By JACQUES MILES

I was walking to my bedroom when all of a sudden I felt the ground moving. My clothes in my closet were swaying from side to side; a long crack rips up through the wall, causing my wife to scream in terror. As fast as it started it was over. In Ecuador these shaky times comes normally when a volcano is erupting.

I remember the first time I saw a volcano. I had only been in Ecuador for a few months. I remember going outside and seeing the sky red and orange and thinking what a beautiful sunset, but then I realized it was four o’clock in the afternoon and this was not a sunset, I was observing my first volcanic eruption.

I learned that volcanoes come in all shapes and sizes and there are over 30 volcanoes in Ecuador and thankfully not all of them are active. Chimborazo is the highest mountain and active volcano in Ecuador, due to its position on the equator it is the closest point on the earth's surface to the sun. Chimborazo is a monster of a volcano but, this monster is not the volcano that makes many people live in fear. That monster’s name is Tungurahua. Tungurahua is a 16,478 foot volcano that has erupted many times since 1999. In August 2006 and February 2008, there were several major eruptions, which claimed many villages and human life as well. We traveled through ground zero, after the 2008 destruction. Parts of the roads were closed and on the side of the mountain, we could see the trail that the lava left behind. I was shocked into the reality of the magnitude, when I was told that the dark rock material I was standing on was cooled lava. It went on as far as the eye could see. Imagine this place just a short while ago; it must have been an awe inspiring sight. Many people lost everything they had. In 2008, when Tungurahua erupted, it shot lava and volcanic rock several miles into the air. Words can't describe the terror many villages faced when flaming rocks rained down from the sky, destroying their homes, livestock and even taking life. Ash and poison gas at times can reach over a hundred miles away from the eruption point.

On May 30, 2010, Tungurahua once again flexed its volcanic muscles shooting ash and volcanic materials over three miles in the sky, causing many to flee from their homes. Ash reaching over a hundred miles away forced the closure of The Guayaquil Airport. Everything is covered is heard many times over as the inhabitants marvel at nature’s powerful hand. This time, thank goodness, I am here safe and sound in Augusta, Ga., far away from the ash, tremors, and chaos. Even so, I know soon I will be back continuing with my work in Ecuador. I am sure I will have to come face to face again with Ecuador’s mighty volcanoes, but that’s just life in ‘The Middle of the World.’

JACQUES MILES jacqandraq@att.net