After another new breakfast - today I create smoked salmon & scrambled eggs on toast with caviar - we visit the house of a fabulous local painter, but she’s not keen to be on FB or blogs so you’ll not see, until we take delivery of what we’re (probably) going to buy from her.
Our adventures broaden (as planned) and we drive up to Aroña, a climb to 660m (2280 ft) to start our walk. The church is our starting point, the rally an unexpected bonus.
We then head down into a barranco before the main slog starts, a steady nearly two hours climb upwards by 1800 ft to the top of Roque Imoque, the ‘hill’ that’s visible from every part of the coastline that’s not obscured by buildings. Wherever we look we see this impressive flat-top in the distance, so it’s only reasonable that we pay a visit. Because of a few ups-and-downs, the final altitude is less, at 3600 ft, and the views are stunning. The final climb towards the end is seriously demanding, the entire return is still a challenge to the knees, but only a hour thanks to gravity.
This panorama spans from Los Cristianos in the south (left) right up to Alcalá (right) about 16 miles of incredible coast
If blogging existed and I’d been writing about our travels twenty years ago, a recurring theme would have been that we are the youngest on the ship, a regular and repeated phenomenon. Today I can state quite the opposite, we were by some distance the oldest on the mountain.
We wonder what these are? We decide that they probably some sort of mill - a structure in the centre and a donkey would power it - but we don’t know for certain.
Our journey home is broken by a visit to Playa Paraíso for a little walk round and picking up provender from Dino, a fab Waitrose-like mercado, then we’re back on our balcony for drinkies then shower and dress for dinner. Some trepidation tonight as it’s a new one to us - La Torre del Mirador. This is yet another eatery in the mall adjacent to our hotel, I have no idea if they are connected, although I think the most likely scenario is that they are tenants of Iberostar Hotels.
It’s a lively affair - it transpires this is the source of our free nightly entertainment, the singer we listen to from our balcony. It’s quite a spectacle when nearly all diners suddenly join in to classics like “Volaré” “Zorba” and “Piano Man” - full of voice and napkins aloft.
Meanwhile we enjoy gut-busting helpings of salmon salad and tuna carpaccio followed by veal schnitzel and veal chop, the latter enough for three, or me! My veal was so rare the centre was still mooing. It’s such a shame we can’t easily buy this at home nowadays.
We have a very agreeable saxophonist in our bar, we’re glad to be back to a less rowdy scene!
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