We arrived in Tenerife at 0800 this morning, which is now Day 8 of the cruise. Tenerife is the first and largest of three Spanish Canary Islands to be visited on the cruise – the others being Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. We are now past the half-way point of the voyage, and are flirting with the most southerly latitudes visited on the cruise, before turning back north in the next few days towards the United Kingdom. The weather is warm now – 28 degrees Celsius was forecasted for today and this reflects both our latitude and proximity to the north African coast.
Today, we were scheduled to take a coach excursion to Mount Teide, the highest mountain in the Canary Islands, the top of which is reached by cable car. After a somewhat rushed breakfast in the cabin, we made our way to the Meridian restaurant on Deck 5, which was the designated assembly point for all excursions leaving the ship today. Because of the large volume of passengers leaving the ship, everyone was asked to meet in the Meridian first, for pre-allocation into tour groups, to ensure a swift and orderly departure when disembarking. We've seen this being done badly on previous cruises, but are pleased to report that our tour was dispatched promptly on or around the time published last night in the ship's newsletter.
Once onto the coach, departure was within minutes of boarding, and we headed out of the port and onto the motorway towards the north of Tenerife island. It's instantly noticeable that the motorway is constantly climbing (for several miles) as it makes its way out of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife towards the island's former capital of La Laguna. We pass by the island's northern airport at Los Rodeos, before heading upwards on the road towards the Teide National Park, which is home to several active but 'sleeping' volcanoes.
Progress is slow on the 35 mile journey as the coach powers its way up the twisting single carriageway road. The road is initially through lush forests, but shortly after entering the Teide National Park zone, we emerge above the tree line around 6000 feet and the landscape suddenly changes. The terrain begins to resemble the lunar or Martian surfaces and indeed our tour guide informs us that the area has actually been used as the movie set for Clash of the Titans (2010). The landscape becomes increasingly barren, with minimal plant life, and the remnants of lava flows can be seen from earlier volcanic activity. Lava rocks which cools quickly, result in the formation of a glassy, black mineral known as obsidian, and this can be seen forming the top layer on many large rocks and boulders on either side of the road. The most recent volcanic eruption on the island was El Chinyero in 1909, and we pass close to the distinctive cinder cone on the way to Teide. The last eruption of Teide itself is not known exactly but is believed to be sometime around 850 AD.
Eventually, we reach the cable car station around 7730 feet. Unfortunately, our daughter was ill on the coach journey up to the cable car station and my wife decided that it was best they didn't attempt the ascent on the cable car. So I made the journey alone to the top of the mountain. The cable car can be notoriously busy during the summer season but fortunately, queues this morning were very light and once on the cable car, the top station was reached in less than 10 minutes. The top station is at an altitude of 11,663 feet and is approximately 500 feet below the actual summit itself which stands at 12,198 feet. It's noticeably cooler at the top and initially the area is shrouded in a cold, damp fog. But within minutes, the fog clears revealing the summit and views of the National Park below. There isn't a massive amount to do on reaching the top, although a couple of designated pathways lead away from the cable car station allowing people to explore the geology of the mountain. The paths are narrow and rocky and care must be exercised. Any attempts to quickly climb stairs or ascend steep slopes on the pathway result in a slight dizziness due to the altitude and reduced oxygen in the air.
Having spent around 45 minutes on the mountain, it was time to head back down on the cable car. Once at the bottom, there is a small restaurant and also a gift shop allowing the opportunity to purchase some local souvenirs. Then it was back to Santa Cruz to re-join the ship. The return journey by coach didn't seem quite as long as the outward trip, although it still took over an hour to descend back down to the coast.
After dining in the Peninsular restaurant (devilled whitebait followed by venison), Britannia was almost ready to sail again, and we let slip at exactly 2300 for the relatively short crossing to Gran Canaria. The ship is scheduled to arrive in the island capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria at around 0800 tomorrow.
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