The air this morning seems much clearer than yesterday. At least up here above the clouds.
Whilst I sit looking at this, enjoying a morning coffee and contemplating the day, I hear the sound of gunshot and dogs barking. This tweaks something in my memory. Ethan had told me that there are sometimes designated hunting days in Tenerife. A little research confirms that this is indeed the case, on Thursdays and Sundays in September.
Now my plan for the day had been to hike some of the local trails, but the thought of crossing paths with folk with shotguns and hunting dogs definitely takes the shine off that idea!
Time for a plan B. I will go to Cueva del Viente - the biggest lava tubes in Europe.
El universo dice que no.
Obviously I haven’t booked and there is no availability until next Tuesday. Ah well, I have been in lava tubes in the Azores and I guess if you have seen one…
Plan C. There is what, on cursory inspection of the menu, appears to be a vegetarian restaurant in Masca - a mere 70km or so away. Now the thought that there is actually a vegetarian restaurant was shocking enough to launch me into a lunch quest.
I perhaps should have looked more closely at some info on Masca.
The drive from Santiago del Teide over to Masca is next level (as is the parking once there, at which I totally failed). I may have to recalibrate my scale of driving difficulty. The road is steep (handbrake testingly steep), narrow, sharply winding and immensely busy with two way traffic. There are some pretty close encounters which make me glad that I paid for the extra insurance. The views are also out of this world, but with few opportunities to stop to take photographs.
The parking in the village is brutal and something of a lottery. Some cars parked at the side of the road had been so hemmed in that there was no chance of them going anywhere until the people either side return.
Pretty it may be, but I’m not sure it is worth this. There are signs up everywhere from protesting locals, which I can totally understand. I pass through and out the other side. I manage to park at a viewpoint but I do not fancy the steep walk down and back up on the off chance that I may be able to get into a, presumably very busy, restaurant. I consult the map and it looks as though if I carry on there are miles of similarly challenging roads and after that I will be stranded in the north with no easy route back. I bite the bullet, do a 3 point turn and head back into (or strictly speaking through) the fray.
The drive back is even more entertaining than the way out as the traffic has increased considerably. When I finally get back to Santiago del Teide, I realise my mistake: I should have parked here and got the bus to Masca. Ah well, maybe next time…
Interestingly, the drive didn’t seem so stressful and there was a complete absence of sweaty palms. I suddenly find myself thinking of adrenalin overload and whether the Prince Andrew “I don’t sweat” defence had some merit.
Wait. Did I just compare myself to Mr. Mountbatten Windsor. Eeew! Where did that come from??
I am now resigned to the fact that the universe intends to hold me to my original intention of not overdoing it on this trip. Of course it could have done so before I set out on a 2.5 hour drive!
I feel the need to hug an 800 year old pine tree to re-establish balance and cleanse myself and so do.
Thanks Pino Gordo, I feel much better now. Wouldn’t catch Mountbatten Windsor doing this. Obviously 800 is a bit out of his age range.
The tree is beautiful though and inspires me to attempt a new slant on the Potter Hat canon : the arboreal Potter. Not bad, but not sure whether that will become a thing. I guess a tree sprouting from the hat demands a different sort of wizard. Radagast the Brown maybe? One for the nerds there.
After this I am ready to surrender to the universe and find a nice local restaurant (with a decent veggie selection) for food (grilled smoked goats cheese with jam and salad) and beer. Mmmm.
Happy now universe? I certainly am. Maybe a siesta and then a sauna and hot tub session next if I am going to lean into the relaxation…
And after all that relaxation, I am sat outside enjoying a nice glass of wine when the gunshots start to get closer - close enough that I can smell it. And the hunters are calling to each other. From being nicely chilled out, I am now in a scene from Deliverance. I may have to retreat indoors if this continues…
Clearly the universe wanted me to relax but has adjudged that I have overdone it and has decided to restore balance 🤣
This explains why you had so much time this afternoon to do Duolingo 🦉