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| 2007-01-25 Cueva de Punto Blanco |
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People: M&M Trybulec
Place: Playa de Sam Marcos, Tenerife
Cave: Cueva de Punto Blanco
During the O!bora cruise around the Canary Islands we wanted to visit
several lava caves; unfortunately, our luck ran out and we had a chance to visit just one cave
(and on the last day of our trip) - Cueva de Punto Blanco on Tenerife (200+ meters long, horizontal).
The path to the cave is pretty easy - a several hundred meter traverse of the high cliff above Playa de San Marcos.
The entrance is about 3 meters above the path, but there's a wooden ladder which can be used to get inside.
The cave was extra interesting due to its origins, but moderately interesting otherwise.
Two things to note: lava curbs and evident frozen lava flows.
If a passage is blocked here, then it remains blocked - no mud to dig out! :)
Also, very warm (about 20 Centigrade - take a lot of water),
very pointy but not sharp rocks.
In the opening part of the cave very dry with a lot of dust; farther in, the cave's walls start to get a bit wet.
Almost no formations except for some thin flowstone in places where water seeped in through cracks.
Boiling lava left some small, stalactite-like protrusions hanging from the roof.
Earlier, in the same cliff wall and above the very same path there's an entrance to a much bigger cave (almost 2 km) -
Cueva de San Marcos (near a metal pipe go up the white board with rungs).
But we didn't visit this cave - I think we misunderstood the directions
given us by the locals...
[MJT] Traversing the cliff wall on the way to the cave
[MJT] The entrance - high above the ocean
[MJT] A lava sidewalk with natural(!) curbs
[MJT] Most of the passages were high enough for walking
[MJT] Sometimes you need to bend a little
[MJT] Here we found some lava stalactites
[MJT] One of the lava outflows; here the passage splits into two side passages, both of which end after less than 20 meters
[MJT] Martha's admiring the flowing lava :)
[MJT] Another view of the main passage
[MJT] In some places there was thin flowstone, although we're not sure whether this was calcite
[MJT] And the end of the trip; Playa de San Marcos is visible below us
[MUT] A ladder to/from the cave; somewhat exposed
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