Today I am (hopefully) going stargazing in the evening and will need to set out to the meeting point at a reasonable time, so don’t want to venture too far afield. The stargazing was supposed to be on Wednesday but has been postponed. Fingers crossed for tonight…
One disadvantage of staying away from the coastal areas is that not many of the tours will pick up from the hotel where I am staying. On the plus side, the company I am going with do a self drive option where I drive to a meeting point and then follow their van into the National Park, and this is cheaper. Downside is that I then have to drive back down the winding mountain roads on the dark. Upside is that I can head straight back and not spend several hours on a bus stopping at multiple hotels. Ah yes, life is one constant search for balance!
Anyway, I opt to head to Roques de Garcia. This is a popular spot near to Mount Teide. Everything that I have read about it (and my own experience from driving past earlier in the week) is that parking is nigh on impossible here for most of the day. Luckily, I can leverage my proximity to get up there early. Another pro for the mountain accommodation (is that a swing or a roundabout?).
The rocks are spectacular and the early morning approach pays double dividends as I not only park easily, but the shadows from the low sun add an extra dimension. Not many people wander far from the main viewing platform (this is consistent tourist behaviour the world over and greatly appreciated by those of us who like to walk in peace!).
I head off on the circular walk which offers some great views…
… including my favourite rock, which looks to me like a monkey covering its ears and screaming.
It’s possible that the altitude and early morning sun are getting to me.
And of course the rocks provided an embarrassment (yes, I think that is the correct collective noun) of opportunities for Potter Hat shots.
And more funky rocks and lava formations and some particularly tenacious cedar tress, hanging on to the cliffs for dear life and apparently 3 of them had been doing this for 1500 years!
When I was at Siete Cañadas earlier in the week, I had asked they guy in the tourist office for information on relatively short (2-3 hour) hikes. One that he had suggested was the walk around Roques de Garcia, whilst also highlighting the parking challenges.
Somewhere in my mind, the “short” had been replaced with “easy”. I really should pay attention. It was indeed a relatively short walk, but the terrain was quite challenging - very rough, sharply ascending and descending lava paths and a lung busting (for me at least) climb at the end. Still, I felt very virtuous, if rather embarrassingly sweaty and wheezy, as I wove my way through the sightseers at the viewpoint, who were probably wondering if there was a defibrillator handy.
Content with my morning’s work, I had back to Vilaflor via a brief stop at a large lava field
with high hopes of a shower.
Sadly, the cleaners were in my room when I got back, so I headed out to have a better look around Vilaflor. Yes, I had been there almost a week, but you can’t rush these things.
Its a beautiful village. With the remains of an old water transport system and mill,
pleasant parks and squares,
and a church dedicated to Hermano Pedro Betangur, the first saint from the Canary Islands, “famed” for his missionary work in Antigua Guatemala. He established the first religious order founded in the Americas, dedicated to caring for the sick, the poor, and orphans. And of course, is a native son of Vilaflor.
Weirdly, whilst admiring the pretty streets and wandering randomly, I seemed to find the wrong side of the tracks - or specifically the one corner where all the homeless drunks hang out. Strictly speaking, I couldn’t really confirm whether they were homeless. I can attest to the drunkenness though.
They seemed to be quite integrated into the community though as while I was passing (on the opposite side of the street obviously!) people were bringing them food … or maybe suppling them with top ups? I chose not to look too closely.
At this point, I am still awaiting final instructions for the stargazing tour, which I have been promised by 2pm. When I have heard nothing by 3:30, I contact them, only to be told that they have had to call it off due to dangerously high winds in Teide National Park. Gosh darn it, I was looking forward to that. The national park is noted as one of the best dark sky areas in the world, with clear views of the milky way. Ah well, another time. I seem to do a good line in weather related holiday woes!
On my last full day in Tenerife, I am descending down to the coast to go on a whale watching cruise. It was pretty cool and misty in Vilaflor when I left and had dressed appropriately. Appropriately for Vilaflor. It is about 10 degrees warmer and humid in Adeje and it feels like I am breathing soup after a week in the mountains. My first mission is at a high end designer outlet as I have been commissioned to source some goods. I think that shop proprietors could tell that I did not regularly frequent such establishments. This had the advantage of them just servicing my requests and not trying to upsell me!
Oddly, there is a supermarket in the centre, but on closer inspection it does seem to be more of a classy Deli type deal.
And so out into Costa Adeje. This is something of a shock to the system after a quiet week in the mountains and is very much the image of Tenerife which would have come to mind prior to visiting.
