The last 'alpine start' of the trip got us to the head of the teleferico queues - except there weren't any today! 15 of us and slightly more of a group of American astronomers who had been up 'observing' all night at Izana were crowded into a gondola licensed for 25 but we got to the top OK... were the swings over the pylons more pronounced than usual?
After a bit of orientation at the top we headed down the Pico Viejo path as the other was closed because of ice and despite the altitude most of the group who went made it down to the mirador and back within the hour. On the way the fumaroles could be smelled and also seen as the water vapour condensed in the cold morning air (-3 deg).
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| Penitentes - snow spikes - by the Pico Viejo path |
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Back down at the bottom we introduced people to lumumba - hot chocolate with brandy and cream. Fairly yummy! Then we headed off towards the NE ridge which was the focus of the remainder of the day's geology. First stop was lunch and a look round the visitor centre near El Portillo then, as the cloud blew in we had our first taste of weather that wasn't unbroken sunshine as we looked at the 1704/5 eruptions near the observatory, then the striking black and white layers of La Tarta where plinian fall is interbedded with mafic scoria. We stopped at La Crucita to check out the Dorsal Ridge basalt there which is stuffed full of big plagioclases and then at the Mirador where it also includes weathered olivines and pyroxenes, and finally the beautifully spheroidally weathered basalt in the cutting just before the Guimar turning. Down the Guimar landslip valley we found a new mirado where the wall was built of fresh basalt with whopping big olivine phenocrysts - so we had seen at least 4 different basalts as we came along the ridge.
Oh yes and a coffee stop where the lads found some totally gross chocolate coated donuts!
Last day tomorrow, and a return to the Bandas del Sur and our answer to the 'mystery quarry' of SXR260 fame
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