There were large crabs and a few ugly fish. I soon became aware that a good sense of direction is not enough to find your way through the spires and canyons of the Mothra site. It takes navigation skill and a three dimensional sense of spatial relationships. Soon I was completely lost and disoriented. At first the beauty of the geology overwhelmed me.
Massive sulfide chimneys with multiple spires at the tops.
They appeared to be cathedrals built by collaboration between Vulcan and Neptune. There were also slender sulfide structures that seemed to defy the law of gravity and vents with shimmering hot water spewing out from several openings. They made me think that Bryce Canyon might look like this if it were underwater and ejected superheated water from the tops of its hoodoos. As we approached closer to these formations, I started to get my first close-up view of the biology. I was intrigued by the colors and variety.