Tenerife: Chinobre Hike in the Anaga Mountains

When we were in La Gomera in 2007 I became infatuated with Laurel forests, and whenever one is within reach, we try to get in at least one hike.  The trees are kind of spooky, twisted and strange, like no other forest I've ever been in. 

 Often there are big clumps of moss clinging to the trees' trunks. 

The green of these forests is just magical, it's a really cool feeling to be in there.  We had a sunny day for this hike, but the atmosphere is even more interesting when it's foggy, which is often the case.  This vegetation needs a lot of moisture.  You almost expect the Gruffalo or Rumpelstilzchen to come hobbling out when it's foggy!

But not only did we see those fascinating trees on this hike, we were often distracted by some breathtaking views of the coast...

 ...of El Teide...

 ...of the Anaga Mountains...

 ...and the towns lying below us!

We had a lunch break at Roque de Anambro, a holy rock for the native Tinerfenos, the Guanches.
There were a couple of lovely natural treats along the way, too.  We saw tons of Canarina canariensis on this walk, this lovely native flower is plentiful in the Anaga Mountains.

I also spotted this little guy, who was quite pretty.  I think it's a kind of finch, but can't really find an exact match for him online: 

I was hoping he was an elusive Laurel Pigeon, but alas, he was not. I have yet to spot one of those...  The elusive Laurel Pigeon has become a running joke of ours, we've read of this rare bird found only in the Laurel forests in travel guides, but have never found one.  There are loads of regular pigeons everywhere, just no Laurel pigeons!  Maybe on the next trip...

Tenerife: From Chamorga to Roque Bermejo

The day after our encounter with the Trail of Tears, we decided to tackle another hike.  This is one that we've always wanted to do, but never completed because we always got too late of a start and didn't want to get caught in the dark--when dusk comes around 6 or 7, night quickly follows at this time of year.  This trip was the three-kilometer walk from the village of Chamorga to Roque Bermejo, right at the northern tip of Tenerife.  The hike is kind of strenuous only due to the difference in elevation that you have to deal with, but the trail is really good and not scary at all.  The kids did great on this one.

 Some giant boulders in the valley!

I really love the rocks, vegetation and peaks you see in this valley.   We'd actually only accomplished a very small portion of this trail on our earlier attempts, and on this day we made it the whole way to the coast.  After a while, the rocks change to orange and red, and the view opens up to the ocean.  It's really fantastic.

After a long time of seeing no people or houses, just lizards, we came upon a couple of goats.  You can see in the background that we were approaching the ocean, nearby there were some houses, gardens and banana plantations in this area.  Remember:  this area is not accessible by car!  You can either walk the 3 km from Chamorga or get to Roque Bermejo by boat!

Right on the edge of the town there's this really old little church on a tiny town square.  The pictures on the altar seem to be in memory of deceased people, I found it quite sad that a lot of rather young adults were pictured.

 Finally, we reached Roque Bermejo.  There is certainly not much going on in this tiny town, but it was just what we were looking for.  Fortunately we'd packed enough sandwiches and drinks, the supermarket/snack stand is only open on the weekend!   We had a really humorous encounter when we entered town:  a little dog came running out, barking loudly.  Friedrich, who is only 3 and not such a fan of dogs, was certainly not happy to see him and let out such a shrill scream that the dog took off and didn't come anywhere near us again!  The owner of the dog then came out and had a look around, greeted us nicely and returned to his abode after seeing that nothing had happened.  

 

 

This was just a perfect stony beach to spend an afternoon on, watch the waves and the crabs and enjoy the quiet.

Tenerife: Afur and the Trail of Tears

On the third day of our vacation, we wanted to do a hike of low to medium difficulty, and chose the trail leading from Afur to the coast.  It seemed to be doable, but as we got farther and farther in, it turned into the Trail of Tears. 

 We had a strong start on a good trail in the mountains with cool rocks all around.

We passed what I dubbed "The Garden of Eden"--a private garden right on a bend in a little stream, complete silence among the mountains.  This place is perfect!

 

 We met a nice mountain goat on the way.

 

We really should have started questioning the ease of this hike after the first set of steep steps carved into the side of the mountain, as you can see above.  But no, we forged ahead. 

More steps, even steeper paths, we basically scaled some cliffs.  Our concentration and that of the kids was waning.  We stopped for lunch, and debated what to do.  It was one of those hikes where you have the feeling that you'll reach your goal just around the next bend, it can't be much further, we must have the worst behind us.  Finally, after debating back and forth, I put a veto on continuing this particular trip.  It was just too strenuous, our energy was gone, and there was just no end in sight.

 

Our Trail of Tears ended here at the River of Tears.  The kids got to throw some stones into the shimmering water and then we turned around and were off.

