Destroy All Onions!

The last time I was in Tenerife, I had a bit  of a disagreement with a local montain. The mountain was called Guaza, and it lived at the edge of Los Christianos. It’s still there, and when we saw each other this time around, I felt it was time for a rematch.

Last time, I had quite innocently tried to climb it, and it hid the path and got me lost on its rocky sides. It then filled my arm with cactus jags, and I had to go to the first aid hut on the beach to try and get them extracted by a professional with tweezers. I had a sore arm for a few days (fortunately they didn’t contain anything poisonous), but needless to say my pride was also badly wounded.

So it was kind of inevitable that I would have another go this time. And today I had a very nice walk over the hill and round the coast to Las Galletas. I googled it up and found that there is a route, and that it is about 9 miles long and should take 4 hours. I also discovered that people who organise walks don’t do it in the summer when it is too hot. But summoning up the courage of my church’s kamikaze walking group, who never turn down any challenge, I bought a couple of litres of lemon tea, put on my emergency hat (as my face is a little sunburned already from yesterday) and headed off. And I had a lovely walk. I listened to a month’s worth of Friday night comedy from Radio 4, saw the lighthouse, and got the bus back from Las Galletas. According to my ever faithful Runkeeper, I walked 8.6 miles in 3:40 or thereabouts
I am all pleased 🙂

Hello again internet. I’m on holiday again. The last time I was on holiday this blog turned into a kind of weird survival story, but not this time. Well, not so far anyway. Though I did have a bit of a turn in the local church on Sunday when a siren kept going  and I wondered if it might be a tsunami warning. Fortunately it was just a police car, but I am sometimes surprised by unexpected thoughts of natural disasters. Perhaps I shouldn’t be. Perhaps it’s perfectly normal.

Anyway, I’m here in Tenerife on holiday, and all is well. The hotel is clean, comfortable and well-equipped. The food is good, the wi-fi is very slow, but it is there. I’ve used the gym a few times, and it’s been grand.

My kindle has been splendid, and I read my first Agatha Christie book the other day, which was very good. I plan on a PG Wodehouse soon. My iPhone has done the job too, tracking my cycling, and providing music in the bathroom. I found an excellent use for the bidet, which acts as an excellent resonator for listening to Pink Floyd in the shower. And I’ve enjoyed watching ripped DVDs on my android on the balcony. Yes, I have too many toys.

So, one week down, and another week to go. I’m having fun. Hope you’re having fun wherever you are too.

Went cycling again today, my third day with my hired mountain bike. There are 2 problems with cycling in Tenerife; well the south of the island anyway. The first is that the island is just one big volcano, with a peak in the middle (and crater) which slopes down to the sea. And no, it hasn’t erupted in a long time. It’s safe, thanks for asking. The second problem is that the one big volcano is surrounded by lots of smaller cones. So it’s just mountains and hills everywhere. If you start at a beach resort, i.e. at sea level, then pretty much every direction except along the coast involves going up.
Today I cycled to Arona, which is only something like 7 miles away, but it was literally 7 miles uphill all the way there, and then 7 miles downhill all the way back. The freewheeling down was fantastic, but the uphill was a slow hot grind. But I didn’t melt, and neither did the bike, but I’ll not be doing it again tomorrow.
Oh and by the way, the bike is a Specialised. It’s got great big balloon tyres like a moon buggy, and quite dodgy gears, but it’s not bad.