Exploring Green Mountain and the Devil's Riding School

On Thursday, March 22, we drove back to North East Bay, but this time we turned southwards past the European Space Agency tracking station, and walked along the beach and rocks to get finally a clear view of Boatswain Bird Island, the nesting place for thousands of sea birds.  We also saw an impressive blow hole, sending sea water and spray 20 feet into the air regularly. As if we needed any additional drama, we learned today that the aircraft (Titan Airways) that provides the one and only service to and from Ascension Island was damaged at the RAF base on the Falkland Islands.  An alternative aircraft (Air Italy) has been found but it will not be able to maintain the expected schedule.  We don't know when we will be leaving!  On Friday, March 23, we explored the buildings just above us on Green Mountain, mostly built in the 1820s and 1830s, but some used well into the 1980s.  The Royal Marines built barracks (very small -- large enough only to accommodate a garrison of 20 to 30 men) in 1833 in the windiest, wettest place on the mountain, but after 30 years they found they couldn't tolerate the damp so they barracks were turned into a milking shed and new ones built!  There are also two huge slopes concreted in the 1860s to catch rain and funnel it down into tanks to provide the island's inhabitants' water supply and used for this purpose well into the 20th century. Down near sea level, Jack explored one of the island's strange volcanic features, the Devil's Riding School.  Reached after a short climb over a lava field strewn with flat, broken bits of lava (described as walking over broken china plates), one reaches a shallow, wide crater.  The floor of the crater looks something like a bull's eye target with rings of alternating colors.  The devil could have ridden horses around the circles!  (The formation can be seen from space, so try finding Ascension Island on Google Earth.  Hint: Latitude 7 deg, 56 min South; Longitude 14 deg, 25 min West.)