Thursday 5 March.
It was walking today again. The route was to another volcano, Chinyero, and the start was at the same place we began the walk to the Valle de Ariba last week. We caught our normal bus at 7:20 am and it was up to Santiago del Teide then over the pass to the stop just before Erjos. From there it was up the side road where we picked up the concreted path beside the farm house.
| Forest walk to Chinyero. |
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| Forest walk to Chinyero. |
| El Teide and Viejo. |
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| El Teide and Viejo. |
| Lava field. |
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| Lava field. |
| There's a woodpecker up there! |
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| There's a woodpecker up there! |
The weather was completely different from the last time here. The sky was cloudless, not a breath of wind and it was very warm already. We has our fleeces on but once the path began the steep climb to the col we had to stop and get them off and into the daypack. Once we reached the road at the top it was just a short distance to the roundabout and the start of the marked trail. Our route went to the left this time and the signpost said, Chinyero 3.8 km., it was a wide well laid-out path and easy going. Soon we entered a pine forest and now underfoot it was a bed of pine needles. It was a steady climb and through the trees we captured glimpses of El Teide and now we recognised the mountain in front of it as Pico Viejo. At one point we stopped when we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker high in the trees. We searched the branches and foliage above but couldn't see it though the noise was close and very distinct. As we got higher lava from the last eruption of the volcano was thickly distributed among the trees. The lava gradually became thicker and as we approached the volcano there was a huge lava field with some strangely shaped standing pillars constructed of volcanic debris.
| Lava rock. |
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| Lava rock. |
| Chinyero. |
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| Chinyero. |
| Chinyero through the trees. |
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| Chinyero through the trees. |
We now came to the start of the circular path round the volcano; it was the Chinyero Circuit 5.7 km. There was a map and the trail going to Santiago del Teide was shown to start nearby and I estimated that it was a distance of about 8 km. Moira was doubtful if we could do the circuit and then make it to Santiago del Teide in time for the bus just after 4 pm. I suggested that we walk along part of the circuit then come back again after about half an hour. The start was across the lava field and there was some large sharp rocks on the path and it was slow going. I reckoned it would take longer than usual and might be doubtful about catching the bus. Fortunately the path improved and underfoot it was more like fine pumice then we entered a pine forest again with a carpet of pine needles. The route was fairly flat and we were now making good time and I decided that we should carry on and if the worst came to the worst we would just have to wait for a later bus. It wasn't quite clear what hill was Chinyero and the ones we were near weren't very impressive. As we travelled further round suddenly we came to what was unmistakably the volcano and it was a beautiful mountain. There were signs telling us to keep to the path and under no circumstances to climb the volcano as the environment is very fragile. We were now glad we had continued round the circuit it was absolutely magnificent and one of the best walks we had done. All our fears of running out of time were miscounted when we arrived round at the Santiago del Teide turn-off in only 90 minutes, it had been a very fast track with only short sections over lava that tended to slow us down.
| A beautiful old tree among the pines. |
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| A beautiful old tree among the pines. |
| Path strewn with pine needles. |
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| Path strewn with pine needles. |
| Monument at end of lava flow of 1909. |
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| Monument at end of lava flow of 1909. |
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| Panorama of mountains at Santiago del Teide. |
As we turned off the circuit we saw some mountain bikers come along, I don't know what damage the sharp lava does to their tyres. Our track was wide again over pine needles, there were trees on one side and on the other the lava stretched in a wide channel up to the section of the volcano where the eruption had occurred. From the junction the signpost said 7.4 km to Santiago del Teide, shorter than I had estimated from the map. We walked until 1pm then stopped under a tree where we had lunch. Now we had plenty of time and we stretched out in the sun after eating and relaxed for half an hour before continuing. We were now out of the trees and underfoot it became rocky but it didn't slow us down much. The next junction we reached was where the track joined the one from Santiago del Teide to Arguaya; that was one of our first walks on Tenerife. It was now over another lava field and at the end of it was the shrine and cross where the villagers had prayed when Chimyero erupted and the lava flow stopped in 1909. They built these memorials as a remembrance of their salvation and there was a pilgrimage held each year until 1970 from the church in Santiago del Teide.
From the shrine it was downhill all the way to the town. The track was all right but a bit rocky in places. We kept at a steady pace and it was 3:15 pm when we got the the centre of the town giving us an hour to wait for the bus. We went to the pub and had a large beer and sat outside to drink it. The weather was completely different from the last time when we waited for the bus, then there was a bitterly cold wind blowing. This time the sun was still shining brightly and there was no wind, very pleasant having our beer 'al fresco'. The bus arrived early, 4:10pm and he seemed to be in a hurry as he speeded down the hill and swinging the bus round the bends. At one point there was a traffic jam at a bend with another bus coming up. As they slowly passed one another there was a bang as the wing mirror on the other bus got whacked. I though there would be a long delay to exchange insurance particulars etc but once they cleared each other we drove on and there wasn't any concern if there had been any damaged. Even with his speeding it still took half an hour to get back to the flat.
When we got in I made a cup of coffee then downloaded today's photos to the Notebook. After that it was time for the quizzes on TV and to relax. After dinner I worked on a crossword and it must have been easy, I finished it quite quickly. Later there was a new drama series about the convict settlements in Australia. From the trailers it sounded promising but before it started they warned about strong language so we didn't bother with it. Instead there was a programme on ITV about the best 20 hit parade No 1's from the 70's. It was good and I predicted the top one, 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen.
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