Today is a short day and we have to catch a flight home sometime this afternoon. We chose a couple of peaks within easy reach of the airport. The first was Pico Boa Entrada. It’s not very high, but it has a nicely shaped volcanic crater. Our first attempt to get close to the slope using a road map failed, so we switched to a topo map and got pretty close to the summit, but the road ended and we left our car in someone’s garden.
Less impressive sea views (right)
The guy from the house not only let us park, but escorted us to the trailhead. How nice! We walked along the dirt road and arrived at the quarry. Presumably the quarry guard (we assume) met us and, having understood our purpose, showed us where to go. Not bad, but not really a trail. The small inconvenience of navigating through the bush was more than made up for by the speed with which we reached the top.
We found no markers on the summit, but across the crater we could see another candidate, which we confirmed was lower. It was a very short walk, but the scenery was incredibly impressive – huge trees, lots of pumpkins and giant plants covering the crater. On our way down we heard two sounds: someone talking nearby and thunder. Both got our attention. We greeted the locals and they were kind enough to show us a nice gradual path out of the crater, much better and more comfortable than our ascent had been.
Fungi (right)
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, also known as arrowleaf elephant ear, arrowleaf elephant’s ear, malanga or American taro, is a tropical plant.
Thunder rumbled again and again and soon we were caught in a typical tropical storm. There was no need to hurry as we were soaked within the first few minutes. New experiences are always welcome and we had one. We witnessed the closest breadfruit ever to fall from a tree. A couple of kilos of fruit fell right between Rob and me. One experience was enough.
Of course, we arrived at the car at the height of the rain and the rain seemed to slow down later on. We only had to clear a few branches from the road. We headed towards our next planned summit, Muquinqui, hoping that the rain would stop. And we were right; half an hour later we were enjoying a walk in the fresh and clear air after the rain.