I would have loved to have continued and walked all the way to the ocean, but we just weren't able to on this day.  It was a scenic tour, but probably better done without kids due to some pretty steep drop offs right next to the trail, lots of steps with shaky hand rails, and steep paths with very loose stones.  Maybe next time.

Tenerife: Pista La Porquera, Roque Negro

I'm still recovering from our return to cold, gray Dresden after 3 weeks of sun in the beautiful Canary Islands.  We spent Christmas and New Year far away from the snow and cold in Tenerife and El Hierro.  Let me tell you a little about our trip...

We arrived in Tenerife on December 15, and rented Casa Roja on Pista La Porquera in Roque Negro in the Anaga Mountains for the first week.  Above you can see Casa Roja, a tiny house about the size of our garden cottage in just gorgeous surroundings.  It was the second to last house in the village. 

 Here's a view from our terrace.

 Here's another view toward the ocean.

This is Pista La Porquera, the street on which Casa Roja is located.  For whatever reason, I was a bit apprehensive about organizing everything ourselves on this trip, and being so far away from "civilization".  I don't really know why I felt this way; we've been to the Canary Islands five times, know the lay of the land a little bit, and have always had great experiences with the lovely people and my broken Spanish there.  Well, the moment we arrived, all of my concerns disappeared.  It was so quiet here, in the morning all you heard were chickens, and in the evening dogs.  The dogs were not scary, but tiny, friendly, enthusiastic little guys.  And the people, oh the people!  I adore Canarians.  On our first evening we went out for a little stroll, and met the people who lived in the next house.  Zacharias and his wife gave us some of their homemade wine and some of their homegrown sweet potatoes, talked to the kids and let them play with their puppies.  On other walks around Roque Negro, we were greeted by a very old lady who came out and gave the kids flowers and kisses, and various other very friendly, welcoming people.  They didn't want to sell us anything or get anything from us, they are just warm, open people.  That's how life should be lived!

The first days we walked around Roque Negro to get a feel for the lay of the land there.  You can see the first path we took if you look closely at the picture above.

The landscape is quite steep, and it's really impressive to watch the people walk to their terraced gardens, they are so nimble and quick!

We walked those 270 meters on the sign above from La Porquera, the only thing they don't mention is that the 270 meters seem to be vertical!!

It's such a nice change to depart from winter and arrive in lush, green permasummer.  My enthusiasm for this vacation prior to leaving was right around 0, since so many things had happened this fall.  I almost would have liked to have stayed home and just done nothing, but that would have been a terrible idea.  The first days of vacation proved that it was just what we needed!

Christmas in Dresden

I really would have liked to have posted these lovely pictures before Christmas, but due to exhaustion and leaving for vacation on December 15, I simply didn't get around to it.  I went out one evening with a friend to hit Dresden's "Christmas Mile", look at the lights and sample some delicious treats--chimney cake and roasted chestnuts, both of which are highly recommendable.  I'm already getting a little nostalgic about Dresden, for 2012 is the last year that I'll have the Christmas Mile within walking distance from my house.  Soon I'm off to bigger and better things, but more on that later.  On to the pictures!

We started on the Neustadt side of the Elbe, and hit the market in close proximity to where we live--the Hauptstraße Christmas Market.  This one is relatively small, and has been restyled this year.  Previously it was a traditional market with wooden huts, but starting this year they're going for a more modern, international flair, and have white tent-like stalls and this super fantastic tree in the middle: 

I'll admit:  at first glance, I found this tree garish and horrifying, but I have to say it grew on me.  I first saw this when I was on my lunch break one Thursday, and during the day with no snow, it's looks a little bit extraterrestrial and quite out of place.  In the evening, however, it simply glows and draws you in.  I took my kids to see it, and their reaction was perfect:  they just stood staring, transfixed.

Our next stop was the old, traditional Striezelmarkt, probably the most famous Christmas market in Dresden.  I've never been a fan of this one, and usually avoid it like the plague:  it's just too crowded, crazy and kitschy for me.  This year I was pleasantly surprised.  They've changed the layout, so it's not just straight rows of hundreds of stalls, but it's a little more randomly laid out.  Another very positive aspect to going out in the evening is that most of the shoppers were gone and just the merry mulled wine drinkers were left, so it wasn't so crowded. 

I particularly liked the fairy tale area, here you can see the wicked witch's house from Hänsel and Gretel.  I also spotted Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Hedgehog and the Hare and several other fairy tale characters.

This decoration is sort of funny and sort of troubling:  this is above a butcher's stall, and it appears that the cheerful pig has stolen Santa's sleigh from Rudolph and is getting the hell out of Dodge. 

