Welcome to our day at Mount Teide.
Teide is a huge mountain, smack-bang in the middle of the island Tenerife.
And it’s the largest natural monument in the Canary Islands, which is one of the reasons
why we wanted to go and see it, not to mention the spectacular scenery surrounding it, where
it almost feels like you’re on a whole different planet.
We hired a car and drove the whole way up there, which we’d definitely recommend so
you can stop off and check out the weird undulating landscape around you, of lava fields and Canarian
pine trees.
You can also get a coach tour but then it’s on to the cable car.
Once you’ve got yourself a ticket and a bottle of water and chocolate bar - I’d
definitely recommend those to keep you going when you get to the top - you’ve got to
pile into the cable car with about 30 or so other people.
So, er, if claustrophobic settings aren’t really your thing, maybe sit this one out.
Then it’s on to the vertigo-inducing climb.
Hold on tight if you can and try not to hold your breath the whole way up as you scale
nearly all of the mountain in about 8 minutes.
This cable car trip will get you 200 metres from the top of the mountain, so you’re
pretty high up.
Coming out of the cable car, you’ll notice that the air is much thinner.
You might even find you have a little bit of difficulty breathing, so if you do have
respiratory problems, again, take the time to just chill out and enjoy the view.
Then you’ve got to to steal yourself for the 200-metre climb to the very summit of
the mountain.
If you’re up for it, I’d definitely recommend it but as you can see, don’t judge my fitness
levels, I was quite out of breath.
It’s beautiful but the air’s definitely thinner up here.
But it’s worth it I think.
We’re nearly at the top and I’m absolutely shattered.
The oxygen just doesn’t get around as quickly because the air’s so thin here.
And it stinks!
All the sulphur you can see it on the sides of the mountain here, it’s all greeny-yellow
and it smells like rotten eggs, but it looks quite cool.
Here we go!
It’s not much like England here.
You’re not going to find safety harnesses and ropes and hard hats.
You might find the odd chain here and there, but that’s about it.
Alright!
And it is spectacular, it’s breath-taking up here.
Quite literally breath-taking.
My legs are a bit like jelly and I’m only just catching my breath again.
I’d say as far as shoes are concerned, you don’t need really hiking boots.
you can wear them; it’s probably fairly sensible to but I’ve just got some grotty
plimsolls on and they seem to be doing the job alright.
I think it’s just a case of taking your time and actually enjoying it, not being too
over-powered by the smell of sulphur.
You can’t even see the land.
I can’t even tell what’s sea and what’s sky.
Whether that’s horizon or whether it’s just the top of the clouds but I’m pretty
sure it’s just the top of the clouds.
It’s what’s called the sea of clouds that you get here, where we’re at the point where
we’re above them and all you’ve got is this beautiful direct sunlight.
It’s warm.
I’m pretty toastie.
We found out some really interesting stuff about the history of the mountain and its
cultural significance to the Canarian people.
In fact, it was so interesting that we decided to get our animator, Phil, to make a little
piece about it for you to watch.
It should be here, on your screen, do click it!
Because Phil put lots of time and effort into it.
And it’s very good and you’ll learn things.
Thanks!
Another really cool thing about Teide is that it’s part of a national park, so not only
is it really high up on the island, but it’s also really sparsely populated, meaning that
light pollution is really really low.
This makes it a very good spot for a bit of star-gazing.
Check out this photo!
I didn’t take it, but it’s beautiful and it shows just how stunning the landscape there
is at night time.
Thanks for watching and don’t forget to click subscribe!
Bye!