The tour started at 8am with a 45min ride at the back of a pick up to get to the top of the volcano. As when we crossed Santa Cruz Island we observed distinct vegetations and weathers depending on the altitude. We left Puerto Villami under a light rain and we first observed the lanscape made of cactuses on a black rocky volcanic soil, then going up the vegatation became tropical and the weather was very misty. When we reached the top of the volcano we were above the clouds and a beautiful sun and blue sky welcomed us. We had just a few minutes to put some sun cream before jumping on our horses. After very quick explanations (too quick for people with no experience in riding horses, especially that one girl fell just two minutes after siting on her horse) we started our journey to reach the crater of the volcano Sierra Negra. At the beginning we were going slowly and the ride was very enjoyable, but very soon one of the guides started to push the horses to go quicker, it became very stressful for inexperienced riders like us, the aim was not to fall! Unfortunately the girl that had fell at the beginning fell again and this time badly, she had to return to Puerto Villami. After that Gosia who did not control her horse was very scared. The end of the ride was great as we went slowly and we could appreciate the beautiful landscapes. The view on the crater was amazing, this is the second biggest crater in the world. We left the horses and went for a walk to see the small volcano Chico. The lanscapes were amazing, only a few cactuses (they grow 1cm per year) on the brown lava and nothing on the more recent black lava (it takes more than 100 years before anything will grow, this volcano last erupted in 1979). After a meal under the only big tree around we enjoyed the ride back, as we were more confident with the horses. This tour was really worth it but left us badly covered in dust. Back at the village we had a quick shower and went to visit a breading tortoises centre, 1km away from the village. The tortoises are released in the wide when they are 5 years old, as at this age they will be able to survive. Nowadays not many tortoises born in the wild survives due to the noumerous predators that have been introduced (ant and pigs eating the eggs, cattle walking on the nests, dogs attacking small tortoises, ...). The visit was short but very interesting and the walk to the centre was beautiful, as the trail takes you through varied types of vegetations. We ended our day by a quiet walk along the beautiful beach and had a dinner at a lovely restaurant called 'Oasis', next to the main hotel San Vincente (the food is very nice and cheap).
