Escorted by another excellent National Park guide we joined a small group to walk on the Sierra Negra volcano which has the second largest crater in the world and last erupted in 1995 albeit just a little bit on one side.
The drive up was fascinating as we climbed through different vegetation and crops it was pleasantly cool and misty. The walk was about 9 miles altogether but mostly contouring round and flat so nothing terribly challenging. There were three young couples in our group, two from Chile and one from Argentina and they proved excellent company. A couple spoke superb English and were very happy to chat. One chap in particular had never had an English lesson in his life and had learnt everything from watching English language movies which were his hobby. His all time favourite comedian was Ricky Gervais!
Once again the tours were limited to small numbers and set off at different times so although we were aware of one other group on the mountain we rarely saw them and so had a tremendous sense of the scale and isolation of the place. The first path took us round the crater…
Through some forest where we saw a land iguana…. |
And out onto the lava flows. There were some vents and chimneys where you could feel the heat….. 
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Lava tubes formed when the outside of a lava flow cools and sets while the inside is still hot and carries on flowing down the mountain…. |
Finally, on the way back and after a great deal of looking our guide spotted a red breasted finch which you can just about make out at the centre of the photograph. It does have a proper name but neither of us can remember it now. Answers on a postcard please to the usual address. |
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