What I did on my holidays.....
If you find yourself suffering from the winter blues and deeply in need of some energising you could do a lot worse than a holiday in Tenerife. Mary and I went for a week at the end of November and found it to be a really great way of putting some sunshine in the middle of a cold Scottish winter.
Neither of us had been before, but we were lucky in choosing Los Cristianos, the southern end of a strip of beachfront that runs for several miles through a number of resorts. Ricky stayed near there when he celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary (congratulations Ricky and Mrs. Ricky) a couple of weeks prior, and mentioned the run along the beach front.
It was very striking getting on a plane in Edinburgh dressed for the winter, and getting off in shorts and t-shirt weather. We stayed in a self catering apartment - and found the local fruit and veg very good. At this time of the year most of the holiday makers were in the 40 ~ 90 age bracket and although we saw a couple of other runners, most were there for sun/sea/booze'n'fags holidaying. (And go easy on the sea.) The reps and tourist info places were mildly helpful though not used to activities that didn't involve a tour bus and serious drinking. By way of compromise we sampled the local wine (which is supposed to be very good) and quite a few other bottles from Spain, which were.
The most noticeable thing about the place was the weather. Every day I had to slap sunscreen on the top of my head and shoulders. Average was about 24° which meant drinks had to be carried on longer runs. We also swam in the sea most days which was a deal warmer than a small unheated pool beside our apartment. There was often a swell in the sea which made it less straightforward to swim but fun in the shallows. There are a number of good beaches along the coast and they are well maintained.
Doing the beach run at night
It was amazing to be running in the hot sunshine. The first day there we ran about 5 miles up the beachfront, going through several resorts. There was a strong wind whipping up the sea and making everything very salty. Ricky said that they had made quite an effort doing up the area near where we were staying and I really appreciated the tropical trees, shrubs, flowers and cactus planted liberally along the roadsides and beaches. Gangs of council workers came out in the night with armfuls of poinsettia to plant under the palms. (We know this as we saw them on the way to the airport at 5am.) They also seemed to empty the bins in the middle of the night which was less pleasing.
We had heard about a gorge walk - the Barranco del Infierno - which we knew was fairly close by. While it was spectacular and snaked inland up a ravine from a high point above Adeje, it was also fairly strictly organised. You have to book in advance, wait for a designated hour before following the trail, and they wouldn't have been happy if we had run it. It seems much longer than the 3km up to a point where a waterfall into a pool marks the end of the gorge, and many of the people we passed seemed to be feeling the heat and distance. It took us about an hour in either direction. Its well marked and worth taking a few sandwiches and a drink and making an afternoon of it. Lots of lizards can be heard scurrying around the undergrowth.
Another touristy must-see is Mt. Teide. At 3718m it is the highest Spanish peak. A coach will take you round the caldera of this active volcano to a cable car at 2356m which goes up to just beneath the summit at 3555m. When you get out and walk uphill you can feel the lack of air making you lightheaded and everyone walks around slowly, breathing heavily. The views are spectacular, though the rocky landscape is very barren. Lots of strange volcanic shapes and colours.
You can see the coast 11,600 feet below
Huge volcanic outcrop with Teide behindHowever my favourite place was a small hill at the Cristianos end of the beach walk. The tarmac road through the last of the houses becomes a dusty trail and turns up the hill, heading eventually to the TV aerials and transmitters on top. It took about 35 minutes at a decent pace to get up there though I would inevitably stop to take a photo of a cactus, or a flower or an unusual insect. Tenerife is almost perfect in terms of insects and dangerous creatures: there is nothing poisonous, and very little stingy or bitey. No snakes, scorpions, big spiders or the like, and although we met a cucaracha the worst they can do is give you a shudder. There was a gang of very pretty collared doves that hung out on our terrace. (Okay there might have been bread inducements.) There thankfully seemed very few mosquitos, though they may come out more in the summer. The wild cactus and succulents were like something from South America and I spent a deal of time not running while up the hill exploring.
Collared Dove
All in all, highly recommended, and a great way to escape from the winter blues.
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Photos Mary and Peter
Many tempting shopping experiences
