Could we "push the envelope" a little bit this week? Spain celebrates Thursday and Friday as bank holidays, whereas Britain choses Friday and Monday, so maybe we could find an excuse to recognise both sets? Of course in the end we are so busy the very idea of taking extra time is unthinkable, but we make sure that Thursday evening is "turn off" time, an excellent BBQ terriyaki chicken linguini marks the start of our long weekend.
Friday sees the delivery of our regular weekend hire car, we're back to a VW Polo this weekend after a couple of Hyundai somethings. Our lovely Mariella arrives promptly at 08:30 full of the joys of her job as always, the local hire company is a great find, service so much better than the main-stream names one is used to
Our plan for the day requires meticulous timing, so we're doing admin and other jobs first, making lunch, dealing with personal emails that get quite forgotten during the week, finances and booking future flights, by which time we have to leave, the object being to park up well away from Adeje town hall, but in time to walk up to it (a reasonable uphill walk) for midday. Here the Passion is being, well, I can't quite say 'performed' as it's gone hybrid since covid, just like cars and WFH, but the Easter celebrations include a procession followed by a full showing of the Easter story film via monitors around the town hall and adjacent church.
We manage half-an-hour, get to see the procession arrive, but decice to swerve the other 90 minutes or so of the movie, and commence our planned walk from said place up the Baranco del Infierno - in particular the goat path to Boca del Paso. Technically not ‘up the barranco’ as this has been closed for safety reasons for several years but up the hillside close by
Whilst some friends have been quite sniffy about our plans to embrace the Tenerife life-style, it's inevitable that their perception of the island is based on the 'touristic' image but for us this is the REAL Tenerife - up into the mountains far away from the bustle, indeed far away from anyone - we pass just one other couple and a lone runner on this entire walk.
The going it difficult, and we're climbing continuously in 25 degrees, up the aptly named goat-path for over 2000 feet, having started at over 1000 ft high at the town hall. Of course this means the views are extrordinary, and the photos don't really do full justice to the majesty of the experience. Looking across to Roque del Conde we're reminded of the time last November when we climbed, and how these views are subtly different being a little further north.
The summit, Boca del Paso, is the perfect place to stop for lunch, today ham and tomato, followed by mixed fruits.
We pass from there through a small segment of National Park, before entering the cute village of La Quinta from where we begin our descent from the 3200 ft top down to the car at 600 ft, which we manage in 90 minutes, so much better than Google's estimate.
As we descend we pass the "paragliding park" where the jumpers start from, whom we get to see nearly everyday, some landing near us, others continuing on to La Caleta to land on the beach.
The view back across the once-terraced hillside, now just a terrace of wild rape, looking up to Mt Teide is excellent.
Soon we’re back at the car and it’s time to head home for pool-time and a visit from an artist we met in November, Ibele. She creates exactly the right kind of art for us, and we’ve got our eye on several works. We have an expensive but worthwhile hour trying pieces in different locations, before changing for dinner. Fish Friday of course so we enjoy cod gratin on arabiatta and pepper ragú under the stars.
SATURDAY
We’ve got another ritual, gosh we have quite a lot of these, reassuring or anal? Take your pick! Anyway in Tenerife we always do the walk from La Caleta to Los Cristianos once per visit. Clearly this schedule is going to have to change, but the principle needs upholding, so after a leisurely breakfast and the Today program, we make lunch then drive to La Caleta (even though it’s in walking distance, it's not ideal when added to the rest of the walk, within the timeframe we have available.)
Where we park, we notice a huge staging being built, so obvs have to investigate that first, it’s for the Farra World Festival which runs on-and-off through the summer months, right adjacent to a new €5M+ (each) housing development (no we didn’t look at these!) Very popular with English footballers (we’re told) so maybe they will like to be close to the trendy events - nothing like stereotyping is there?
We take the road to our old place, the Iberostar Grand El Mirador before dropping down to the coastal path for the very familiar walk. It's the exact opposite of yesterday's wilderness, providing the opportunity to 'people watch' continuously.
Six and a bit miles later we're in Los Cristianos, and continue around the bay as far as Playa Los Callados where a lump of rock called Roque Druchi rises. We're checking the best parking in anticipation of tomorrow's continuation of our walk south.
For now we head inland and wander some of the town we've never investigated before, check out some municipal buildings, Mt Chayofita, the lump of rock right in the middle of town which separates Los Cristianos and Playa Las Americas, the hospital, football stadium and then head back to the coast to commence our return northwards.
Our return trip is just 15 miles, a lovely walk in the glorious sunshine, and very soon afterwards we've back home and in the pool to cool those weary feet!
Later I do a FaceBook tour of our house with my cousin before we shower and dress for dinner, driving back again to La Caleta to visit our favourite Chinese restaurant here, Restaurant 88.
One might be surprised to learn it is part of a chain, but like D&D in the UK they have a broad portfolio and lean towards quality over quantity. We enjoy their basic set menu which is plenty for three, but somehow clear the plates of duck spring roll (an entire crispy duck course all wrapped into a roll) war tip (like har gau but meat based) then 3 meat ho fan noodles and finally fillet steak with pepper sauce, sweet chilli chicken and rice - wow!
