On Saturday I went on a ‘jeep safari’. Well actually, they weren’t jeeps, they were Land Rovers, and we didn’t see any wild animals, but still it was a good trip.

A small party of us, twelve I think, were taken to the Teide National Park by two Dutch guides and one Italian for a fast moving tour of the highlights.

El Teide is the towering peak of the volcano that dominates Tenerife. Standing at over 3,700 meters, it is Spain’s highest point and the third-highest volcano in the world. The surrounding national park is a lunar-like area with massive volcanic rocks, lava flows, and lava beds, contained within a huge caldera.

We drove through a forest of charred trees, severely damaged by the devastating fires of August 2023. Many trees had lost all their branches to the flames, but tufts of green fascicles now adorned their blackened trunks, marking the progress of their recovery.

It was a beautifully warm sunny day but snow remained in shady pockets above the tree line.

The caldera was formed following the collapse of an earlier massive volcano.

Strange shaped rocks remained following the erosion of softer materials.

We reached a height of over 2,300 metres.

Climbing seemed a little more difficult than usual probably due to the rarefied air, although the large breakfast could also be a factor.

We are now back onboard Bolette sailing towards Praia on Cape Verde. We are due to arrive there early tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.