MT TEIDE VOLCANO Tenerife, Canary Islands

Starting my holidays in Tenerife after my ten month field service in Benin, West Africa.  Hiking in the fresh mountain air is my way of recouping and restoring my spirit and soul. I drove along the mountain ridge (route TF-24) through the Corona Forestal of Canarian pines to the base of Mt Teide volcano.  Peak elevation is 3,718 meters. This was one of the clearest days I have experienced on Mt Teide. Acting as tour guide for four crew members, I drove 13 hours around the island from Santa de la Cruz where the ship is moored, over the mountain pass to the base of Mt Teide volcano, stopping at every view point for photos until I reached the national park.  Thousands of years of continous volcanic activity have moulded the immense caldera creating unique shapes and colors.  I left the park boundaries and drove up the switch back roads over the spectacular ridges and down into the valley gorges of Masca in the North West. Descended along the hairpin curves to the north side of the island to Garachico, through Puerto de la Cruz and back to the ship.  I hope to come back to climb the summit of the volcano on January 5th if the winds are not too strong and the gondala and the summit aren't closed.  I hiked up from the base last year to the gondola (3,555 meters) but didn't make it to the summit because it was closed due to strong winds. (scroll up to view Masca photos)