You get this immense feeling that you're witnessing something, which is the very foundations of our planet.

And this is what volcanoes are.

They're actually creating new land. This is how our planet formed.

You're hearing a travel writer named Mark Stratton watching the eruption of a volcano in La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands.

Lava is pouring out of that volcano right now. It's the first volcanic eruption in La Palma since

1971 and the biggest on the island in more than 100 years.

It's something which is profoundly significant. And to actually get the chance to experience at a close hand is something of a privilege.

This is F.T. Weekend, the podcast. I'm Lila Raptopoulos.

As we watch the climate shift before our eyes,

this weekend we focus on the awesomeness of nature.

You know, that feeling of witnessing something that astounds you.

We explore how the earth humbles us,

how quick we are to ignore its messages,

and how it has a knack of reminding us of its power in unignorable ways.

Let's go back to Mark in La Palma. Our editor sent him there to chase a volcano, which for him

was great because Mark loves volcanoes. He also visited one in Iceland earlier this year.

Me, it was a no-brainer wanting to come out here, not just to do my job and report on the volcano

and the impact it's having on the island, but also to indulge, I think, a passion, really,

for seeing the natural world at its most visceral.

Getting to La Palma was difficult.

The eruption and all the ash that it caused grounded all the direct

flights. So he flew to a nearby island and took a four-hour ferry. As you were on the ferry,

...