We waddle back to the car and catch the full moon over Roque del Conde.
SUNDAY
Another leisurely breakfast by the pool and our listening jumps to R2 for a couple of hours of Steve Wright. Make lunch and we're off - back to the point at Playa Los Callados where we turned around yesterday, this time heading up over Roque Druchi inland a ways, right to where there would have been cultivated terraces in past times, now all abandoned.
As we hit the plateau the wind is fierce - it's like opening an oven door - and well above body heat. We find some interesting lichens.
Two miles later we're descending into Palm Mar, where we did view a property last year, but it's a bit too 'retirement village' for us.
The front has great surf and some boarders are out there, but we've happy to watch whilst we eat lunch on the promenade and then return the hard way - straight up the steep face of Druchi.
Although it's 'only' 35 degrees now with the cooler sea air, its a steep climb but only to 400 ft so nothing like the endurance of Friday, and still rather warmer than mountain temperatures. As we round the cliff, a fish farm comes into view, at least I hope it is, and it’s not the highly controversial octopus farm that has recently hit the headlines. I can’t bear the idea that these fabulously intelligent creatures are being jailed - we manage without forced veal and we don’t need farmed octopus either!
We're quite pleased that a much younger family we've shadowed nearly the whole journey fails to quite match our pace - we must be doing OK!
Drive home is easy - note, there's no road-rage here, it would be pointless, one can pretty much pull out anytime, don't bother to indicate, park anywhere, stop in the road, overtake, undertake, speed, dawdle indeed all of these in just one journey, anything goes, so don't worry!
Straight in the pool first, then I decide to make Sangria for the first time, which comes out all too well, and we are nicely relaxed and ready for blog-writing.
Lamb may be traditional at Easter but we had that last Sunday, so pulling the other festive one, we go for Turkey, and once again I make oregano and onion stuffing as I’ve failed to find sage yet. Hubby demands a sweet sauce so I also make apple sauce with the surfeit and freeze a couple of batches. We fail to do another house viewing for some unexplained reason so enjoy the sultry evening by the pool with Shirley Bassey instead.
MONDAY
Regular readers will know we have a soft-spot for Shirley and Ernest, our friends from a previous life, and whose apartment we used to visit in Playa San Juan. We walk past it today (again) with warm memories.
If heading south from Adeje is like walking into Blackpool, then walking north from San Juan is like paying a visit to Lytham St Annes - calm, smart, and an unexpectedly fine hotel. Then onwards towards La Arena, from where we went walking a few weeks ago. It’s good to join up the coverage, all part of our master-plan to walk the entire coast, a little bit at a time.
The journey, around many banana plantations (when isn’t that the case?) follows the coast tightly, close to the lava we see on most of our journeys. Only twelve million years old (a mere blink in the life of Gondwana) it’s an incredibly rugged coastline and full of surprises, which we love.
Excellent sandwich and fruit before we return, we clock up another ten mile journey for our memories. Ice cream finishes the walk before we return home to pool time for Hubby, and a couple of hours of work for me, although I move to the dining room for a better view, rather than stay upstairs in the spare bedroom.
Our friend and neighbour Jackie pops round for a while, then it’s pool for us both before dressing for dinner. G&T, BBQ and a nice red are all accompanied by EPOS, even though she’s not actually presenting at the moment.
It’s been an excellent long weekend, and a shame it has to end, but UK based now work becons.
TUESDAY
We’ve started using Talixo to book transfers. Reasonable rates and, until today, a reassuringly good service. They even phoned yesterday to check our address, as it had somehow got removed from the booking.
A leisurely breakfast, extra coffees, our regular mile-and-a-half walk around the block, pack what little we’re taking back to Yorkshire, and we’re waiting at bus-stop at the top of our little street for our man. We even get a text to say he’s here - except he’s not! A call to the dispatcher, who tells me he can’t find us, says hang on. Ten minutes later a second call fixes it - just goes to show no matter how good the IT things still go wrong.
TFS is just 20 minutes away so we’re soon arriving, just as we get a text to say the outbound plane is an hour behind schedule - we could have had a swim or done a longer walk! Never mind, we quickly checkin (that’s another IT screw-up as the app refused to let us do it online) and head up to security. Just like on the outbound, I get “selected” for random drug-testing, so am removed to a cubicle and swabbed. Hubby says I have a certain look! The operative raised both eyebrows when my briefcase reveals four laptops, an iPad and three phones, but she resisted the temptation to comment!
Happily within minutes we are on our way again and ensconced in the lounge. Despite having had breakfast there’s always room for croissants, pans au chocolate y cava. We get a couple of hours of work done in the additional delay. Lovely view over the runway back to the sea.
Departure hall is always a delight, and with amusement and dispare, counting the number of selfish morons who are exempt from mask-wearing is an amusing diversion whilst we wait. As we know only too well from our leaders, rules aren’t really rules, just talking-points!
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