 I'm always a sucker for the giant lit-up rotating pyramids!

 After perusing the Striezelmarkt, we continued on to Prager Straße, where I had a very special mission.  One of my students told me that there's a very American-style Christmas tree there, so I had to check it out and see if I could confirm her claims.  This is it, and while I don't think the tree itself is particularly American, I do think figures similar to those around the base (the snowmen and polar bear) most likely could be spotted in yards around the United States.

 Finally we walked to the Neumarkt, near the Frauenkirche.  I love photographing the Frauenkirche because on my first visit to Dresden, it was just scaffolding, and over the years I've observed it and the area around it being rebuilt.  The market on the Neumarkt is more low-key than the others and is decorated mainly with Herrnhuter stars, as you can see above.  I found it very pretty and quiet.

Not too far from the Neumarkt was our last stop, a small market in a narrow alley in the Altstadt.  There were still several merry drinkers underway here, as you can see.  It was a bit shocking and loud after the quiet, lovely Neumarkt, but also a fine way to end the evening!

Guerilla Knitting in Tenerife (!)

Think what you may about knitting, I find it to be a relaxing pastime.  It keeps my fingers busy so I can't eat chocolate (or delicious Turron, a kind of praline in 150 gram bar form, which I became slightly addicted to in La Palma last year), and it just takes my mind off of work and whatever other trouble is going on.  It clears my head.  I'm very much an amateur at this hobby, up to now I've only managed a couple of scarves, some simple socks and pulse warmers, but still, it's enjoyable.  With each winter, I find myself more and more involved in knitting, but as soon as the temperatures rise, I'm finished.  So, contrary to my normal knitting habits, I decided to throw in a bag of knitting for our three-week vacation in the sunny Canary Islands.  I knew the climate didn't exactly lend itself to this pastime, but figured that the days are short, we'd be staying in the mountains for a couple weeks, so maybe that, combined with the fact that going out in the evening is a no-go with 2 small kids in tow, would give me a chance to do a little knitting.  And the stuff doesn't take up that much space in the luggage, anyway.

So I packed up my knitting bag and packed off to Tenerife.  The first week in Roque Negro in the Anaga Mountains was perfect for knitting:  the evenings were relatively cold, so we just sat around in the evening watching TV anyway (which was also something special, since we don't have a TV at home).  That's perfect for knitting.  I finished a sock.  The second week at around 800 meters above sea level in Isora, El Hierro, wasn't bad for knitting either:  cold evenings, no TV, and a sick kid to boot.  I got a set of pulse warmers started.  The third week in Puerto Santiago, Tenerife, much to my surprise, turned out to be my best knitting week.  I didn't get much done, but knitting on the beach is just plain awesome!  Soaking up the warm sun, knitting something that I know will keep me warm like the sun back home in the cold.  I'm not much of a beach person anyway, and the other beachgoers probably thought I'm a huge freak, but that's nothing new for me.  Again, it was that combination of keeping my hands busy while sitting with the kids, who are digging a hole to China or throwing rocks or something.  Knitting is better than reading, because my ears are open and I can carry on a conversation if necessary.  I can't do that while reading.  My eyes are also available while knitting, not while reading. Knitting can also be put down and you don't really need to mark your place or do anything special if you only do easy projects like I do.    

So imagine my surprise when we were out for a little walk in Puerto Santiago and I found that someone else had already been knitting where I was:

 Some funny person knit a hat and a scarf and put them on the sculpture near the Plaza Restaurant just across the street from our hotel!

I've read articles about guerilla knitting, and even witnessed some in Dresden (http://sarahonearth.blogspot.de/2011/12/knitting.html).  In Dresden, it makes sense:  it's cold here, the trash cans and lampposts need something to keep them warm!  But in Tenerife?  And particularly in Puerto Santiago, where the temperature is around 20C or more even in winter?  It doesn't make sense, and it's just plain funny to see a sculpture on a blazing hot day with a perfect blue sky and a knit hat on.  

A couple days later, we were out for a walk from Puerto Santiago to Alcala along the coast on one of our low-key days.  This is a really neat stretch, the lava and water have created some interesting bits of coast along here.  It's not so rugged, but really varied.  Well, guess what we found here: 

A stone with a knit coat!

