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| From the forest track above Santiago del Teide. |
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| Another view from the forest track. |
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| Friendly duck. |
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| Wetlands pond. |
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| Church at Erjos. |
Monday 23 February.
We left after breakfast to catch the 8:20 am bus to Santiago del Teide for the start of our walk. The bus was late and we had about a 20 minute wait before we were on it and heading up the hill. The weather was beautiful, it was a cloudless blue sky and the mountains and ridges were clear and striking as the buses zigzagged up through the pass to Santiago del Teide. The route today was one that Moira picked up from a blog of various walks specialising in viewing flowers and birdlife. The start was up the hill to the forest track then round the hill and down to Erjos. This was the way we had walked last week when we came the other way from Los Silos. Once at Erjos we would follow the directions that Moira had downloaded to her mini iPad that she had with her. The walk would take us in a loop round the base of Mont Tomaseche and through the Valle de Arriba back to Santiago del Teide.
When we got off the bus and started walking it was again typical weather for the altitude we have become accustomed to. There was a strong wind blowing and it was cold even though the sky was bright blue and the sun shining. We walked along the sunny side of the street to the turn off for the track and it helped a little with the temperature but the wind was still bitter. At a point on the road where we had to come of the path and cross a small barrier on to the tar I lost my balance and fell back into a deep ditch. Fortunately it was thick grass and I didn't damage anything; Moira remarked that it was lucky we weren't walking along the side of one of the ravines!
Once on the mountain track we were sheltered a bit from the wind and it was now at our backs so not such a problem. We were able to stride out and push hard up the hill, this kept us warm. There must have been rain recently as the path was wet and there was water flowing in some small streams. It took us the usual time to reach the forest track, 30 minutes, it doesn't seem to matter whether we are going up or down we move at the same pace. Once into the trees and the forest track it was easy going on a flat surface strewn with pine needles. The wind was blowing strongly again but as path wound its way round the mountain side at times there was shelter while at others it was straight into our faces. The last part was a short climb up to the tarred lane that we crossed, to go then all the way down again to Erjos. There was a large group of walkers on the lane, some having a rest while others were busy taking photographs.
Once over the top the weather immediately deteriorated. The wind had dropped but there was a mist covering everything, we could see all right where we were walking but the scenery was completely blanked out. We must have been right in the clouds and there were spots of fine rain that had us donning our rain jackets. Underfoot it was a bit wet and large pools of water were lying in places; on the initial steep downhill section we had to take it slowly especially over rocks which were extremely slippery. When we got down to the wetlands with the large ponds the track levelled out and we met a duck wandering along towards us. I thought it would be frightened when it saw us but waddled up to us and posed while I took its photograph. We reached Erjos at 11 am, 2 hours of walking and found a bench in the village square, for a cup of coffee. There was still a thick covering of mist and spots of rain and we were getting colder now we had stopped.
Moira now consulted the guide she had downloaded to her iPad from the blog. She found that it did start at Erjos but took the way we had just come to the wetland ponds where it took another track. We now had a decision to take, did we go all the way back and pick up the route that may be difficult to find in the mist or look for another walk. I checked the guide book but there wasn't anything that tied in with the buses. The other alternative was to call it a day and get a bus back from Erjos. Moira checked the time table and a bus left Icod at 10:30 am and should reach Erjos after an hour. It was 11:15am so it was due quite soon and that was what we decided to do. We made our way to the bus stop on the main road and had about half an hour to wait for the bus, it was running late. It was also full and we had to stand until it reached Santiago del Teide where a lot of people got off. The mist was still thick until we crossed the hill and down to Santiago del Teide where the sky was blue and not a sign of cloud or mist.
We got back to the flat about 12:30 am and we and our lunch, that I had carried in the daypack, out on the veranda. It was nice and warm there and it is surprising the difference in the climate from one side of the hill to the other, and between sea level and at altitude. We spent the afternoon listening to the radio and reading. I got the few photos I had taken on to Picasa and then up to Google+. We sat outside until it cooled down late in the afternoon then came in for the TV quizzes.
After dinner it was more quizzes with 'Uni Challenge' and 'Only Connect' then an old episode of 'New Tricks'; Moira said we had seen it before but I couldn't remember it. We got to bed at our usual time, it hadn't been much of a walk today but we did get some exercise with our 2 hours in the hills. Tomorrow it is a bus trip to Santa Cruz and a visit to a winery.
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