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Published: February 9th 2023
Approaching Tenerife
View of the island with its tall volcano Teide.Shortly after New Year, on the 4th of January, I set off for my first overseas trip since Covid. I went on a one-week hiking trip to Tenerife. Preparing for the journey was a big thing and involved a lot of uncertainty. Travel regulations and regulations within different countries changed within days, and when preparing for the trip, I thought “Was this really worth it? Why did you not stay in Germany?”. I bought an additional Corona travel insurance that would refund me in case I would not be able to embark on my journey because of Covid. I needed to submit a certificate of vaccination and fill in a questionnaire that I would need to present upon arrival on Tenerife. I needed a negative Covid rapid test. When asking my travel agent how long in advance she would recommend I arrive at the airport, she said three hours. Normally, for a flight within Europe, I would have arrived 90 minutes in advance. There are good train connections between Dortmund where I live and Düsseldorf from where I was going to fly. However, my flight was at 7:30 in the morning, and since I would have to be there at 4:30,
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Jardin de Victoria, the small park in the centre of town, with Teide in the background. I decided to book an airport shuttle instead of catching the train. I left home at 3:30 in the morning.
When I arrived at the airport, the check-in counters were not open yet. Finally, the business counter opened, and I asked the lady when the economy counter would open. She was super friendly and said I could check in with her. So, I dropped off my suitcase and went through security control. No queue here either. So, I was at my boarding gate not even 30 minutes after arriving at the airport. However, I prefer hanging out at the airport over getting stressed out because one runs out of time. I had breakfast, made a few in advance bookings for my holiday, installed my hiking app, and organised a few other things. The flight left on time, and I had a whole row to myself. Some five hours later we approached the Canary Islands in splendid weather. I could see Gran Canaria, which is close to Tenerife, and Tenerife itself with its tall volcano Teide.
There was a bit of a queue on immigration, but it moved quickly, and soon I was at the counter of my rental
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View from Jardin the Victoria towards town and the coastline. car company. I had booked the smallest car category, but it turned out that this type of car was not available with GPS, and an external GPS was not available. So, the clerk upgraded me to a bigger car: an SUV, a Nissan Qashqai, which would turn driving through narrow roads in small villages into an adventure!
I drove to La Orotava in the North of the island where I would spend two nights. My hotel, “Alhambra”, was built in Moorish style and decorated with a lot of attention to detail. The owner was an elderly, very friendly man who gave me a warm welcome. He asked whether I spoke Spanish, and when I said no he happily took me on a tour through the house, enthusiastically explaining its history and the pieces of art that were on exhibit – in Spanish. Since I speak French and Italian, I can understand some Spanish, and I somehow manage to talk a little bit. So, I could follow at least to some extent. He also gave me some recommendations for places to eat. Always a very important thing for me, as you might know 😉.
After settling into my room,
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Steep road leading from the church into the lower part of town. I went for a walk through the historic city centre. The town is located on a hillside, and the roads are rather steep, which also means that there are a lot of spots from which one has a beautiful view of the town and the countryside below as well as of the coast and the sea. There are a lot of buildings in Moorish style, with balconies that are beautifully decorated with wooden carvings, and with quiet courtyards. There is a pretty park, Jardin de Victoria, where I went to a café and had a coffee and a traditional sweet. I walked the streets for a bit, bought something for a picknick lunch for the next day, and then I had dinner and a glass of wine in a nice restaurant where I could sit in a courtyard.
The next morning, Wednesday, my temperature was checked when I arrived downstairs for breakfast. And I had to wear a mask unless eating or drinking.
On my drive to my hiking tour, I got a true impression of how steep the mountains here on the island are. The GPS told me to turn off the main road, and suddenly I
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House in Moorish style. was driving up a road that was so steep that I was really worried my car would tip over. I have driven all kinds of cars on all kinds of roads, but this situation really made my heart pound. It got even worse when I saw a car coming down the mountain towards me. Fortunately, the car stopped and let me pass. I was incredibly relieved when I was led back onto the normal road. The first thing I did was check the settings in the GPS. And of course, it had been set to shortest distance, which I changed right away.
My first hike, Aguamansa, was no less steep; it started off rather flat, but then it was a true ascent! The tour went through a pine tree forest with lots of viewpoints. I had a description of the tour with me, and I had the app which warned me once I got too much off track. Initially, I could enjoy a lot of nice views of the island, but then, fog started crouching up from below, and soon the world around me disappeared in a huge cloud. It felt a little bit as if I had entered
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Hiking into the mountains above La Orotava. a dark magician’s realm, with many of the trees being covered with lichen and mosses as well. The tour was only 14 kilometres, and the altitude difference was only 750 metres. However, steep as the ascent was it required some endurance. And it was not a smooth start into a hiking holiday, although a beautiful one.
