Travels with Jane and Charlie-Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: Volcan Sierra Negra

Today we joined a group of eight others to a trip up Volcan Sierra Negra. We met the group, picked up our vegetarian lunch, a roll with a slice of cheese, cookies, apple and boxed juice and got into the tour bus for the 45 minute ride to the national park entrance. We had a Spanish/English speaking guide and headed out for the 5 hour hike. It was about a 9.5 mile walk. This is the second largest caldera in the world.

Our new friend from Cuba, Huffy.

We walked first along a dirt road and then headed up a path.

We were in the highlands so the weather was foggy with lots of moisture in the air.

Looking at the cloud covered Caldera

We move on to the volcano and the clouds are moving away

We eat lunch on our way to the Lava Fields

One of the few surviving plants

The landscape changed from walking on a trail to walking on the lava fields.

The landscape was spectacular, nothing like we had ever seen before. It looked like something from a sci-fi film. The walking was pretty treacherous. You had to watch where you put your foot as the lava rocks were loose and it was easy to trip and fall.

A lava tunnel. The outer shell hardened and the inner core kept flowing.

At the Top.

We had hiked to Chico, which is part of Volcan Sierra Negra and our final destination. The view was awe inspiring. This volcano is being studied to see how life develops on this type of material. It takes 25 years for plants to start to grow.

David, our Guide talks to us about the area

After a short break we headed back to see if the fog had lifted so we could see what the Caldera looked like

Going Back down the Trail

The clouds have disappeared and we see the Caldera

The Caldera is 11 kilometers in diameter and very deep. It last erupted in 2005. We couldn't believe how big it was and that it is still an active volcano.