best part of the day: how to do december

4th~18th December

We live in a cold bleak country. It is just about bearable in the middle of the year, but cold and dark and damp at both ends. The partial solution Mary and I have found is to take a couple of weeks in Tenerife in December when people with lower lifestyle values are visiting the xmas market on Princes Street or getting drunk 15 days in a row because their lives are empty and meaningless.

Yes it is a long way to fly and oops, sorry, not best for the environment. But our carbon footprint is much lower than most people I know so I can live with it. Also it is a medical necessity as otherwise I spend the winter loathing my life. AND I don't look to the NHS to pay for it - which is pretty generous I think you'll agree.

monarch

small white

And this year it doubled as an excellent trial for my new camera. You'd think the timing was deliberate, but the new camera purchase timing was more a result of Panasonic bringing out the Lumix G9ii in November. I had been watching reviews and those convinced me it was the model to buy.

A while ago Mary won (in a facebook like-and-share competition!) a full frame Lumix. It arrived with a kit lens and so was not much use for the wildlife stuff we do. I swithered about buying a £2k, 60~600 sigma lens for it but am glad I decided against it. (2495g or 5.5lbs!!!!!) (And the S1R body was tank-like and fairly heavy on top of that.) (Mary wasn't interested in upping her photography game and happy to stick with her Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.) The full frame got traded in.

Then the new G9 came along. A couple of pals, Ken and Mairi, have the original G9, a micro four thirds, and get great results from it. Being a micro four thirds means it uses lenses that are considerably smaller and more portable than full frame jobs. (Although the body of the camera is about the same size.) Panasonic also brought out an upgrade to the 100~400mm m4/3 lens. Which means 200~800mm in equivalent full frame reach. (985g for 800mm, compared to 2495g for 600mm full frame. Dodged a bullet there for sure.) This lets you point it at birds sitting some way off and zoom in till they fill the screen. The combination of upgraded body and lens was getting stellar reviews from wildlife photographers, in particular suggesting the focussing (Lumix now uses phase detect auto focus) and animal (eye) detection matched the OM-1, the only other m4/3 camera close in quality to the G9ii. They both get excellent reviews, but my loyalties are with Panasonic as they've always given great results and edge ahead of the Olympus in terms of video options and quality.

I found the process of buying and carrying about this king's ransom of equipment considerably less relaxing than my previous bridge camera. (And the list of supplementary equipment required seems to be never ending.) However I wanted to take better quality photographs and this seemed to be the best route towards that goal. The results confirm it is the right choice, and I am really pleased with the journey so far. However I have not fallen in love with the camera the way I did with the previous bridge camera. Right from day one with the FZ2000 I was smitten! And delighted with the upgrade in quality from compact models. It did everything I had previously been able to do and quite a lot more, and it changed the way I took photos.

The G9ii does less than the bridge camera. No flash, no panoramas, no portraits or selfies and no wide shots. Of course it can do all of that but I have to change the lens, or significantly change the set up or buy a flash, or work out how to take a massive stitched together 100mp panorama. In short it is a specialist piece of equipment that requires more thinking, more insurance and more careful handling. The bridge camera was a jack-of-all-trades which was very good at everything and I could throw it in a back pack and run 30 miles, or just carry it while running. The new one, less so.

However it is an amazing camera and I am REALLY pleased with the results. In particular the animal eye detection is close to miraculous and yet you suddenly take it for granted that the camera will recognise birds (cats, dogs, lizards etc.) and focus precisely on their eyes. (Sadly it doesn't seem to know where a butterfly's or dragonfly's eyes are but it will recognise them some of the time and put a box around them. Amusingly it honed in on a clouded yellow's wing spot as if that was an eye. Which is close enough. Do you remember how a day or 2 after broadband replaced dial-up and you forgot what life before broadband was like? Well this is a similar game changer. So much so, I almost don't want to let on that it is not my contribution but entirely the camera's that is responsible for the improvements in my images. Well, my only contribution was handing over the money, which as stated, was not insignificant.

