El Teide
Today was El Teide day. This, the highest mountain in Spain at 3,178 metres is often shrouded in cloud as it has for most of the time since we got here.
To reach El Teide we drove up the coast from Puerto de Radazul, turned inland towards La Laguna before taking TF24 and then TF21 which run down the middle of the island.
It was a glorious clear day but not hot. As the road reached 2000m I noticed our vehicle thermometer read 7.5ºc. The visibilty was very good with El Teide free of cloud.
El Teide seen here from about 20km away. Note the lush pine forest in the foreground.
There was also a lovely view of the NW coast.
As we rose above the tree line it became very barren and bleak. Tenerife is millions of years old but the most recent eruption in the area of El Teide was only about two hundred years ago.
At the foot of El Teide (2356m) it is possible to catch a cable car, constructed by Doppelmayr of Thun, Switzerland, to within about 200m of the summit.
The cost is an eye watering €24 per person. Having come this far I decided to grit my teeth and pay up. The real price is €12 per person but non-residents of the Canaries pay a 100% surcharge. Tomas said the cost exceeded his expectation and went off to sit in the car while I went up. There was another option. We could have walked and had we had more time (a whole day and appropriate kit) we would have done so.
Taking the cable car was not a pleasant experience. The ride is wonderful but the procedure at each end is dire. This was not a visitor attraction. It was a visitor fleecing operation. Firstly one was made to queue for over half an hour next to a large open door exposed to a cold wind just to buy a ticket. It was not a busy day but the staff seemed surly and uninterested.
Once in possession of a ticket one passed through a turnstile and was hustled by a staff photographer against the wall and photographed. This was another element to the fleecing operation. Then it was necessary to negotiate an obstacle course around seating in the waiting room to reach another turnstile where one's ticket was time stamped railway style and a threatening note issued saying that time at the top was limited to one hour with the time starting at the turnstile. I.E. not one hour.
Moving on. We sheep were herded into the cable car and waited with the door open until the driver decided to proceed. What a ride! Wonderful views all around. It took about 10 minutes to go up.
Unless one has first obtained permission in Santa Cruz walking to the top is prohibited. There are two paths leading away from the cable car. I suspect these cover between a third and a half of the perimeter at cable car level and each takes about 45 minutes to complete at a relaxed pace. I wanted to do both and decided to ignore the 1 hour time limit. My flip-flops and shorts ensemble got some odd glances from kitted up serious mountain walkers. At this height (3550m) the temperature was said to be around freezing. The views were wonderful.
Looking east to Gran Canaria.
Lava flows just under cable car level and the valley below.
Another view to the east and Gran Canaria.
Looking south the coast of La Gomera is just visible under a flatish cloud cover.
The island of La Palma is just visible above the clouds at middle right.
The paths wound through recent (200 years) lava fields and visibility was excellent in the vicinity of El Teide. Haze on the horizon obscured clear views of the surrounding islands.
Returning to the cable car after an hour and a half I was time checked in (no negative consequences) and after a few minutes in the waiting room we were herded into a cable car. The driver then went off to have a coffee leaving we sheep to stand in the car for about 10 minutes with the door open and exposed to the not very warm wind (0ºc).
Eventually we got underway.
Looking down from the cable car at recent lava flows.
The road below gives an indication of scale.
Down at the bottom we were herded through yet another turnstile to get out. Again a railway type put the ticket in before moving through. Why? They weren't done yet. One final attempt at getting more money out of us. The photographs we had been hustled into earlier were on display at €5.00 each. Tacky tacky tacky.
El Teide deserves better than this.
I rejoined Tomas in the car and noticed at a nearby mirador that large numbers of visitors were choosing not to be fleeced. Good on them!
A parting view of El Teide from the south east.
We took a long, winding and very scienic road down to the south west coast at Los Gigantes where we decided to give the south coast a miss and return by fast road to Radazul.
Just time for a quick shower before driving into Santa Cruz for a concert at the "Talon" ( Auditorio de Tenerife). We were entertained in the Sala de Cámara, the smaller of the two halls within the auditorium, by Charlie Moreno, a Spanish modern jazz guitarist of whom I knew nothing.
He was accompanied by a trio of spanish jazz musicians. Andreas Prittwitz - sax and flute, Valentin Iturat - drums and Javier Sánchez on guitar. What a treat. Over two hours of innovative music. I even bought a signed CD.
