The Pico do Fogo is one of the steepest and most spectacular volcanic cones in the world. The 1,200m ascent and descent takes from 5 to 7 hours, depending on your level of fitness. Start early, before the sun is out and haze obscures the view.
Photowalk: Cooperativa – Portela – 1995 lava flow – Boca Fonte – Cooperativa Fogo (Cape Verde Islands) rises steeply from the ocean, pokes through the clouds and towers above them. From the coast of Santiago or the peaks of São Nicolau it is as forbidding as a fortress. Fogo is a volcano, still active, and inside the crater the latest eruption still smokes gently. Fogo is a menacing place: dark lava flows from centuries of eruptions to reach down its eastern side to the ocean. But it has a soft heart.
A volcano in Shetland? Well yes, but a very ancient and now extinct one. After all, Shetland has been 3 billion years in the making. Take in the exceptional geological features of Eshaness, Hillswick, Mavis Grind, Keen of Hamar, Foula, Fair Isle… To quote Shetland Heritage Trails: “Journey through an ancient landscape and discover a blast from the past.”
I’ve got the hots for volcanoes. And in a next life I will probably be a geologist. Follow me on a geo-field trip around the Canarian island of Lanzarote. I also island-hopped to Fuerteventura. Well, to Isla de Lobos more specifically. A little black & white gem, made of so-called hornitos and sand.
