At Sea
Today we are sailing north into the northeast trade winds on our way to the Canary Islands. The islands of the Cape Verde Archipelago are in our wake, but hardly forgotten, particularly as we remember the spectacular visit to the caldera of the great volcano that is the island of Fogo. This volcano rises 2829 meters above sea level but begins on an ocean floor 3000 meters deep, or about 20,000 feet overall. The island is young and sits over the hot spot that created all the islands of the archipelago. It has been continually active since the 15th century and has erupted at least a couple of times per century. The latest eruption was in 1995 and the lava from that episode arose from a small crater on the side of the primary cone (pictured). During the eruption the fresh lava came right across the road we took into the caldera. Fogo is a stratovolcano comprised of alternating layers of basaltic lava and dark pyroclastic rocks, mostly cinders. The entire scene was breathtaking as we drove across the floor of the caldera which is about 17 kilometers in diameter, right at the foot of these active volcanic cones. The caldera floor is over 1600 meters above sea level and the drive up the steep slope of the side of the volcano was a memorable one indeed. Fogo was our last stop before we disembark Endeavour in Las Palmas in two days. We all felt, that in visiting Fogo, we had saved the best for last and will carry its memories for a long time to come.
Today we are sailing north into the northeast trade winds on our way to the Canary Islands. The islands of the Cape Verde Archipelago are in our wake, but hardly forgotten, particularly as we remember the spectacular visit to the caldera of the great volcano that is the island of Fogo. This volcano rises 2829 meters above sea level but begins on an ocean floor 3000 meters deep, or about 20,000 feet overall. The island is young and sits over the hot spot that created all the islands of the archipelago. It has been continually active since the 15th century and has erupted at least a couple of times per century. The latest eruption was in 1995 and the lava from that episode arose from a small crater on the side of the primary cone (pictured). During the eruption the fresh lava came right across the road we took into the caldera. Fogo is a stratovolcano comprised of alternating layers of basaltic lava and dark pyroclastic rocks, mostly cinders. The entire scene was breathtaking as we drove across the floor of the caldera which is about 17 kilometers in diameter, right at the foot of these active volcanic cones. The caldera floor is over 1600 meters above sea level and the drive up the steep slope of the side of the volcano was a memorable one indeed. Fogo was our last stop before we disembark Endeavour in Las Palmas in two days. We all felt, that in visiting Fogo, we had saved the best for last and will carry its memories for a long time to come.
