Off the beaten track

After Wednesday’s welcome meeting, my first walk was from Playa Santiago along the coast to look at the next two bays, one of which had a few naturists soaking up the sun.

On Thursday, I climbed the central ridge that divides Playa Santiago into two. Starting on tarmac, it changes into a rocky donkey trail, which zig-zags up the valley side until it levels out on top of the ridge. After a few kilometres of steadily rising track with magnifi cent views into the Benchijigua valley and across to Roque Agando, there were more zig-zags up to a red and white mast before reaching the village of Targa, followed by a short stretch to Alajeró for lunch. Retracing my steps back to Targa, I took a different return route via Antoncojo. The guide book said that the track was down the Barranco de los Cocos and it was literally down the boulders of the river bed – no track at all! There was a fi nal waterfall just before the village but fortunately there was a way around it. The final stretch followed a waterpipe all the way back to Las Trincheras. For a change, Friday’s walk started with a bus ride to Las Toscas. I expected a climb, this far inland, but it was downhill all the way to Benchijigua on a wide, rough road. The views were magnificent and the vegetation surprisingly green and lush. There was a steep climb out of Benchijigua but it levelled off on a pleasant peaceful track past numerous prickly pear and agave plants. My quiet uphill progress was interrupted by a group of German walkers descending from Roque Agando to Playa Santiago. We stopped and chatted and it gave me an excuse for a rest. At the top, the mist had come down and there were no views of Los Roques. The track down to La Laja was being repaired by a group of workers who were doing a very good job.

The surface was steep, muddy and dangerous and my walking pole was absolutely essential. Then the route was through woods and over rustic bridges eventually emerging above the picturesque village of La Laja with its orange tiled roofs and green patches of garden. A yapping dog ruined the idyllic atmosphere.

A steep climb up the side of the valley brought me to Bar Peraza for a cold beer and the bus back. The next day started from Valle Gran Rey. Wandering along the promenade and through the back streets, I climbed up the valley to El Guro. A steep paved ascent between the houses brought me to the rough track up the Barranco de Arure to one of the very few waterfalls that actually contains water. Most of the track was in the dry riverbed but in the upper reaches it became more of a scramble than a walk and there was water in the stream. After two mini-falls the main waterfall appeared straight in front. I was sitting on a rock eating my packed lunch, when suddenly two heads appeared at the top of the waterfall followed by two ropes being thrown down into the pool at my feet. Seconds later a black-clad female figure came abseiling down in front of me, closely followed by her partner. They gathered up their ropes, packed them away, and strode off down the valley, happy with their unusual achievement. For Sunday I had booked an HPB Rainforest Walk and lunch at Bar La Vista in El Cedro – a walk which will be familiar to many.

On Monday morning, a 20-minute hike from Santa Ana brought me to the bus stop at the airport. I was the only passenger for the first half-hour of the tortuous route across the island to Arure. My starting point was the Mirador del Santo with a sheer drop down to Tagaluche. My knees gave an involuntary wobble. Fortunately I was not going in that direction but heading south to La Mérica on a broad track with only one slight incline up to some shallow caves housing goats. Then it was a gentle descent toward the cliffs overlooking Valle Gran Rey.

The zig-zag path down to La Calera went on and on but it was easy to negotiate with a little care and the added security of a walking pole. Having seen the Benchijigua valley on two of my previous walks, I decided that this was my next objective, so I took a taxi ride up to Pastrana. The beginning of the walk was up the riverbed but the track soon headed up the valley side. It was a narrow, enclosed valley and gave an intimate feeling of belonging. The track climbed steadily to Benchijigua which was silent: a few houses with not a sign of life – not even a dog barking – absolute peace.

The return leg was through pines and palms and warm sunshine but there were clouds over Roque Agando. The rocky track rose steeply and then even more steeply. There were toppled agave across the track and rain was imminent. Rainbows formed a backdrop to the view across the valley but I kept ahead of the slowly moving clouds. There was a junction to Imada but my track went straight on until it skirted around a prominent spur before joining the top of the ridge and then dropping down to the Ermita in Guarimiar. It was then a tedious few kilometres down the tarmac to Playa Santiago. Cyclists passed me going up and down the hill obviously enjoying the thrill of the downhill run. On Wednesday I took a bus ride to Vallehermoso and Thursday was a rest day, but I had been looking at the weather forecast on the internet every day. The picture for Friday was for full sun with few clouds so I decided to ‘conquer’ Alto de Garajonay. The airport bus dropped me off at Igualero – the highest village on the island. The steep climb up a pine-covered bank led to a broad red-coloured track which skirted around the peak, eventually leading to the top. Those “few clouds” were there but I could see Mount Teide on Tenerife. The clouds came and went, as did ten to 15 people, all with cameras clicking. It was a beautiful day and we were all on top of the world – this little bit of it anyway.

The preparation for my first trip to La Gomera started well in advance.

I purchased a guide book and read the route instructions over and over again, crossing out any routes that mentioned the word ‘vertiginous’. I found the bus and ferry timetables on the internet to discover which routes were accessible from the HPB site and finally uploaded the waypoints of 14 walks into my GPS. I was ready for a great adventure!

The path down to Pajarito was a pleasant stroll followed by a lovely track down to Imada. There were views across to Roque Agando and Teide. It was the clearest day in two weeks. On Saturday I enjoyed a bike ride arranged by HPB followed on Sunday by a walk to the Ermita de Nuestra Senora de Guadalope, above Valle Gran Rey. After a bus ride, I set off downhill from El Cercado, bypassed Chipude, before traversing a ridge and clinging to the side of a steep valley to reach the Ermita.

Part of the route involved walking in the disused water channel high up on the side of the valley – a bit scary!

My last walk started in the bus shelter at Jerdune waiting for the rain to stop. Then it was down a rough donkey trail with large, wet rocks covering the surface, so great care was needed. Towering high above the track were some beautifully coloured cliffs with many different facets of rocks jutting out at all angles. Down near the path there were caves of various depths, one of which was helpful during the next downpour. The track was wide and safe and although it was quite close to the edge of a steep drop, it never caused me any problem. Further down, there was a house built into the caves with two bread ovens outside but now abandoned. The rest of the walk down to the coast was a bit of an anticlimax after such an exciting start, so I finished off with a swim in the sea at Playa Medio.