Volcanoes

Yesterday morning Chad got up early to take some Vulcanologist for an early morning view of the volcanoes. Definitely not something you would see back home!

They take equipment up and are able to measure the heat and activity. MAF has had a contract with the Geophysical Institute of Ecuador for a number of years for this type of flying. We are the only ones with turbo charged airplanes that allow us to fly high enough to view the volcanoes. A typical flight is between 18,000 and 22,000 ft. high. That's the reason there's snow on top of the volcanoes. The fun part is that the Vulcanologist have to open the windows in order to use their instruments - that makes for a cold flight! Nothing like a 160 mile an hour wind coming in at about 25 degrees to wake you up in the morning!

Volcano Antisana

Antisana with Cotopaxi in the background

Antisana from the other side

In the throat of Tungurahua (which means "throat of fire" in Quichua).

This is the volcano that is located in Banos which erupted in 2006
and remains extremely active. Banos is an hour away from us.