On the way to our appartment we decided to stop at Los Cristianos and get some lunch. This was one of the most beautiful beaches I visited in Tenerife and I wish we'd spent more time here (or even stayed here) as the beach near our own appartment was full of lava-hot rocks perfect for torturing your feet. Los Cristianos is a bit more laid-back than Playa De Las Americas but still very lively and has everything you could hope for for some down time.
For the first big day of adventuring we had planned to set off in the car and tick off Los Gigantes, Masca and Garrachico. Things didn't really go to plan but it was a great day nonetheless. Our first stop was in Puerto De Santiago to get a view of Los Gigantes. The beach is quite black and rocky but I had a great swim here and there are some rock pools and flat rocks you can pic-nic on and then climb down into the sea.
I had high hopes for Masca reading about it being one of the most beautiful walks in Tenerife. I didn't read about what a nail-biting drive it was to get to Masca and would do a lot differently if I were to go back. I had planned for us to hike up and down but with everything else I had planned for that day and the near-death experience of the drive we settled for finding a #geocache and a quick drink.
If I were to do it again (which I would love to), I would hike down to Masca Bay and get a water taxi round to Los Gigantes. This requires some organisation and probably an early start as you will need to look at where the water taxi drops you off, plan where to leave your car (if you have one) and find a bus that will take you all the way to Masca. My recommendation is leaving the car at Los Gigantes and taking the 08:20 bus to Masca. Bring a picnic and lots of water!
On our way from Los Gigantes to Masca we stopped in Santiago Del Tiede to stretch our legs. We went for the Geocache '15 crosses' which turned out to be a beautiful short walk into the hills ending at a little Grotto. I didn't actually find this #geocache but discovering new places is half the fun.
It's worth stopping here for this little walk alone but if nothing else this is the last town before the road to Masca really gets serious. There is a beautiful wooded picnic area at the end of the town where lots of locals were barbecuing and listening to music.
We were a bit too late to stop for a swim in the rock pool at Garrachico and couldn't find parking on the way through or back either; so that's an experience for another holiday. We drove on to Icod De Los Vinos to see the 'Oldest tree in Tenerife'. There is a fee to enter this garden but you can easily see the tree in it's full glory for free from the plaza near the butterfly house.
One of our first 'hikes' was at the Barranco Del Inferno, Tenerife's 2nd most popular tourist attraction. This is a 2-3 hour walk through the deepest gorge in the Canary Islands, ending at an unexpected waterfall. I recommend going early in the morning before the sun gets a chance to really heat up the gorge. We went at 9AM and things were just starting to really heat up on our return.
There are some impressive views on this walk although a misty morning fog meant that it was not great for photographs. The walk is relatively easy in terms of some of the other walks we went on, hard hats are provided as part of the entrance fee and a health and safety talk is mandatory before you set off.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the main tourist area, Playa De Las Americas. After geocaching along the beach we sat on the rocks at the far end of Playa Del Bobo and watch the black crabs fighting and playing in the rock pools. We discovered a rather stange 'dwelling' out in the rocks and watched some fishermen.
We had dinner in a lovely little tapas place called 'La Casita De Taby'. Took a while to find as it's above beach level and hidden downstairs between a few other shops in a type of shopping arcade.
Tuesday we spent at the Pyramids of Guimar, about an hour's drive from our appartment. This wasn't one of my favourite places we visited but it's a nice place to walk about. There is a museum about pyramid building theories and pyramids around the world which is pretty interesting, but only for so long.
Tiede was definitely top of both our lists for things to do in Tenerife. Stupidly that was the morning I decided to go for a run before Matthew woke up but I should have saved my energy as this was definitely our most difficult escapade of the whole trip!
We booked tickets online and got the cable car up to the top which I would highly recommend unless you are a very experienced hiker looking for a challenge. The paths are good at the top near the cable car but it was very tough going down; climbing through snow, loose rocks and slippery gravel.
At the top we headed towards Pico Verde where there was a clearly defined path. We saw a hole emitting suphlur gas and a small amount of snow. Nothing compared to what we were going to see on the way down!
The trek down the Pico Verde path took an estimated 6.5hours so we decided to turn back and follow path 7. We still ended up spending about five hours walking without any proper equipment and very inappropriately dressed. The path said 'Closed due to ice and snow' but Matthew insisted we continue on.
On our last day we drove to the Anaga Mountains and did 'The Walk of the Senses' and did some general exploring. This walk isn't very long or difficult and there are great walks to do from here to other towns but we arrived pretty late in the day with no real plans so we didn't do too much. On the way out of the Anaga mountains we picked up two German schoolteacher hitchhikers who had got stranded without a bus and dropped them in La Laguna .
This is a really beautiful place and worth spending at least a full day or more in. On the way up we drove through Corona Forest which also looked worthy of some exploration!
On our way back from the Anaga Mountains we stopped at the Museum of Science and the Cosmos in La Laguna. Entry is usually 5 Euro but there is free entry between 4-8PM Fridays and Saturdays. The information is mostly in Spanish although it looks like they have started adding English translations to the exhibits (Or had added the English translations and some of them have been removed/vandalised). This is a great hands-on, interactive museum with lots to 'do'. It's aimed at kids and families but worth a nosy for interested adults too! We had spent a long time driving and were due to fly home at 4AM so we didn't stay too long.
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