Time to go home today. The apartment owner came to return our deposit and get the keys at 9:30, then we drove the short distance to the airport.
After returning the Yaris to Goldcar we checked our bags in and waited for our flight. Despite being among the last on board we got seats together near the front.
The flight was a bit late getting to Edinburgh because of headwinds. We got home before 6pm and had a curry delivered for dinner.
Saturday 16 November 2013
Friday 15 November 2013
Tenerife Day 7 - Barranco del Infierno
Today we went to the Barranco del Infierno (Hell's Gorge) near Adeje. We'd read the path was closed, and had been so for 2 or 3 years, since a flood had washed some of the path away. However we had also read that it was possible, with a bit of scrambling, to still get to the end, as long as you didn't mind going past the "closed" signs at the start.
So we did!
We walked up the path - most of it was OK. There were good views in all directions.
Southern Grey Shrike.
Some bits had eroded, and as we got into the narrower part some bridges had washed away and we had to climb over some tree trunks.
The further up the gorge we went, the greener and wetter it got. We arrived at the waterfall at the end, which runs down a high vertical wall and is very pretty.
We walked back out the gorge again, having our lunch back near the start. We decided to drive to Costa Adeje and go to the beach for our last afternoon, since it was hot and sunny. We bought some drinks at the supermarket then sat on the beach for a couple of hours, having a paddle and doing some sunbathing.
After a drink at a beachside bar we went back to the apartment where we did our packing and made some sangria with the last of our wine. We went out to the Da Vinci Italian restaurant, where Shirley had lasagne and Scott had pasta with Gorgonzola and orange sauce.
So we did!
We walked up the path - most of it was OK. There were good views in all directions.
Southern Grey Shrike.
Some bits had eroded, and as we got into the narrower part some bridges had washed away and we had to climb over some tree trunks.
The further up the gorge we went, the greener and wetter it got. We arrived at the waterfall at the end, which runs down a high vertical wall and is very pretty.
We walked back out the gorge again, having our lunch back near the start. We decided to drive to Costa Adeje and go to the beach for our last afternoon, since it was hot and sunny. We bought some drinks at the supermarket then sat on the beach for a couple of hours, having a paddle and doing some sunbathing.
After a drink at a beachside bar we went back to the apartment where we did our packing and made some sangria with the last of our wine. We went out to the Da Vinci Italian restaurant, where Shirley had lasagne and Scott had pasta with Gorgonzola and orange sauce.
Thursday 14 November 2013
Tenerife Day 6 - Arona and Ifonche
The intention was to have a bit of a rest day after Teide yesterday. After breakfast we drove to Arona (quite nearby) to do a walk round the terraces and rocky outcrops in the area. It was quite cloudy so we were glad to have been able to climb Teide when we did.
After parking we walked up through an abandoned farmstead to a taverna called El Refugio where we had a coffee.
We carried on walking up to the village of Ifonche, then started down a more rocky path. We took a slight diversion to climb to the top of Roque de los Brezos but it was all in cloud.
On the way back down we passed a hidden valley with disused terracing and some caves that were used by the farmers.
After getting back to the car we decided to drive to Los Christianos to see the other side of Tenerife. It was still quite cool and cloudy so the beach was quite quiet. We had a walk and an ice cream and a beer and wrote our postcards.
Then back to the apartment via Las Galletas and Costa del Silencio.
Dinner was at a local Chinese restaurant, Chopstix where we had chicken satay and sizzling pork.
After parking we walked up through an abandoned farmstead to a taverna called El Refugio where we had a coffee.
We carried on walking up to the village of Ifonche, then started down a more rocky path. We took a slight diversion to climb to the top of Roque de los Brezos but it was all in cloud.
On the way back down we passed a hidden valley with disused terracing and some caves that were used by the farmers.
After getting back to the car we decided to drive to Los Christianos to see the other side of Tenerife. It was still quite cool and cloudy so the beach was quite quiet. We had a walk and an ice cream and a beer and wrote our postcards.
Then back to the apartment via Las Galletas and Costa del Silencio.
Dinner was at a local Chinese restaurant, Chopstix where we had chicken satay and sizzling pork.
Wednesday 13 November 2013
Tenerife Day 5 - Mount Teide
Mount Teide on Tenerife is an active volcano and the highest mountain in Spain. It last erupted in 1909. Access to the summit is allowed only by permit from the Spanish National Park service, in order to restrict the number of visitors and damage to the environment. We had applied in advance for permits, so only had a time-slot of 3pm to 5pm today to be at the top. Fortunately the weather looks reasonable.
