anouk and Rosie, crossing the volcanic wasteland 

After the Earthquake - the only trouble we had was some closed roads 

Waikiki beach, from our hotel :-) 

DISCO inferno

Aloha!

In case you've been fretting about me gadding about the world courtesy of the good British tax payer, this post describes a jolly paid for by a new benefactor - the American government.

On 7th October I flew to Honolulu, Hawaii, for DISCO XX, a meeting less groovily also known as the twentieth Disertations Symposium in Chemical Oceanography. For those of you that care about such things (or physical oceanography - there is a sister meeting called PODS) I would totally recommend it. Contrary to tales of high competition and American narcissism, there were only about 60 applicants for 25 places, and half the delegates were from outside the US. We were very well looked after, with a swish hotel on kitsch Waikiki Beach and a generous daily allowance. During the extremely taxing group activity day we went to contemplate the scarily big waves on Oahu's North shore and picnic on papaya.

Not one to turn down a free holiday, I took the opportunity to spend an extra week on the Big Island of Hawaii. I had such a good time I even felt the earth move, thanks to a 6.6 earthquake one morning. The most fun I've had in a while... ;-)

We started in the rainforested timewarp of Puna in the South, where we shared a black sand beach with the local hippies. Then we headed, via the cockroach-infested southernmost motel in the USA, to the more popular west coast to snorkel with sea turtles and fat tourists. Rounding the northern tip of the Island, we came to to a beautiful series of steep green valleys, sliced open by towering sea cliffs.

Finally, we spent some time at Kilauea - the volcano. With its barren steaming craters, billowing sulpurous vents and acres of black lava flows engulfing the forest, this place beats even Willesden Junction as a contender for Mordor. We hiked as close to the active erruption as you can, where a massive plume of acid and steam marks the entry of the molten rock to the sea, but (slightly disappointingly) you cannot currently see glowing red 'rivers of fire'.

I was travelling with Anouk and Sandy, whom I met at the DISCO meeting, and I could not have wished for better companions - thanks guys! Anouk has put some photos on the web here, and I'll put my own efforts up as soon I get my films developed.

Prior to jetting west, other notable events have included discovering anarchism, my funding running out and meeting Johnny Ball (you know - Zoe's Dad). I cultivated my media whore skills further by working in the press centre at the BA Festival of Science (some of the articles here are mine) and punished my liver at the carnage that was the Challenger Conference for Marine Science in Oban. Those of you that were at the latter - hope you've all recovered by now.

So, thanks for reading so far, I'm off to look for a job at the University of Hawaii... Part II of my American adventures, in which I survive bears, Berkeley and an unfeasibly large pizza, will follow soon.

I hope you're all well, look after yourselves and keep in touch (you could even post a comment!).

Lots of love

R x