Certainly more eating and drinking options than in Vilaflor, and I am almost tempted to see if this place has a veggie burger…
Sadly, it seems to be closed. God has, apparently, left Adeje.
I am quite shocked by the number of disability scooters zipping about and buzzing pedestrians. The tandem scooter was new to me though.
They are really leaning into the Benidorm trope.
Still, I am not here for any of that and head to Puerto Colon for my trip.
I had picked this particular whale watching trip as it had good reviews and also offered a listening element - microphones in the water so that you could hear any whales communicating , which sounded like a cool idea.
They deployed it once, briefly, which was great, but quickly switched back into party boat mode, encouraged by a party of heavy drinking and dancing Spanish girls of which I found it hard to disapprove, even though I wanted to hear the whales.
We encountered several pods of pilot whales, which was awesome.
Talking to one of the crew members, he explains that pilot whales are native to the area and so are here all year round whereas other species - sperm and blue whales and orcas pass by on their migration north in April and May. Interestingly, some of the whale watching groups when I as in the Azures in May/June had orca and blue whale sightings so I guess they pass by the Canary Isles and then up to the Azores on their way up to the arctic.
I really want to see a blue whale! I may have to plan a trip to one of these areas in the right season and just spend a week going out on boats, but I guess it is just pot luck.
Still, I am happy with my pilot whales. We got pretty close, but I couldn’t manage to get a shot off quickly enough at the one which came right alongside.
They seemed really chilled and unfazed by our presence. Clearly just hanging out.
After this, the boat headed to a cove and moored so that those so inclined could have a swim. I was impressed by the sense of humour of the crew. One of them was throwing bread to seagulls, which were generally caught in mid air. Occasionally he would through some in amongst the swimmers, which would generate a frenzy of fish activity and dive bombing seagulls, much to the swimmers’ consternation. Glad I stayed safely on board!
And this is enough to trigger PTSD for anyone who has lived in a seaside town…
When they wanted people to return to the boat, they put the Jaws theme out over the speakers very loudly. It was amazing how quickly the older people returned to the boat at that point. Clearly the younger folk have not absorbed that theme at a visceral level like the rest of us. I almost wanted to shout. Surely everyone knows what that means!
On my last morning, I am contemplating how to kill time before heading back to the airport, when suddenly I hear gunfire again. Ah yes, Sunday hunting. This is soon drowned out by the almost constant drone of speeding motorcycles.
And this reminds me of the main issue of driving in Tenerife. The roads are challenging, sure, but the other road users are a nightmare.
Firstly, cyclists. Now I can’t be too mean about cyclists. Anyone who is willing to cycle 30 miles from the coast to Teide up and elevation of about 7700 feet possesses a level of fitness that demands respect. I was winded walking up the hill from my favoured restaurant. They all seem to pass through Vilaflor - partly because it is on the main route to Teide and partly because it has the last bike repair shop on the way. At least with cyclists, you just have to wait for an opportunity to pass (although on the bendier stretches, this can be some miles!). Still, fair play. I am not going to argue with someone with the same lung capacity as a whale.
Quad bikes and ATVs are another matter. They seem to have no concept of safety, speed limits or the correct side of the road. They apparently feel that they have paid for an adventure and therefore they are in an insulated bubble and the rest of the traffic should just work around their antics. These tours seem to attract exactly the sort of people who should not be allowed in charge of a vehicle at any time I wouldn’t trust any of them on a powered lawn mower. Ar**holes.
Which brings me back to the motor cyclists. Now we all know that part of the appeal is speed and danger, but keep it to yourselves - no need to inflict it on anyone else. I saw a couple of close calls within the space of an hour or two. Sunday must be some sort of biker day release situation. I couldn’t help but think about how much fun it would be to stretch some cheese wire across the road…
I guess that makes me a bad person.
Anyway, not to end on a negative note, the trip has been great, despite some missed opportunities (it wouldn’t be a Tony trip if there weren’t!). None of the places that I had thought to visit on the way back to the airport were open despite their advertised opening hours - I think that the Spanish generally just open when the mood takes them!
I ended up parking at a view point which had a picnic/barbecue area next to it. It was really busy with large families of locals - the kids playing in the woods or playing sport, the adults cooking (smelt great!) and drinking. Everyone looking happy and relaxed. Not a smartphone in sight. Strikes me that this is people getting life right.
Did you manage to hear the pilot whales communicate with each other during the brief deployment of the microphones?