SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2012 - Happy Easter everybody! I've already made my last visit to the Los Cristianos Sunday Market
now, I swear, I am going to get my blog up to date with pictures and postings about our two days of rental car travels around this beautiful island! I want to be done so I can leave here on Tuesday evening with a clean conscience of nothing left undone!
I thought it was beautiful here near Los Cristianos, then was blown away by La Gomera island and now I don't know how to find the words for the different and amazing beauty we have seen recently.
Let's get started!
Mt. Tiede - Volcano- 12,198 feet
Last Thursday we headed up out of sunny, sea level towards Arona then started the winding drive up and up through some small villages, changing flora (from dry succulent to an actual pine tree line) and up into clouds thinking that we might NOT get a good view of Mt. Tiede with this cloud cover hovering! We burst through the clouds and into the "Parque Nacional de las Canadas del Tiede" where the sun shines (although there is a chilly breeze at this altitude) and see a huge lava filled crater with, at last!:
Mt. Tiede! with a small amount of snow!
Last eruption was El Chinyero on Mt. Tiede in 1909! It is believed that Christopher reported seeing it erupt in 1492 when he was at La Gomera island!
Some of the miles of old lava flow that we saw!
There are lots of rock formations...
Including these right at Mt. Tiede's base.
Surrounding mountians and lots more lava. This area is reported to be used by scientists since it resembles the Mars landscape. It is very "moon like" and films have been made in this area, too!
I saw these feathery looking tall (2-3 feet) throughout the park and wondered what they are--we actually stopped when I took this picture and the sign said they are "Tajinaste Rojo" and these are the "skeletons" of the spring blooms--they are a bright read when they bloom in early Spring--bet that would be pretty! They almost became extinct but they no longer allow grazing animals in the park and they have come back! Very pretty with the sun shining on these skeletons!
Starting down the other side and here comes the clouds again!
Puerto de la Cruz
We wind down the mountain to La Orotava and it is actually raining! We see small vineyards and a pretty town as we head down again to sea level to the town of Puerto de la Cruz:
Cool tunnel into the city! Sea is to the right!
The harbor next to the town.
It's a pretty town and the sun starts shining and drying up the rainwater--we decide to have some lunch in a very cool cafe in the pretty square!
Geoff waiting for his lunch.
Happy Sue!
Yum, our lunch of pizza and Canarian potatoes!
San Franciso Chapel former chapel of St. John the Baptist built between 1599 and 1608 and given to the Franciscans.
One of the statues inside the San Francisco Chapel that has been declared a historical artistic monument! It was not a huge chapel but beautiful with several huge religious statues.
A street performer suspended with NOTHING (it appears) to hold her up--
HOW DOES SHE DO THAT? Good stunt!
Beautiful Puerto de la Cruz!
The absolutely fabulous Spanish violinits who played "high brow" music next to the sea. They were so good I taped them on my iPhone and posted it on Facebook! We really enjoyed this "concert"!
That's once giant terra cotta pot with pretty flowers spilling out!
We leave the gorgeous town of Puerto de la Cruz and had for Icod de las Vinos to see the thousand year old Drago tree! Geoff takes us on circuitous (accidental) ride through Los Realejos, La Vera and back to Puerta de la Cruz where we start again! (hahahahaha--one tiny, wrong decision!). We finally get there and get through the little hilly city to the place where we can see it (they have some very, very narrow cobblestoned streets that we drove on!)
To the front of this car we were following is a tight right turn!
El Drago is the mushroom shaped tree seen through this fence and hedge!
We head on down the road towards our goal of Masca and drive along the coast. We see some beautiful coastline and some quaint villages. As we get to Garachio the views are just too spectacular to not stop--so we do!
Garachico view!
Monumento al Emigrante Canario
We continue and pass through Buenavista del Norte and take a trip out to the tip of Tenerife here (we meant to turn off and head to Masca but didn't see the sign!) The road was narrow and was winding up a steep hillside so the views were awesome even if my pictures aren't!
Looking back---those are covered banana trees below.
At Punta del Teno--not a great shop and I totally missed the lighthouse shot! It was crowded there!
We headed back the same narrow road and watched for the sign to Masca!
Masca
We wanted to see Masca because we had heard a lot about it. The road was HORRIBLY narrow and
though we have been on several rather narrow roads that were winding up or down mountains, this one takes the cake! My hat's off to Geoff for managing to keep us safe while zigzagging up then down this road and through some quite tight areas--not everyone is as considerate as he is...nor as patient. I almost feel guilty that he had to concentrate while I got to enjoy the views!
Peaks and valleys...
An unusual peak...
The village of Masca down some winding roads below!
Closer look at Masca.
YAY! Computer settled down and seems to be working again--have no idea what happened so will continue with our journey here where I "lost" my computer screen completely. Totally wierd!
Just a few of the switchbacks Geoff maneuverd up the mountains!
The interesting thing about Masca is that until 1991 there was NO road to the village at all! That's why they call it "the forgotten village". And it would be a very long hike to the nearest town and primarily uphill to get out of that valley. The rugged volcanic mountain ridges make the views truly worth the effort to drive up there. I am so glad we did even though I wanted to stop more than Geoff allowed (due to the treacherous roads!). Today, with the road, the local bus (Titsa) makes several trips daily but only in a mini-bus--there is no way a regular sized bus could make those turns!
We drove back through Guia del Isora (a pretty town) and on to Los Cristaianos to end our day trip. Friday (Good Friday) we are off to the other end of the island--Tenerife Norte!
As we leave Los Cristianos behind we see some threatening clouds over the direction we are headed but that does NOT dissuade us.
Again, start winding our way up from La Laguna to Los Mercedes and into a very lush and forested area.
Looming clouds but lush vegetation!
Can see some of the road we travelled down below...and a beach in distance!
That's steam rising from the road ahead--it has rained and now the warm sun is taking care of it!
In and out of the brush we would get some great views!
Yup, just a fairly thin rock wall to the left of us!
Did I mention the road is narrow (again) here? Not as zigzagging as the one to/from Masca but curvy enough to make Geoff have to concentrate on the drive while I, once again, enjoy the views and snap a few shots! I almost feel guilty but it was incredibly beautiful to see. We break out of the cloudy area and now see:
TAGANANA
Yes, the town is down there by the beautiful sea!
Beautiful hillside homes on overlooking the sea.
I'm intrqued by all the terracing that is done!
Taganana in distance...
The rockes near Playa del Benijo
Roque de las Bodegas
It was sunny, warm and beautiful along the Taganana to Playa del Benijo route (which is the end of the road at that end of the island) and there were lots and lots of people enjoying the holiday weekend already (well, the Spanish Easter holiday did start on Thursday!). We found a place to pull off and take some pictures but no place to park near the restaurant we wanted to try! And by the looks of the crowd in the restaurant it would have been a long wait so we headed back on the winding trail!
We are going to drive down there towards San Andres!
A sweet little burg--San Andres!
We head back to Los Cristianos which is about 69 kms (40 miles or so) and call it a day! It was a gorgeous trip and now we have just about covered the island so we are very satisfied with our explorations!
Geoff's Half Marathon Run
After our trip to La Gomer and before this little adventure, Geoff ran a half marathon "XVI Medio Maraton Las Galletas 2012". He did a great job in the run and finished officially in 2:09:22!
Geoff's big finish!!!!
That;s all folks! Adios....
Love, Geoff & Sue xo