After a badly needed shower, I had dinner in the same restaurant again and walked the streets again. There were a lot of Christmas cribs in various sizes, inside and outside, beautifully illuminated at night.
On Thursday morning, my temperature was checked again. I always found this a bit worrying because what if I had Covid? Then I would have to go into quarantine. But I was lucky, temperature was normal. So, I could check out after breakfast and drive to Garachico, an old fishing village on the North coast of Tenerife. My hotel, La Quinta Roja, was located on the central square of the village. It had a pretty courtyard with sofas and armchairs, and my room was most beautiful, with its walls partly built from black lava rock.
Regarding today’s hike, I was a bit unsure because there were
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View into the mountains. clouds coming in again, climbing up the mountains and covering the higher parts of the island. Initially, I wanted to hike a trail that would offer beautiful views of the Masca Gorge, the volcano Teide, and maybe even the neighbouring island of La Gomera. However, when I got up to the starting point of the tour, I could see that I was just below the cloud, and that the trail would lead me right into the fog. So, I turned round and drove to the starting point of another hike that would take me from El Palmar into Teno Alto. It was another rather steep ascent, and there were clouds climbing up the mountain here as well. However, it did not start to rain, and I walked through a laurel forest towards Teno Alto. On this hike, I got a first impression of the microclimate of Tenerife. I had started my hike in cloudy skies, and then suddenly, when I came round a rock outcrop and approached Teno Alto, the sky was completely clear and blue. There were only a few houses, a small square, and a church, so I continued towards a cone-shaped hill on the other side of
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Fog coming in from the sea, climbing up the mountains. the village. The wind on the side of the hill was extremely strong, and I had to find a sheltered place to have my picknick lunch. Then, I descended into a barranco (canyon) towards Roque Chinaco. From the Roque, one was supposed to have a beautiful view.
However, when I arrived at the bottom of the canyon, two things happened: The road towards the viewpoint was blocked with a road sign saying no trespassing and danger because of pesticides. The other thing was that it started raining heavily. I had my anorak with me, but not my rain trousers. Big mistake. I started making my way back, and the walk was a true nightmare. It was not only raining heavily, but the wind was blowing so strongly that I was almost blown off the edge of the canyon. I tried to stay away from it as best as I could. The worst part, however, came when I needed to walk past the bottom of the cone-shaped hill again. The wind was blowing up from below so strongly that I was worried it would simply blow me over. I just kept breathing, mindfully putting one foot in front of the
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Hiking in the foggy forest. other, trying to stay away from the edge of the trail. I was relieved when I arrived back in Teno Alto. There, the wind was not as strong anymore, and the onward walk was okay. Apart from the fact that my hiking boots were soaking wet because the water had flown in from above. The only thing that was a bit of a challenge on the last section of the trail was the descent to El Palmar because the trail was rocky, and the rocks were extremely slippery. However, I made it to the car, deeply relieved and grateful, and was so happy when I could have a hot shower back in my hotel. I had dinner in the hotel, went for a walk to see the beautifully illuminated Christmas cribs, and then an early night – after drying my boots with a hair dryer.
On Friday, I wanted to hike down into the Masca Gorge for a bit. There is a path that leads all the way down from the village of Masca to the sea, with an altitude difference of 880 metres. I was not intending to walk all the way down and then up again, and
Hotel Alhambra
... at La Orotava. neither did I want to catch the boat and somehow make my way back up to Masca by bus. My intention was only to walk for a bit, get an impression, and turn round again. However, when I talked to the guide in the tourist centre, he told me that one needs to register in advance if one wants to hike down the canyon. The reason is that the number of people walking certain paths needs to be limited in order to protect the flora and fauna. I had an alternative, a hike around an extinct volcano. However, this volcano was on the other side of the mountain range. So, I asked the guide whether he knew what the weather over there was like. He told me that because of the microclimate on the island, he did not know. Amazing! The distance was only some 25 km! I decided to give it a go. Before heading off, I took a walk through the (very touristy) village of Masca and enjoyed the view, then I headed off to Montana Chinyero. The drive was a bit challenging at times because the road and the turns were very narrow, and there was lots
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Christmas crib, with Maria, Joseph, and Jesus in the background on the left. of traffic. But I managed alright. It was nothing compared to the experience of the overly steep road on my first day.