It seems to have been made by the same person who made the scarf, note the fuzzy yarn in the middle section of both.  We couldn't resist this rock, the little guy picked it up and cuddled it, he wanted to take it to bed and cuddle it that evening.  The knit rock really made me laugh.  Not only have we got the funny weather combination (a knit coat on a rock on a hot, sunny coast), but also this juxtaposition of something so hard and natural, with such a soft, fuzzy manmade mantle.  We kidnapped it and took it back to our hotel.  I lugged it around for a couple of days, trying to decide what to do with it.  It went to Santa Cruz with us and resided on the table in our room and in my backpack.  In the meantime, I knit it a baby:  a smaller stone with a blue coat.  I was tempted to bring the large rock back with me and replace it in its original home with the baby, but then decided that it's really not that pretty, so I returned it to its natural environment along with some friends. 

The original knit rock and its friends now reside along the coast a bit to the southeast of Alcala, between Alcala and San Juan.  While I was knitting, the kids kept piling me high with more rocks and shells that I should knit, but there was no way I could knit up a whole pile of rocks.  But at least the first rock is no longer alone.  And I even had time to work on my pulse warmers.  What a lovely last day on a lovely island (well, except for the little bout of puking on the street in San Juan--for whatever reason, Kid 2 became ill and tossed his cookies.  It appears to have been a one-shot deal, though, he hasn't thrown up again.)

Ah, and now I'm home, where there's no sun, but at least there's no snow, either.

My first ever gingerbread house!

I've always been really impressed by gingerbread houses, I think because I thought they were difficult to construct, but they're actually a piece of cake!  I constructed my first one ever this year, and it was pretty fun.  I planned this as the big event when we picked up another kid from our Kindergarten, because his parents had to work late and he's usually sad when he has to come to our house.  The appeal of gingerbread house construction didn't do much for the kids, though, they were more interested in running around with trucks and screaming joyful screams at the top of their lungs, so at least my goal of keeping everyone happy worked, even if the gingerbread house didn't do the trick. 

The latest in the garden saga

The drama in the garden continues.  After having gotten the kids all excited for ice cream and grilling in the garden this evening, what did I see in my parking space under the tree in front of my garden upon arrival?  You guessed it:  Canned Beer's car.  Good thing for him I was the first to arrive, because there would have been trouble had the Garden Master seen this abomination.  And I have to hand it to Canned Beer--he got the hell out of Dodge before the Meister rolled in.  There is already a plan in place should he occupy our parking spaces:  park him in! 

I personally am not so worried about the parking spaces, but since he's developed a passion for brutally chopping the blossoms off of our sunflowers and placing them just over our side of the fence, some people in my garden have gotten a bit sensitive about space issues.  And with each passing day, Canned Beer keeps inching further and further into our parking area.  The husband of the former vice president of our garden street once loudly and angrily informed us of the parking rules in a drunken rage:  You park in front of your garden and ONLY your garden.  We have not forgotten.

Part two of today's saga was the silent treatment.  I attempted to greet Canned Beer's girlfriend (CBGF) after we arrived as a good gardener should and it was clear that I saw her and she saw me, so I smiled and greeted.  She was smoking and scowling right in my direction.  What did I get?  The cold shoulder and no reply.  Funnily enough, some time later, I heard Kid 1 saying, "What are you doing? ... What are you doing? ... Canned Beer (he used the real name, which cannot be published here for reasons of anonymity), what are you doing? ...  Are you watering your plants?"  with significant pauses between for the anticipated answer, but he received no reply.  This exchange, or lack of it, just about had me rolling on the ground laughing.  I thought maybe Canned Beer was just replying really quietly, but no, when I asked Kid 1 he reported that CB had in fact not replied.  I would understand the silence if Kid 1 were constantly hanging around the border between the gardens, and constantly asking stupid questions, but he really doesn't do this.  He likes to try to strike up a little conversation now and then, but not so often as to be a nuisance.  The thing that really gets me going is that CBGF may or may not be pregnant.  She appears to be, yet she often smokes and drinks canned energy drinks.  I can't imagine this is so great for a fetus, but it certainly doesn't rule out a fetus.  If there is a kid in there, I hope he or she is a mute, because these people do not speak to or listen to children and certainly don't seem to be able to handle screaming kids too well.  Ah, maybe that's what set them off, the screamfest that started when we got to the garden. Whatever it was, I could just feel the cold, bitter waves of hate rolling over into my garden this afternoon.  I need to head out there more often on weekday afternoons, it's kind of fun to drive them away.  It certainly took no effort, we just showed up!

I'm glad I'm not taking this whole gardening thing too seriously, because if I were, I'd be losing my mind.  Fortunately I'm just along for the ride and the pettiness and all the vegetables are pretty amazing.  So are the friendliness of some of the gardeners and the all out peculiarity of the garden colony.  Somebody built a tree house and what do the others call it?  The shooting stand.  One guy started to build a unique cabin with two levels, but it still fits the small size requirement, so it's pretty funny.  Everybody calls that the skyscraper. 

Let's see what the weekend brings...