Colin and Joan at the track

We stayed at the same hotel as last time. Mainly because of proximity to the Track. In the middle of an area of scrub and rough ground a running track was created. It was a bit basic when we first visited it a few years ago but there are a handful of workers planting and watering plants and slowly but steadily turning it into a great area. The dirt track was lumpy down one side when we started running there. It mysteriously improves. There is a hammer throwing net and weights and muscle area under shaded tarps.

And all the shrubs and plants round the perimeter flower and bloom and attract butterflies and birds. It has become the best place in town for most species of butterfly in one place and as such we can't imagine staying elsewhere even though the 'self catering' apartment we book is really basic and involves a trip to the supermarket to buy mugs, bowls and wooden spoons. This time the kettle was leaking so we mostly boiled water in a pan on one of the 2 non-luxury electric rings. No microwave, no toaster, no grill, no oven.

However we are out most days, for most of the day, and so can easily adapt to the adventure of the self-catering 'kitchen'. We probably did more lunches or afternoon beer-and-snacks venues this time. But mostly cooked veg from the supermarket for evening meals. The local fruit and veg was noticeably better than UK supermarket produce which is superficially based on looks, not taste. Papayas were this year's discovery. With locally grown bananas, plus oranges and yoghurt and a little honey, just fantastic.

African grass blue

Rather than have too massive a run down of the whole holiday I'm going to post a general synopsis and then cover individual days in another few reports. First the stuff we saw regularly at the track. The initial couple of days were a bit cloudy but still very warm. We ran regularly, often starting before 9am to beat the heat. Then back to the hotel (200yards away) shower, and back to the track with cameras. BTW we kept the 60secs of max cold water blast at the end of each shower going over there. It was easier than here as the room was always warm and the cold water was not too baltic. We also swam a couple of times in the harbour and the water seemed a bit warmer than it ever gets in Scotland.

long-tailed blue

small copper

chiffchaff

clouded yellow

There seemed more clouded yellows than we have seen here before. Perhaps they are being drawn to the track by the floral surroundings although they would dodge across the grass and scrub in the centre of the track more than nectar on perimeter blooms. A couple of trips ago I only saw one briefly in the whole 2 weeks. This time every 2nd or 3rd visit to the track we'd see them.

However red admirals were really scarce this time. It's strange there is no "usual" for the butterflies here. For instance this trip there was a huge absence of speckled woods. The local SWs are very much like UK versions but more orange. Only got photos of them on the last day, although we'd seen fleeting glimpses of them occasionally. ZERO geranium bronze. About halfway through the trip I started scrutinising every geranium I passed but came across none. Not one. Colin and Joan only saw one red admiral (the local variety Vanessa Vulcania) towards the end of their month here. We photographed 2 and a third escaped but there was not the usual amount about. And zero Vanessa atalanta (the UK variety seen last trip on the ascent of Montana Limon.)

monarch

one of those grasshoppery things
that like the poinsettias

scarlet darter (m)

scarlet darter (f)

Berthelot's pipet
(endemic to the Canaries)

Atlantic canary

Teide
12 miles away and 12000ft high

ring necked parakeet

chiffchaff

Mary, feeling the heat

I love that one of the most frequently seen birds (after canaries) are the kestrels. There are loads of palm trees for them to live in and high perches on hotel roofs and telephone poles to watch for lizards and voles on the abandoned terraces once used for crops. They are not super keen to let you get close and always fly off as you approach. But the long lens is a help to get semi-decent photos. Of course the one time one landed just a few yards away from Colin and I on a cliff top walk I had the short lens on my new camera. I had to get my back pack off and get the long lens out and attach it to the camera. By which time a couple of other tourists had walked by and the kestrel flown off a short distance. I was gutted!

