18 Teneriffe. [Jan., 
In an hour we reached that part of the Peak directly above 
Alta Vista de Arriba, called Mal Pais (bad country), 10,730 feet 
above the sea. The part we arrived at was well named Mal 
Pais, as it was formed of immense masses of trachytic lava, thrown 
about in all imaginable shapes and directions, interspersed with 
large blocks of obsidian, some of which were like enormous bomb- 
shells; one or two small ones. that I broke were hollow in the 
centre; the internal cavity was lined with thin filaments, similar to 
those found in flint nodules; the edges of some of the masses of 
obsidian were often as sharp as those of broken wine-bottles. 
The blocks of lava were sometimes wide apart, and sometimes had 
mere slits between them, but always wide enough to swallow up a 
pencil if one were dropped in. Some of the lavas looked as if 
they had run down the Peak in a half-fiuid state, and had broken 
into detached masses in cooling. 
We had made our ascent up to this point by the lights of the 
spangled vault above, but it was impossible to proceed any further 
until daylight. We had not long to wait; in a few minutes a 
long and bright streak of light orange-colour began to tinge the 
eastern part of the fleecy clouds below; it then deepened into a 
rose-colour, which was reflected on the cone of the Peak just 
above us, and then followed such a magnificent blending of colours 
as to defy description, and the day-break rapidly chased away the 
darkness in the plain below. The cold was most penetrating ; the 
thermometer stood at 21°, which was 13° below what it had stood 
at, at any time during the night, only 800 feet below. 
We again resumed our ascent, which over these rough masses 
was difficult and painful, as we were obliged to jump from block to 
block, aided by a long staff shod with steel, and occasionally to 
climb over some with the hands and feet. The greatest annoyance 
we experienced was from thick masses of snow between the blocks of 
lava, which had frozen hard, forming a surface like glass, thus making 
it extremely difficult to cross, particularly as I was unprovided with 
proper shoes. The thermometer soon rose to 34°; this sudden rise 
of temperature, combined with the great exertion of climbing, made 
me feel my overcoat oppressive, and I was glad to leave it, till my 
return, under a high block of obsidian. After some fatigue, we 
reached a spot called the Cueva de Nieve (the eave of snow), which 
is 11,098 feet above the level of the sea. At 7 a.m. the thermometer 
stood here at 42°°75, the barometer at 19°°912, and water boiled 
7 a AS ela A 3 
This singular cave is always filled with ice and water; the 
entrance is merely a hole in the trachytic lava, about 40 inches 
square, and from 18 to 20 feet perpendicular depth; as I was 
not provided with a ladder, my man let me down by fastening a 
rope round my waist. I found the floor immediately below the 
