Mt. Teide!

10.14.12

Hey everyone! So, I'm pretty disappointed that we didn't end up going
to Morocco, but I made the best of the Canary Islands! We knew before
Spain that we were unable to make it to Casablanca, due to the tensions
in Northern Africa, but Danielle's dad sent her some pretty cool things
to do in the Canary Islands. We decided to go hike up Mt. Teide, the
world's 3rd tallest active volcano! Danielle and I went with Colleen,
Amy, and part of my "extended" family on the ship: Ann, Dale, Pete, and
Mike! Dale and Ann are my "parents" and Pete and Mike are their
biological sons, so my "brothers." We couldn't get a permit to hike to
the very summit unless we stayed the night at the Hostel that was
located about 500 m from the top. So we stayed the night :)

The hike up the first day was pretty intense. It was pretty much dead
silent except for us talking, which was weird because when we saved our
breath for hiking, the only noises were the crunching of our boots.
However, the hike itself was great...every view was breath-taking, and
you wouldn't think that a bunch of rocks would be amazing, but the
sights were absolutely gorgeous!

We saw dried lava flow from the last time Mt. Teide erupted, which was
in 1909! It took us a good 4 or 5 hours to hike to the hostel, and we
stopped for lunch on the way up! Once we reached the hostel, we had to
wait because they didn't actually opened until 5pm, and we got there
about 3:30pm! So to pass the time, we ate some snacks, we played
Frisbee, and honestly, Danielle, Colleen, Amy, and I found a pretty
comfortable rock in the sun and took a nap too haha. So yes, I have
literally slept on a volcano before!

While at the hostel, we talked to some pretty cool people! Tom and Adi
were two guys from London we met. Adi decided to sleep outside, in the
cold, in his sleeping bag, because he "didn't drag that thing all the
way from London for nothing!" That night, the moon was ridiculously
bright, but it was so amazing! There were a ton of stars to see as
well. I wish my camera could pick them up, but alas, it doesn't. :(

The beds were pretty comfortable, and there were 3 rooms that had 16
beds each. One bathroom for guys, one for girls. No shower, and zero
trash cans! We had to carry everything with us! Even though the beds
were comfortable, I couldn't sleep well because of either altitude
sickness (headache) or because I was too excited!

We woke up late, but it was still really early, at about 5:15am! Then we
made the trek up to the summit. It was pretty cold, but if you kept
moving, it was pretty hot. Amy and I ended up getting ahead of the
group, which Mike and Pete caught up with us later. It was also
somewhat difficult seeing the trail with only the moonlight, even though
it was so bright. I was thankful for my headlamp I bought before the
voyage!

Pete, Mike, Amy, and I got up to the cable car line, which lead to the
summit, and surprisingly, there was a pretty nice trail up to the top!
It took us a little bit to hike up there, because it became really steep
and so it was a bit more difficult to climb up. When we got there, it
was still well before sunrise, something we didn't expect to happen. I
guess I shouldn't underestimate myself so much! haha. Anyway, it was
absolutely freezing up at the summit...it was dark, we weren't moving,
and it was just cold! Who knew the top of an active volcano would be so
cold? And our only sources of heat were sulfur vents...we smelled
amazing, let me tell you haha.

I had on two pairs of sweatpants, a pair of shorts, a long sleeve
tshirt, a short sleeved tshirt, and a hoodie, and gloves, and I was
still absolutely freezing! Then it took the sun what seemed like much
longer to rise than normal. This might have been because we were above
the clouds! However, even though I thought I would freeze, the sights
were definitely worth it! The shadow on the other side was stunning,
and we saw both the sun and the moon up in the sky together! I'm glad I
was able to make it to the summit, since it was my first time hiking
anything that high before!

We took the cable car back down to make sure we made it back to the ship
in time, and that took about 10 minutes. Made our accomplishment seem
like nothing...awesome hah. But all in all, the experiences were the
best, and I had a great time! All for now!

SH