There's a cable car which takes tourists up to about 200m from the top - it's not for us of course, we're doing it the hard way!
Since the books say it's about a 5 hour ascent and a 4 hour descent, and sunset is about 6:30pm, we timed our start for 10am in order to get to the summit at the right time, but back down before dark.We left the apartment at 8:30am to drive up to the Caldera, stopping at a viewpoint on the way.
We parked the car in the small walkers car park which is at about 2340m (7677ft) and duly set off at 10am.
To start with it's an easy track through almost desert-like yellow ash fields. The landscape all around is like nowhere else, very little vegetation and a huge variety of rock formations stretching into the distance.
The dark rocks are "Teide Eggs", snowball-like formations from later eruptions which have overtaken their own flows.
We also see some of the flora which only occurs here, this is the Teide Violet.
After a few km the serious climbing starts, though the path is very good. At about 1:30pm we reach the Refugio de Altavista at 3270m (10,728ft) where we stop for a snack.
At 3550m (11,647ft) we reach the height of the top cable car station, so it's much busier here. Still a bit of climbing to get to the top though. After showing our permits at the ranger station we head on up. We're a little early for our time-slot but it doesn't seem to matter.
The oxygen is noticeably thinner here, making the going a bit harder.
Finally at about 2:30 we reach the top at 3718m (12,198 ft). We'd climbed 1378m (4520ft) of ascent in 4.5 hours. The landscape and views are stunning here. There are fumaroles here emitting sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, and the ground is hot to the touch near them.
There's a lot of cloud around down nearer sea level, so we can't see a huge distance all around, but the remoteness up here is very noticeable. Although the temperature is about zero there's very little wind and we're still in sunshine so it's quite pleasant. We have the rest of our lunch here.
We started our descent about 3pm and about all that can be said is that it was a LONG way down. The last, easy stretch in particular seemed never-ending. Finally we got back to the car about 6:30 as the sun was setting.
We drove back to the apartment, had some beer and pizza and had an early night.
There's a cable car which takes tourists up to about 200m from the top - it's not for us of course, we're doing it the hard way!
Since the books say it's about a 5 hour ascent and a 4 hour descent, and sunset is about 6:30pm, we timed our start for 10am in order to get to the summit at the right time, but back down before dark.We left the apartment at 8:30am to drive up to the Caldera, stopping at a viewpoint on the way.
We parked the car in the small walkers car park which is at about 2340m (7677ft) and duly set off at 10am.
To start with it's an easy track through almost desert-like yellow ash fields. The landscape all around is like nowhere else, very little vegetation and a huge variety of rock formations stretching into the distance.
The dark rocks are "Teide Eggs", snowball-like formations from later eruptions which have overtaken their own flows.
We also see some of the flora which only occurs here, this is the Teide Violet.
After a few km the serious climbing starts, though the path is very good. At about 1:30pm we reach the Refugio de Altavista at 3270m (10,728ft) where we stop for a snack.
At 3550m (11,647ft) we reach the height of the top cable car station, so it's much busier here. Still a bit of climbing to get to the top though. After showing our permits at the ranger station we head on up. We're a little early for our time-slot but it doesn't seem to matter.
The oxygen is noticeably thinner here, making the going a bit harder.
Finally at about 2:30 we reach the top at 3718m (12,198 ft). We'd climbed 1378m (4520ft) of ascent in 4.5 hours. The landscape and views are stunning here. There are fumaroles here emitting sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, and the ground is hot to the touch near them.
There's a lot of cloud around down nearer sea level, so we can't see a huge distance all around, but the remoteness up here is very noticeable. Although the temperature is about zero there's very little wind and we're still in sunshine so it's quite pleasant. We have the rest of our lunch here.
We started our descent about 3pm and about all that can be said is that it was a LONG way down. The last, easy stretch in particular seemed never-ending. Finally we got back to the car about 6:30 as the sun was setting.
We drove back to the apartment, had some beer and pizza and had an early night.
Tuesday 12 November 2013
Tenerife Day 4 - Masca Gorge
Having seen the Masca Gorge walkers getting picked up by boat the previous day, we decided to do that walk. However as gluttons for punishment we were going to walk all the way down, then all the way back up again!