In order to take photos of Mary with the 100~400 I have to stand 20+ yards away and even then only get her top half! I would try to judge whether the day would be scenery or wildlife and use the more suitable lens. I tried to keep lens changes to a minimum outdoors as each time has the potential to get dust / dirt on the sensor. Tenerife is a very dusty place, being hot and dry with minimal rainfall. I had bought a pair of new Hokas (fancy / white) but didn't wear them at the track as my other shoes got really filthy after just a few laps. (I think I was dripping sweat onto them and the dust was sticking to that! I know, TMI!)

pomegranate on tree

We went for a wander in town so I put the kit lens (12~60) on. Which gives 24~120 equivalent 35mm. I nearly didn't buy a kit lens with the camera. I hadn't really thought about the lack of wide shots etc. with the long lens and I had an elderly 14~42 from a G3 bought a long while back. I'm very glad I decided to buy the 12~60 as it covers a lot of ground the long lens does not. It is also an absolute pleasure to carry about, reducing the weight of the long lens and body by tons. (Fact check: about 2lbs!)

billing and cooing

there was an opportunity to rent a surf board and kill yourself in the bay
on the huge waves that will smash you into the rocky coastline

The prom along the front of Puerto de la Cruz is full of tourist tat and expensive looking shops selling perfume and handbags. And street vendors hoping to sell knock-off handbags. Street vendors are trading for maximum profit and so their wares tend to be what the least bright people are spending the most money on. Elsewhere it has been rolex watches and brand name sunglasses. Instead of enjoying all this faux luxury, Mary found a dead cockroach and we took photos of it. Interestingly we saw virtually no other cockroaches, although I'm sure there were plenty.

Also, low on many people's wildlife totem pole are pigeons. There were a few mooching about the back of this church and so, digging out my sunflower hearts, we invited them to pose for photos. They were more than obliging and proved even the lowliest of street pigeons can be beautiful and fun to interact with.

Our room was on the 6th floor. When I wasn't carrying bags of groceries I'd take the stairs. (97 in total.) I'd race the lifts. The groceries would often include a lot of fluids. Many alcoholic (beer and wine most evenings!) but also 8lt bottles of water. I'm sure we drank the tap water here on a previous trip. And yet it tasted fairly yuck this trip in room 615, so we bought bottles. It may change from time to time. (And while on the subject of things changing, this year stepping off the plane from Edinburgh we did NOT need to adjust our watches, like every other year we have arrived here!)(Mary was at a loss as to how you even ask when or why did Tenerife time sync with Scottish time, on google. Actually that there, I just cracked it!)(Fact check: I cracked nothing and there is FAR more (google info) about the world's worst airline crash (583 dead!!!) on Tenerife, than there is on why Tenerife used to be out of sync with Scotland and is now in sync, time wise.

our hotel pool - not olympic sized and too many corners
final score Mary 1, PB 0

The best reason to go up to the rooftop pool was the views towards Teide and of the surrounding city. A guy across the way keeps pigeons in a loft coop and often about 5ish flies them in big circles round the area. I took some pics and video last year and some more this year. I hope to make them into a video at some point. A much underrated bird. Not glamorous, but good fast fliers and likeable. Watching them do circuits round the city, reminds me of running with fellow club members round Portobello.

Kestrel in the palm trees. I am not sure if these birds are exactly the same as Scottish kestrels. Most I saw had brown heads, I presume female, this one had a blue/grey head, I assume male. Once the camera latches on with animal (bird) recognition it keeps it in focus if you can keep the bird in the frame. Which made for this image (3 down). Any other camera would focus on the sunbather, building, sky or lamppost.

back at the track - more monarch loveliness

clouded yellow

scarlet darter (f)

I have previously called these ocellated lizards but a bit of a google reveals they are Gallotia galloti or more commonly Gallot's lizard, the Tenerife lizard or Western Canaries lizard. There are 4 subspecies but I'll stop here as I am bored already. They are pretty much everywhere and can be heard rustling in the dry leaves as you walk on by. They are super fidgety but will reverse direction promptly if you feed them. I saw one dude giving them old bread scraps at the track and they were responding enthusiastically.

