Hell Can Be Beautiful

摘要

Standing on the rim of the Fossa Crater on Vulcano Island the first thought that popped into my mind was "if this is hell, it is damn beautiful!" The view from the rim to the north to the nearby Lipari, the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the north coast of Sicily, is stunning. And the look down into the crater, with all the yellow stinking fumaroles was frightening. Looking around I remembered something that made a big impact on my life. A few years ago I met someone with HIV-AIDS. Although neither of us was in any way religious, I asked him one evening: "Where do you want to go? To heaven or to hell?" He smiled and answered "to hell, because that's where all the naughty boys are".