April 2, 2023
Today in Tenerife, we went to visit Mt. Teide. Mt. Teide is the highest mountain in the Canary Islands, as well as all of Spain. It is also an active stratovolcano. Stratovolcanoes have lava eruptions one after another, creating layers of lava. Because Mt. Teide is so tall (it is the 3rd highest volcano in the world), the eruptions happen near its base rather than from its top. The last time it erupted from the top was over 20,000 years ago. In the last 5 centuries, Mt. Teide erupted once about every 50 to 70 years, but its last eruption was in 1909 - over 100 years ago. Could it be due to erupt again?
We began the drive to Mt. Teide in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife.
We drove through La Esperanza Forest on our way to the mountain.
While there, we stopped at a viewpoint where we could look down on the city amidst the fog. It is often foggy here because clouds come in from the trade winds and hang out in this zone.
Soon we were able to see Mt. Teide in the distance.
The drive up to Mt. Teide National Park was beautiful. The rock walls along the road showed the different layers of rock.
The views below were amazing. As we got closer and closer to the park, the lush greenery faded, leading to a more desert-like landscape and then craggy rocks and lava remains. There were also several observatory stations along the mountain. We knew we were approaching the park when unusual rock formations began to appear.
Once in the Canadas La Teide National Park (and a UNESCO World Heritage Site), we stopped to see the Roques Garcias, the most famous of which is "God's Thumb".
We were given time to explore the area and make our way to the National Park building where our bus would meet us.
We caught one last look at the Roques de Garcia as we left the parking lot.
We saw more of the park as we journeyed back to the Esperanza Forest. The entire park is within a caldera bordered by the ridges of the caldera. Throughout the landscape is evidence of past eruptions from Mt. Teide.
We drove back through the forest admiring the trees and signs of spring in the flowering bushes.
As we left the forest, we drove through narrow city streets lined with colorful houses and stores.
We stopped at an overlook where we could look down on the city, as well as up to the houses built into the hillside. There were large cisterns of water collected during the rains for the use of the houses and gardens.
While at the overlook, I also enjoyed watching the lizards running along the rockery.
Back on the ship, we enjoyed the sail-away and the parting views of the island of Tenerife.
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