Thursday 2 February 2023
We settled on two short circular hikes today, instead of trying a long one. Mainly because I still felt a bit grot, and the weather forecast was still hinting at cloud and rain. The fact is (and today bore it out) that we’ve had a really good mix of sun and cloud, only one brief shower, and nothing worse than a breeze. The forecast has been uniformly pessimistic the whole way! Except about the temperature. It really hasn’t got over 14C the whole week. : )
So our two short hikes ended up adding up to nearly five hours of walking anyway! But veeeeery worth it. The first was from the village of Las Carboneras to the village of Chinamada and a mirador beyond it. We tramped along what was clearly a very old track used for centuries, quite a contrast to most of our walks which feel like they’ve been on trails made for hikers. Chinamada must be one of the most picturesque places on the island, many of the houses here actually built into the rocks because it’s a kind of tufa here which is easier to carve out. Stunning views on all sides, all the way. These valleys (called barrancos) are just so ridiculously sheer and steep!
The second hike from the village of Taborno just goes out to the ridiculously perched “Rock of Taborno” and then circumnavigates it. In contrast to the morning hike, we almost had the rock entirely to ourselves. I think it’s because most people (those who care to hike!) go for longer hikes and so start in the morning and finish by early afternoon.
Anyway, this just means we had the most astonishing viewpoint on the whole of Tenerife (whole of the Canaries? Whole of Spain?) all to ourselves with the lowering sun starting to paint deeper shadows on the crags. I’ve now got fifty photos of the same view to try and sift through.
Our walking guidebook gave all kinds of warnings about this being a difficult walk, with vertiginous sections, technical bits, and not for anyone worried about heights. I’m glad we ignored it; we tackle far more tricky hikes on our regular trips to the Lake District!
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