The hike around Chinyero was very pleasant. No steep ascents, no slippery rocks. The trail lead through a pine tree forest, and eventually one could see the mountain Chinyero. It was dark brown, almost black, completely blank, and surrounded by solidified lava that came in all kinds of peculiar shapes. Sometimes it was all black, sometimes black and brown. There were areas that looked like frozen water and areas that looked more as if a giant had thrown huge rocks onto the ground in fury. Clouds were moving past; sometimes parts of the landscape would disappear in them and then reappear. The walk was so pleasant that I would almost have gone for a second loop when I accidentally missed the trail leading back to the car. But something looked familiar, I realised I had been in this spot before, and so I turned round and found my way back to the car. On my way back to Garachico I was swallowed by a cloud again and could not believe I had just been walking in the
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Walking up the mountain into the fog. sun under an almost blue sky. After a shower, I went into the village for lovely dinner.
On Saturday, I drove up into the National Park surrounding the volcano Teide. Teide is 3,718 metres tall. Tenerife is only 83 kilometres long and 54 kilometres wide and rises from 0 metres to almost 4,000 metres. This probably gives you an idea of how steep the slopes are in some areas. The surroundings of the volcano look like a lunar landscape, with lava, bizarre rock formations, sand, and some shrubs at most. There is only one hotel, Hotel Parador de las Canadas. It resembles a resort in a US national park, somehow. I was too early to check in, so I left my suitcase at reception and headed off for today’s hike: A round trip to the peak of Guajara (2,730 metres). The first part was an easy walk on a wide road. Then a trail ascended to a saddle from which one could see the coast on one side and the Teide on the other. A nice place for a lunch break! Then there was another steep ascent to the peak, from which I had a beautiful panoramic view. I
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Fog being blown across the mountain. could see how far the lava from the last volcanic eruption had gone, I could see a chain of mountains surrounding the Teide, and I could see down to the coast, the fields and towns down in the lower regions of the island. The descent was steep, but the distance a lot shorter than on my way up.
After a shower, I had dinner in the restaurant of the hotel. The food was pricy and pretty average, but since there was no alternative, I was okay with it. And the view from the table was nice, there was a large window, and I could see Teide.
The next morning, Sunday, I got up early to catch the first cable car of the day up Teide. I had already paid my restaurant bill the previous night so that I would be able to check out quickly. When I wanted to drop off my key with the receptionist in the morning, he said that there was still yesterday’s restaurant bill: two people, full menu, wines, everything. Someone had simply charged their dinner to my room! It was not an issue, I explained to the receptionist that I had paid the
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Same day, just about 2 kilometres from the spot where the previous picture had been taken. previous night, and he could see this was the case. It is not the first time this happened to me. I am sure this sometimes happen because people accidentally give the wrong room number, but I also wonder how many people intentionally do this, and how much of a financial damage this causes hotels.
The base station of the Teide cable car is at an altitude of 2,356 metres. It was -1 degree Celsius when I arrived there. I was wearing several layers of clothes to stay warm, but still, I was glad I did not have to wait for too long. I had booked a ticket in advance, and the ride up only took eight minutes. The upper station is at 3,555 metres. There is a walk one can take to the peak of Mount Teide. However, one needs to register for this a fair bit in advance. The reason for this is also here that in order to conserve and protect the area, only a limited number of people is allowed to walk up. I had not been able to make a booking, so I just took the two walks one can do from the upper cable
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Descending into the canyon below the cone-shaped hill. car station. Both walks provided stunning views of the entire island. Some of it was covered in clouds. There was some snow left on the mountain, and there was a hole that hot, sulphury air came out of. I must admit that walking at such a high altitude was a bit challenging for me. I found myself panting even though the trail was not too steep. There are a few trails that one can use to walk down to the base of the mountain, but I did not think this would be too enjoyable, so I caught the cable car to get down.
Not far from the hotel I had stayed in, there is another bizarre rock formation, Roques de Garcia, that one can walk around. This is what I did. It is not a long walk, probably 1.5 hours, and not a lot of difference in altitude. I could see different types of rocks, with different colours, shapes, and surfaces, and there was always Teide in the background.