To reach El Teide we drove up the coast from Puerto de Radazul, turned inland towards La Laguna before taking TF24 and then TF21 which run down the middle of the island.
It was a glorious clear day but not hot. As the road reached 2000m I noticed our vehicle thermometer read 7.5ºc. The visibilty was very good with El Teide free of cloud.
El Teide seen here from about 20km away. Note the lush pine forest in the foreground.
There was also a lovely view of the NW coast.
As we rose above the tree line it became very barren and bleak. Tenerife is millions of years old but the most recent eruption in the area of El Teide was only about two hundred years ago.
At the foot of El Teide (2356m) it is possible to catch a cable car, constructed by Doppelmayr of Thun, Switzerland, to within about 200m of the summit.
The cost is an eye watering €24 per person. Having come this far I decided to grit my teeth and pay up. The real price is €12 per person but non-residents of the Canaries pay a 100% surcharge. Tomas said the cost exceeded his expectation and went off to sit in the car while I went up. There was another option. We could have walked and had we had more time (a whole day and appropriate kit) we would have done so.
Taking the cable car was not a pleasant experience. The ride is wonderful but the procedure at each end is dire. This was not a visitor attraction. It was a visitor fleecing operation. Firstly one was made to queue for over half an hour next to a large open door exposed to a cold wind just to buy a ticket. It was not a busy day but the staff seemed surly and uninterested.
Once in possession of a ticket one passed through a turnstile and was hustled by a staff photographer against the wall and photographed. This was another element to the fleecing operation. Then it was necessary to negotiate an obstacle course around seating in the waiting room to reach another turnstile where one's ticket was time stamped railway style and a threatening note issued saying that time at the top was limited to one hour with the time starting at the turnstile. I.E. not one hour.
Moving on. We sheep were herded into the cable car and waited with the door open until the driver decided to proceed. What a ride! Wonderful views all around. It took about 10 minutes to go up.
Unless one has first obtained permission in Santa Cruz walking to the top is prohibited. There are two paths leading away from the cable car. I suspect these cover between a third and a half of the perimeter at cable car level and each takes about 45 minutes to complete at a relaxed pace. I wanted to do both and decided to ignore the 1 hour time limit. My flip-flops and shorts ensemble got some odd glances from kitted up serious mountain walkers. At this height (3550m) the temperature was said to be around freezing. The views were wonderful.
Looking east to Gran Canaria.
Lava flows just under cable car level and the valley below.
Another view to the east and Gran Canaria.
Looking south the coast of La Gomera is just visible under a flatish cloud cover.
The island of La Palma is just visible above the clouds at middle right.
The paths wound through recent (200 years) lava fields and visibility was excellent in the vicinity of El Teide. Haze on the horizon obscured clear views of the surrounding islands.
Returning to the cable car after an hour and a half I was time checked in (no negative consequences) and after a few minutes in the waiting room we were herded into a cable car. The driver then went off to have a coffee leaving we sheep to stand in the car for about 10 minutes with the door open and exposed to the not very warm wind (0ºc).
Eventually we got underway.
Looking down from the cable car at recent lava flows.
The road below gives an indication of scale.
Down at the bottom we were herded through yet another turnstile to get out. Again a railway type put the ticket in before moving through. Why? They weren't done yet. One final attempt at getting more money out of us. The photographs we had been hustled into earlier were on display at €5.00 each. Tacky tacky tacky.
El Teide deserves better than this.
I rejoined Tomas in the car and noticed at a nearby mirador that large numbers of visitors were choosing not to be fleeced. Good on them!
A parting view of El Teide from the south east.
We took a long, winding and very scienic road down to the south west coast at Los Gigantes where we decided to give the south coast a miss and return by fast road to Radazul.
Just time for a quick shower before driving into Santa Cruz for a concert at the "Talon" ( Auditorio de Tenerife). We were entertained in the Sala de Cámara, the smaller of the two halls within the auditorium, by Charlie Moreno, a Spanish modern jazz guitarist of whom I knew nothing.
He was accompanied by a trio of spanish jazz musicians. Andreas Prittwitz - sax and flute, Valentin Iturat - drums and Javier Sánchez on guitar. What a treat. Over two hours of innovative music. I even bought a signed CD.