Mount Teide in Teide National Park is the third highest volcanic structure and most voluminous in the world after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea in Hawaii. At 12198 feet, it is the highest peak on the Canary Islands and in the whole of Spain. There is a cable car which takes visitors from 7,730 feet to 11,663 feet, though it doesn't run in bad or windy weather. Hikers who obtain a permit can hike from the cable car to the peak.

The weather was perfect for our day trip to Teide National Park and the cable car. Diana could not join us because of the altitude. We had rescheduled from Wednesday when the wind had closed down the cable car. After an hour's drive of 39 miles, we arrived at 11:15 am for our 12:00 reservation. Once we disembarked, we had an hour before we needed to go back down, and we headed to the viewpoint for the Pico Viejo volcano, about a 1-mile round trip over a rocky path. Fortunately, we all tolerated the altitude, though some of the up and down of the trail did make us go rather slow.

We ate lunch after heading back down, and drove by to take some pictures of another attraction, Roques de García, a collection of volcanic rocks moulded by erosion. We had hoped to hike the loop around the rocks, but the kids were tired and wanted to get back to the resort for a Pokemon challenge.

Teidi Volcano
Tiede National Park