Then I started to make my way towards the Northern tip of Tenerife. On my way, I passed the observatory, several bright white buildings on the brown rocks of
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Descending further into the canyon. the island. I wanted to check whether one could get closer, maybe even do a little guided tour of the observatory, but all the roads accessing it were prohibited, so I continued to La Laguna and checked into my hotel, Hotel Nivaria. I took a hot bath before heading for a little walk into town. It was Sunday, so everything was closed. But it is a nice little town, with lots of buildings in Moorish style, with richly decorated beams, balconies, doors, and windows, and beautiful courtyards. I had dinner in my hotel.
The next day, Monday, was my last day. I had checked the regulations for travelling back to Germany, and there was another form that I needed to fill in. However, I was not entirely sure whether a recent Corona test was mandatory as well. I had checked options for testing with the receptionist the previous night. Here in Germany, we were often irritated because of all the Corona regulations. But after learning how things were organised in Spain, I have to admit that tests were easy to access and well-organised in Germany. There were only two test centres, and one could only be used with a
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Coming back to El Palmar. The mountains are hiding in a huge cloud. prescription from a physician. The other one was a hospital in the city of Santa Cruz. The friendly receptionist at the hotel booked an appointment for me, and I drove over to the city. I was there early, so I took some time to walk into the city for a bit. There was a nice market hall where all kinds of different goods were sold. Nice place!
When I arrived at the hospital and to the parking, there was an elderly guy directing cars to parking spots. In my non-existent Spanish, I tried to explain to him that I was here for a Corona test, and he let me park the car right in front of the entrance of the hospital, where parking was normally prohibited. I asked at the reception where I needed to go and was directed to a place a few floors up. I had to wait for a bit, and I had to pay 30 Euros for the test. I felt a bit tense, first of all because I was worried what would happen if I was Corona positive, but second because I was worried whether the car would still be there when I got
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The central village square with the church. back. However, it was, and I gave the friendly guy a tip before leaving. And my test turned out to be negative, so all was good!
From Santa Cruz, I drove to the very northern tip of Tenerife. It is only 40 kilometres, but one drives on small, winding roads, so the drive took about one hour. My hike started in the small village of Chamorga. I climbed up the mountain through a laurel forest and got to a viewpoint where I had an amazing view of the black cliffs on the northern end of Tenerife. Then, the trail went across a ridge and a long way down to a lighthouse, Faro de Anaga. I wanted to have my picknick lunch somewhere on the way, but there was a bunch of goats that got a bit too close. I was worried that they would want my bread, so I continued all the way down to the lighthouse and had my lunch there. Then I continued further down to the small village of Roque Bermejo. There is no route that cars could take to the village, only a few footpaths. I was wondering how the people living there got access
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Christmas crib. to groceries. By boat? I had no idea. There is a beach where one can go swimming, but I did not go there. I just sat on the bench by the small chapel for a bit and then started making my way back via a canyon, Barranco de Roque Bermejo. When arriving back in Chamorga, I got something to drink in a small kiosk and then I drove back to La Laguna. After a quick shower in my hotel, I headed into the village and had dinner at a restaurant with Mediterranean cuisine – my last dinner on the island!
The next morning, I left my hotel early and drove back to the airport in the south of the island. I dropped off the car, and again I was so early that I needed to wait for the check-in counter to open. Everything went smoothly, I checked my bag, went through security control, and then sat down to have breakfast. There was still plenty of time, but I got a real shock when suddenly both my smartwatch and my smartphone said it was 12 pm. My flight was at 11:55 am, and when I had looked at the watch
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View into the gorge. the last time, I had not even been 11 yet. There was no clock anywhere on one of the walls, and with my heart really pounding I asked a guy at a nearby exchange office for the time. It was 11. So, both my watch and my phone must have picked up some other signal and time. This had happened a few times while on the island. This happens with too much reliance on technology!
The journey back went smoothly. The flight was fully booked, so this time I did not have a full row to myself. But we took off and landed on time, and immigration went quickly as well. I would not have needed the Corona test (but better be safe than sorry!). Instead, I received a text message from the German government on my phone welcoming me back to Germany and asking me to go into quarantine should I develop symptoms of Corona. Well, this is what happens in days of Corona: all German citizens returning to Germany receive a welcome by their government!
As much of a hassle as organising and preparing the trip had been, as much was I happy of having embarked
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View back into the mountains. on it. Tenerife is a fascinating island, with the different landscapes and its microclimate. There are beaches, cliffs, volcanic areas, mountains, different kinds of forest (laurel, pine tree), different types of rocks, canyons, and so much more. Definitely worth a visit!
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Alyza
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Dog Training
Great article just keep on posting this.