Bart got a good shot of the last vent to erupt on El Teide around 1750 AD:
Driving through the black lava fields:
A mix of lava beds and other 'volcanic hills' (for lack of the technical terms ?):
There is a cable car that you can take from a base station nearly to the top. There is a hike up to the top of the cone as well but requires a permit of which they only issue so many per day. We opted not to take the cable car up. One, we ride a lot of cable cars up mountains - not a novelty; Two, it was expensive and the haze/clouds didn't make for good view - saved some money; and Three, altitude. We were staying near sea level and had already driven to 2,000 m in the span of hour - on windy roads. Rachel was not feeling well and honestly, I was feeling it a bit myself. The thought of taking a cable ride up another 15oo m was not appealing. When we are in the mountains, we usually start at 1500 m or so and go up and down in the course of time so we have time to acclimatize. 0 - 3500/3800 m in under 2 hours didn't seem wise. While I'm lecturing, those with small children really, really need to be careful about taking their children to high altitudes if they are not used to it/acclimatized. It can be dangerous and many people aren't aware of it.
We thought El Teide was cool - has the classic cone shape. Looks different than the Hawaiian volcanoes.
We have budding photographers now so Bart & I can get our pic taken occasionally:
And there they are:
Hope you enjoyed. Now I can move on to Spring in Switzerland. GOR-geous!!!
2 comments:
Talking about altitude, when the kids were small and we first started going to the mountains, (in Switzerland), we were always told that it was very important to go and sit down in a restaurant or somewhere as soon as we got to the top and rest for a while as our bodies, and particularly, the children, adjusted to the altitude. It takes some time, and as you say, can be really dangerous! I still do it, even when I have been up and down so often I have adjusted. Mind you, the coffee has something to do with that too, I suspect!
Wise words.
Tenerife is really interesting, but I have to say dormant volcanoes are not very pretty, are they! Great you get to have your photo taken now though. Cameras and kids are a great combination.And I am with you - spring is gorgeous, especially in Switzerland!
I think I missed something in a post somewhere...where is Tenerife? Did the kids have school break? Sorry for the confusion, I'm just not sure where on my mental world map to place the Jungle Park and El Teide as I imagine you traveling all over the world! : )
Love all the bird pics...you did get some great ones! I love birds, by the way, but usually in smaller form! They sure are sweet to hear singing after the LONG winter we had! Good stuff!
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