Colin and Joan, no strangers to overseas (butterfly) trips since retiring, had booked 4 weeks in Tenerife and their last week coincided with our first week. There is an uncanny amount of overlap in our lives: being butterfly enthusiasts (and bird and wildlife people), running enthusiasts (injuries and old age notwithstanding), retired sports climbers, Tenerife winter holiday fans, and with many mutual friends in the hill running world. As you can imagine when we get together there is an endless amount of banter going on. Oh and we have all done the Everest Marathon in Nepal, though not the same year. And loads of Scottish hill races. They were staying in Casablanca Apartments (which we have stayed in, in the past) which are a little bit more well fitted out and larger, but more of a hike from the all important track.

As a really nice welcoming present they gave us a delicious bottle of wine. Now the important part was not just the taste but that it was well under 2 euros. We had bought a 6 euros bottle that was nowhere near as good, the night before on arrival, proving information is the most valuable commodity. Sadly they didn't stock that particular bottle in our local supermercado but I never again paid as much as 6 euros over the fortnight and got several excellent bottles of red for around 2 euros or less.

vanessa vulcania

Joan has exceptional butterfly radar and spotted this red admiral on our walk along the front. It was their first (and one of only 3 all trip for us) so everyone was v pleased. I have no idea why numbers were apparently fewer this trip, although Nick reported a lack of them during his visit back in June. He did see a Canary Large White (never seen one) and a Bath white (only ever seen one in 4 trips.) So maybe at different times there are different species flying.

La Gordejuela pumping station

The ruins of this magnificent building are just about the most spectacular I've ever seen. It was formerly a pumping station for watering the banana plantations. Mary and I discussed desalination and how it might work. Here is some chat about Tenerife and its water consumption. Apparently 80% of its water comes from its network of canals and wells and not desalination. I can find little about desalination which is a surprise given the lack of visible water around the island landmass and the obvious large amount offshore. However it seems that the tap water is desalinated which accounts for the taste. As I said, in previous trips this seemed perfectly palatable, less so this trip and we even used bottled water which was pretty inexpensive for cooking with (boiling potatoes and cups of tea.)

Mary and Joan

sun up occurred at 8.50 every morning
photo taken from our balcony which only had a view of the bus station

That building bottom left of the photo above: it was a stadium of some sort and the entrance was way round the other side so we never properly got a sense of what was going on inside. It was pretty big - like football pitch size - and from the sounds coming out of it regularly sounded like they were playing 40-a-side basketball with a large excitable audience cheering them on. Maybe it was rollerball on Friday nights, as the volume cranked right up (but happily did not go on late.) There was also testing and rehearsals of PA equipment when they played George Michael's Last Christmas far too many times in a row. I know you maybe think you can't play that too many times in a row but believe me you can.

On one occasion I was passing by and there was a coach load of school kids disembarking and heading into the stadium. I was wondering how to ask one of them what sport they liked (without getting myself arrested) when I noticed the word Karate on their uniforms. Latterly we saw many sports advertised/proclaimed above the entrance. However there were no ground floor windows, gaps or doors to get a sneaky peak at the activities going on inside and our curiosity was never properly quenched as to what all the intermittent noise was about.

The good thing about being 6 floors up was the distance we were from the Piano Bar (ground floor) which had some sort of ballroom dancing going on to the most tepid music imaginable. I caught a glimpse of this while running to the (wine counter of the) supermercado late one evening and the smallest glimpse of it nearly made me boak. Quite a lot of the weekday cafes and restaurants were full of fairly elderly people. Tenerife is obviously a winter sunlamp magnet for the older generations the way Florida is for the aging US citizenry.

Barranco de Ruiz

Day 4 Friday

Barrancos are ravines between the huge steep volcanic hills. Often full of vegetation and a trickle of water right at the bottom. A few miles west of Puerto de la Cruz this barranco has a decent zig zag switchback hiking trail for a mile nearly vertically from where the 363 bus drops you off on the coastal road, to the top, where a small hamlet nestles between massive hills. We did it last trip, although it wasn't as sunny as this time. That sunshine made all the difference: within quarter of a mile we (Mary) had spotted a Plain Tiger, one of the most exotic of the Tenerife butterflies. Just a tad smaller than a monarch and clearly a cousin with similar markings minus a few lines, a large floaty beauty we had previously only found in a particular spot a long bus journey away.

