Today we are going to travel across all seven continents, through steaming craters and frozen summits, into the heart of the world's most active volcanoes. This is a story about chasing fire.

Ricardo Kaljouw is one of only a handful of people on Earth to have completed the Volcanic Seven Summits — climbing the highest volcano on every continent. From his first glimpse of Kilimanjaro rising above the Tanzanian savannah, to standing alone on the roof of Antarctica in minus 49 degree cold, Ricardo's story is one of extraordinary resilience, raw adventure, and the kind of fire that, once lit, simply cannot be put out.

Highlights of The Volcanic Seven Summits:

• Standing on the roof of Africa — and the sunrise that greeted Ricardo on the way down from Kilimanjaro that changed everything.
• Watching the largest lava lake in the world come alive at night on the slopes of Nyiragongo in Rwanda.
• Surviving a lightning storm at altitude on Iran's Mount Damavand.
• Getting lost in the jungle of Papua New Guinea with no food, a missing porter, and a village of locals who may have been hunting him.
• Being stranded alone on the highest volcano on earth, Ojos del Salado in Chile.
• That final, extraordinary moment on Mount Sidley in Antarctica — six years in the making, 17,000 kilometres from home.

FIND OUT MORE

Ricardo Kaljouw's book is called A Million Steps on Lava: Climbing the Highest Volcano on Each Continent. It's a gripping, inspiring read — and what makes it especially unique is that Ricardo started exactly where many of us are: dreaming of high peaks without any real experience of climbing them. It's a story that makes the extraordinary feel possible.

Follow Ricardo's ongoing expeditions on Instagram at @volcanicsevensummits and search up the book wherever books are sold.

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If this story lit something up in you, do me a favour — send it to just one person. One friend, one family member, one person you think needs a little fire in their life right now. Hit the share button in your podcast app, it takes about ten seconds. Or go Old School and tell someone about it over a cheeky pint! I'm trying to reach 1,000 new listeners this series, and every single share genuinely moves the needle. You'd be helping Ricardo's story reach someone who really needs to hear it.

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Armchair Explorer is written and presented by Aaron Millar. Audio editing and sound design by Charles Tyrie. Theme music by Sweet Chap. Produced by Armchair Productions.

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