We drove to Masca village, which was past Santiago del Teide where we'd been the previous day, then up and over a ridge by very steep narrow winding road - amazingly the road is used by loads of coaches as Masca is one of the most popular tourist attractions. It's tiny though, and the parking spaces get used up quickly, so we had to park some way outside the village.
We then started our walk down the gorge, starting at about 600m above sea level. The path is very steep to start with, and always rough underfoot. It really is spectacular scenery, with high cliffs and a huge variety of rock formations. We see lots of bluetits and other birds, and a few feral cats. There's a bit more cloud than the previous day but still warm.
Eventually we reach the beach - the sandy part is officially closed due to the risk of rock falls but we took the risk. We had lunch there and a paddle in the sea. Most walkers get the boat back to Los Gigantes, but we turned straight back round again and started the long walk up.
We had a beer and some "cactus cake" at the taverna at the top, then drove back to the apartment.
After a shower we went out to dinner at Pearl's Pantry, which was very close by. Their nachos were disappointing (basically a bag of Doritos and some melted cheese for a fiver) but it was "steak night" and their steak was good and cheap.
We drove to Masca village, which was past Santiago del Teide where we'd been the previous day, then up and over a ridge by very steep narrow winding road - amazingly the road is used by loads of coaches as Masca is one of the most popular tourist attractions. It's tiny though, and the parking spaces get used up quickly, so we had to park some way outside the village.
We then started our walk down the gorge, starting at about 600m above sea level. The path is very steep to start with, and always rough underfoot. It really is spectacular scenery, with high cliffs and a huge variety of rock formations. We see lots of bluetits and other birds, and a few feral cats. There's a bit more cloud than the previous day but still warm.
Eventually we reach the beach - the sandy part is officially closed due to the risk of rock falls but we took the risk. We had lunch there and a paddle in the sea. Most walkers get the boat back to Los Gigantes, but we turned straight back round again and started the long walk up.
We had a beer and some "cactus cake" at the taverna at the top, then drove back to the apartment.
After a shower we went out to dinner at Pearl's Pantry, which was very close by. Their nachos were disappointing (basically a bag of Doritos and some melted cheese for a fiver) but it was "steak night" and their steak was good and cheap.
Monday 11 November 2013
Tenerife Day 3 - Santiago del Teide
We had cereal and coffee for breakfast at the apartment again. Then we drove north to Santiago del Teide, a fairly traditional village in the north west of Tenerife.
It was much hotter here - we walked up to Cruz de Gala up a very steep path, to the observation tower and aerials that were on the top.
It was very clear that the north side of the slope has lots of trees and other greenery, while the southern slopes are very barren.
We then walked down to the Pools of Erjos, which are old man-made excavations which get flooded by rainwater and are a haven for birdlife, fish and insects. We saw ducks, a heron and lots of brilliantly coloured dragonflies.
It was hot and sunny all day - we walked back down a gorge in the Valle de Arriba and through cultivated vines fields.
After a welcome beer in a village taverna we drove to the town of Los Gigantes on the coast. We took a one-hour boat trip to see the massive basalt cliffs and Masca Bay. We were actually the only two on the trip out, but the boat picked up a load of people from the bay who had walked down Masca Gorge.
We then drove south down the coast to Guia de Isora to see the sunset.
After this we decided to drive up to the caldera of Mount Teide to see the stars. It was a nice experience but none of the photographs came out, mainly because the moon was too bright.
After this we went home to the apartment. Dinner was a Chinese takeaway from the Peninsula restaurant.
It was much hotter here - we walked up to Cruz de Gala up a very steep path, to the observation tower and aerials that were on the top.
It was very clear that the north side of the slope has lots of trees and other greenery, while the southern slopes are very barren.
We then walked down to the Pools of Erjos, which are old man-made excavations which get flooded by rainwater and are a haven for birdlife, fish and insects. We saw ducks, a heron and lots of brilliantly coloured dragonflies.
It was hot and sunny all day - we walked back down a gorge in the Valle de Arriba and through cultivated vines fields.
After a welcome beer in a village taverna we drove to the town of Los Gigantes on the coast. We took a one-hour boat trip to see the massive basalt cliffs and Masca Bay. We were actually the only two on the trip out, but the boat picked up a load of people from the bay who had walked down Masca Gorge.
We then drove south down the coast to Guia de Isora to see the sunset.
After this we decided to drive up to the caldera of Mount Teide to see the stars. It was a nice experience but none of the photographs came out, mainly because the moon was too bright.
After this we went home to the apartment. Dinner was a Chinese takeaway from the Peninsula restaurant.
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