plain tiger: neither plain, nor much like a tiger

It was quite a coup finding these brilliant butterflies here. (Just in solitary singles.) One of the websites we had come across mentioned this barranca as being rich in wildlife and a potential for large whites. I asked Mary for a timeout to photo the tiger as it wasn't landing anywhere near us and involved a bit of a chase round the houses. She was very accommodating and I imagined she was thinking "well we don't need to sit on 2 buses to Punta del Hidalgo now..." as I galloped about, whooping every time I got a decent photo.

Also in the same area just yards into the day was this red admiral. (2nd and final photo of the trip.) Likewise it did not want its photo taken and this was the only time it sat still.

first ever!

Also a short distance up the trail there were several Gonepteryx cleobule (Canary Brimstone) a notoriously shifty sort who do not stop and settle for photos. I have only ever seen them fly past at great speed, smirking at my fruitless attempts to photograph them. I watched one land and was excited to zoom in on it. The camera initially couldn't see it so I touched the near / far zoom buttons I had specifically programmed into the front facing function buttons. The zoom hunted forward and back until it discerned the yellow butterfly looking very much like a leaf of the surrounding bush. A first ever! Though there is plenty room for improvement. More flew past as we climbed. None stopped.

The gorge walk is amazing. I had the long lens on and couldn't get far enough back for a scenic shot. The ravine was too narrow and close up. I was also feeling the heat of the day and the weight of the camera. Mary was off up ahead, having fewer distractions and pushing on at a decent pace. I felt like I was maybe going to pass out if I tried to catch up. It was like climbing a staircase in a sauna! So I dawdled behind. I should have been thanking my lucky stars I wasn't carrying 3 times the weight of the camera and lens in the S1R and 60~600. I would probably not have made it out alive.

There was little point in hurrying as we knew from last time the best part of the walk is in that first mile. After you emerge from the gulch there are just quiet country roads winding slowly downhill (and steeply in places) back towards San Juan de Rambla 2 or 3 miles away. Mary was so far ahead now I could get her and some scenery into the frame!

As I walked I noticed a large blue dragonfly zoom by. I was gobsmacked to see it fly over to a nearby bush and land about shoulder height. I dared not breath until I got in half a dozen record shots. This NEVER happens! I crossed the road slowly and got some close ups. It sat still and I took more photos. It only flew off when I put my hand near it. I suppose sitting on my hand was a bridge too far but hey you never know. I checked dragonfly sites later online and sure enough it appears to be an Emperor, largest of the UK dragonflies. Although in the sunlight it seemed more colourful, more dazzling than the photograph on the UK website. I was totally stoked and maybe even ran a bit down the hill to catch up to Mary and tell her about it. I'm sure she expressed how pleased she was for me although I can't recall the exact words. 😆😜

clouded yellow

As we got into San Juan de la Rambla this kestrel was giving me the stink eye. I think it thought it was rude to point a long lens in its direction and could I please desist. Also we remembered there was something funny on the next corner and what was it? A bear? Ah yes!

Now I hadn't looked at my blog from last year since I posted it. Above is this year's photo, below is last year's... - uncanny? Well yes and no. We are only just animals and respond in a similar way to a similar situation even if a year passes and you are wearing different shoes. There is only so many ways to frame a photo. Maybe in this case, but just wait till after lunch and on the way back along the coast and we'll discuss this further.

We had a rather fine meal last time at such and such a restaurant on the corner near the coast. Feeling more than ready for a thirst quencher we pulled up a chair outside and ordered some beers and a couple of mains. Let's just say the service was relaxed. You wouldn't want to be in a hurry. Mary's food arrived 8 to 10 minutes ahead of mine. By way of compensation it was FANTASTIC. We were getting through the beers and felt another might be just the thing to keep us refreshed for the couple of miles back along the coast. Having been unable to catch the eye of the wait staff I got up and went to the bar inside. This got the attention of the woman who'd be our reluctant assistant and she took the order from there. When round 2 beers arrived they were twice the size of the first ones. We did not complain although I couldn't remember using different language or saying anything about mas.

bigger and better

When we staggered out the place a combination of sunshine, beer and good cheer was very forthcoming and I was unable to believe how well the day was going. Mary tried to coax me to stay on the pavement and maybe not to burst into song, although she was also enjoying the encouragement of the beer. I had swapped the wildlife lens for the scenery lens and could now photograph stuff closer than a mile away which I did with gusto. It was a beautiful day and everything was looking terrific.

