Although the captain of the Pizarro had orders to remain long enough at Tenerife to allow us to climb the peak, snow permitting, he let us know that the English ships' blockade meant that we could not count on a stay of more than four or five days. So we hurried to the port of Orotova on the western slope of the volcano where we hoped to find guides. Nobody in Santa Cruz had ever climbed to the summit of the mountain.