21-12-10

After one night in my ‘Cueva del Molina’ apartment, I’m moving on – luckily it’s much better weather today, although still quite windy (already dreading the thought of going on the ferry to Tenerife in a couple of days).

Stop by the bakery for some breakfast dulces, and then I’m quickly out of Artenara – it’s quite compact and small, but a lovely place.

The path takes me loosely downhill through some pine forest, that obviously had burned some years back (2019 I heard), but came back to life.

There is also odd views out to the coast already, and across to the next island – or more, to El Teide, the highest volcano.

Seems no snow there so far?! (significant because I’m considering to climb it, the highest mountain of Spain…)

The vegetation has changed a bit, no more cacti or agave, but ferns instead – there is obviously more humidity here (and not just due to yesterday‘s rain).

And before I know it, I‘m at Tamadaba. It‘s an ‘área recreativa‘ – so picknick benches and barbeques. And another architecturally quite nice sanitary building.

I take my lunch break there, and enjoy the view. Amongst other things out to Llanos de la Mimbre – where I had wanted to camp; but it‘s closed for construction work.

Then the path gets steeper and steeper, the landscape suddenly just drops towards the coast.

It‘s seemlessly endless downhill, the path snaking back and forth along the hillside – always finding the best possible passage between cliffs.

I bite down on my upcoming fear of heights, and focus on the small things – like this beautiful grass with razor-sharp leaves and the sofest of soft ‚flowers‘.

And finally it gets flatter; and it seems like I‘m back in milder and dryer climate – back in catcus-land.

Today was approximately 18 km more downhill (from 1240m asl to almost sea level).

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