There were some hens in a garden and I made hen chat to coax them over for a photo. I was obviously doing a good job of it as the rooster came out to see me off and let me know these were his hens and I should look elsewhere for my own hens. I took his photo and told him I would.

keep my wife's name out your f-ing mouth?

At this point I turned around and took a photo looking back to where we'd just come from: the picturesque white houses of San Juan de la Rambla. I wasn't keen on the people being in the photo but hey, its not a deal breaker. It was some time later that I noticed the photos I'd posted on my blog last year and well, not only did I do likewise last year I even got the stray fronds of palm tree on the right hand side leaning in to frame the photo. I mentioned that it was a shame it was overcast "as sunshine would show off this charming village." Happy to report it did!

last year's nearly identical framing

We also remembered that there was a small paved square where we bumped into a couple of cats. It wasn't a surprise when at the same square this year there were a couple of cats. I was pretty sure they'd be the same cats and looked up my blog to confirm this. (This was when I noticed similar images of village and bear.) But no, it was different kittycats, although they had very similar colours and eyes and I bet were relatives of the ones we photographed last year. Possibly even same litter.

quite some stare

We should whiz by the end of this very fine day. A downbeat ending: we got back to the bus stop to catch a bus into town. One in 3 minutes. However it zoomed past without stopping. The driver saw us but signalled he was full and couldn't fit anymore on. Right enough the bus we caught out of town that morning was so busy we had to stand for the first 20 minutes. Mary checked the timetable and there was one in another hour. I would have instigated walking back - it was likely only a handful of miles back to the far side of town and another couple beyond. However the main road is (in places) pavementless autopista deathtrap and traffic flies along at 75mph. After an hour the next bus whizzed by without stopping due to it being full up too. We were by now definitely not enjoying ourselves and were worried the next bus due in 20 minutes would also be full. We tried flagging taxis but they were all full or booked. We found out later that in something of a green environmental move the locals had been offered free bus travel. An encouragement to leave cars at home and get the bus instead. Obviously the scheme has been a little too successful on certain routes and the buses haven't increased services to adapt. We eventually got home, on the third bus, somewhat weary.

Another mystery solved: we had noticed this saltire flying at the track but no amount of googling would shed any light on it. Colin was able to unpack the mystery: this is the Tenerife flag, not a Saltire of Scotland. He says football matches here full of saltires are an uncanny spectacle.

Mary on the far side of the track is possible with the long lens!

So with all these clouded yellows at the track I set myself the task of trying to get an upper wing shot. CYs always settle with closed wings. So you need to get lucky with an in flight shot to see their more attractive uppers. One way is to cue up the pre-burst mode on the G9ii. In this setting you half hold down the shutter release while the settled butterfly is in focus and then when it flies off you push it fully down. Normally you'd be too slow and the butterfly would be gone. But with pre-burst it takes the shots 1 second before you pressed it - it has a rolling memory of what just transpired and when you push the button it records a burst of pics from 1 second ago! You can set the time gap to 1.5 seconds, 1 second or 0.5 I think. I have it set to one second since I am old and slow with my reaction times. If I'm lucky I'll get about 30 pics with a stationary butterfly slowly opening its wings and taking off, then flying out the frame. Obvs you have to allow some room for which direction you reckon it will head off in. It doesn't work every time but it (like animal eye detection) is a game changer in terms of catching shots that in the past you'd put down to enormous skill, good luck and a computer drive full of high speed burst shots. It's almost like cheating! Or making life easier.