You might have to travel to Hawaii or beyond for another black sand beach like this one. Volcanic lava rocks, ground down to powdery sand over vast amounts of time feel soft underfoot, and I walk along the beach to enjoy it. Large, powerful waves crash along the shore, and signs warn against swimming here.
As I walk down the beach, the sand changes to small, rounded pebbles -- like black, polished river rocks. Different areas of the beach have different stones, as if they have been sorted by some unseen force. Most of the stones are smooth and black -- but some are full of holes, plus a few that are white or red (different volcanoes produce different types of rocks on this island, and they collect over time). There are virtually no seashells here, just stones.
Some areas of the beach have fist-sized (or larger) rocks -- others are covered in pebbles, like here. I reach down to grab a handful, and wonder how many different volcanic eruptions these came from eons ago. I learn that some of these rocks even come from volcanoes under the ocean.
