09-12-25 Another Mary work day so I absented myself for the day to go hike Punta del Hidalgo to Chinamada. One of the best hikes on the island there is also the lure of plain tigers, a small clan of which can usually be found at the gully crossing at the start and finish of the hike. Again due to Mary’s legs (which have a disinclination to gradients if that isn’t a tautology) she was happy to give this one a miss. A double bus journey there and back, it is always a long day out. I chose another scorchio of a day hoping that would bring out the butterflies. Batteries charged, sandwiches made and drinks packed I set off around 9.25am.
The bus station is just one street away from us here and the services are often excellent and sometimes even run on time. I was supposed to be getting the 9.40 but a similar service to La Laguna station left 10 minutes earlier. I didn’t have the requisite language skills to enquire whether the 9.30 got to La Laguna earlier allowing me to catch the 10am and I’d be 30mins up on the original deal which was the 9.40 to Laguna and then the 10.30 to P del Hidalgo. I risked the earlier version and while riding it I used the Titsa app to count the number of stops. Almost twice that of the later express. Maybe I’d bought a turkey. I took a quick mobile phone shot of King Kong who lives at the first stop out of town on the way up to La Oratava. This was the only time I saw him this year.
bus window filter
It was a few seconds faster (the earlier bus) but not early enough to get the 10am out of Laguna. In general it takes the largest part of 2 hrs to get to Punta by bus. I listened to an audio-book I had brought along and it made the journey pass enjoyably enough. The scenery when you get off the bus at the far end is gobsmacking; real world-class stuff, and I put my talking book away and tried to get my hiking head on.
where surfers come to die
I was heading up the track, one third of the way up the hill on the left.
It tops out 3 miles up the trail but feels like twice that distance.
just beyond the big lump here
well made trail goes safely if spectacularly up the hill
chiffchaff
I have seen plain tigers here every time I’ve visited but I know others who have come and found nada. Not sure if it was the weather or the time of year but I do know they aren’t a given and that one time I will turn up and they won’t be here.
Sardinian warbler (m)
I was just getting round to asking myself how I would feel if they weren’t here this year. Colin and Joan had been past a couple of weeks back or more and reported that although they saw plain tigers there weren’t many and the purple lavender like flowers that they feed on weren’t as prolific. Still, that was nearly a month ago. When I arrived at the special place there was no sign of any butterflies and I wandered about, a little bit concerned.
There was a Sardinian warbler which cheered things up no end although at the time I couldn’t remember what exactly the bird was or where I last saw it. I was thinking black redstart as I rarely see either and both only really abroad. However we last saw these charming and very vocal birds in Majorca. I wonder if they sang the same songs. I’m not sure if this one was serenading me or telling me to gerrof his land. Possibly both. It was compensation for the lack of tigers.
posing very nicely for photos!
I hunted for tigers for about 30minutes, reluctant to admit they weren’t here. Eventually after searching every inch and flowering lavender-like plant (more flowers than Colin described had obviously appeared in the intervening month, but to no avail) I headed off up the track. Hopefully there would be plenty to see and photograph.
another distant Canary Brimstone
I tried to ascend quickly to get the job done and because there were fewer distractions along the way. There were a few fellow hikers and although they triggered my competitive juices I felt there was no point overtaking someone if I was then going to stand in their way taking butterfly or bird photos. On the other hand it was a perfectly good race and I should try to beat as many as possible and get to the hilltop restaurant and viewpoint before them. I swithered between the 2 points of view although there weren’t many passed me and stayed ahead. I think I might have seen a plain tiger on the way up the hill but there was no chance to photograph it.
What I did see about 3/4s of the way up was a blue chaffinch. In however many years coming to Tenerife I have never seen a blue chaffinch. They are a unique species to here or the Canaries and a must see on the tourist trail. But until this day I’d never seen one and felt they might have been a myth or legend. Or extinct. Sadly I failed to get a photo so under ESB rules, no photo; it didn't happen. I hoped I’d maybe see it again (and through the EVF) on the way back down the hill. I’d taken note of the area. It was an impressive colourways of blue. Not just a slight blue tinge. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t see it on the descent.)
this sign at the top is a challenge I try to beat every trip
I think I took about 90mins to do the ascent. It is a long hot slog of continual climb and feels like going up two thousand feet of step ladders. I had my gps watch set to hike not walk or run or even circuit training as is more usual. So the numbers in different quadrants meant different things to normal. I saw my heart-rate was up far too high - 180 and tightened the strap which generally corrects an erroneous rate from the back of the watch where it measures my pulse on the back of my wrist. Ten minutes later it was even higher and I eventually realised it measured altitude not pulse, dumbass! It continued to climb all the way to Chinamada. D’oh!
at the top more redstarts (Sardinian warblers) hopped about
and generally seemed unafraid of humans
pipits too
scenery!
insta-wankers
they blanked me as I went past, being more concerned with how sleek they looked
very Tenerife scene
-a canary on a cactus, singing like crazy
on the descent I was looking out for the chaffinch again but no luck
however I did see this plain tiger
Sometimes the plain tigers have been known to show up high on the trail. Also hawkmoths and other delights and rare things. But sometimes nothing much other than the scurry of lizards and the peep of small birds. It makes you concentrate as do the lethal drop-offs, some with huge plunges to certain death, others where you would be caught in the arms of a giant spiky cactus. It is not a place for mucking about.
So it was with great care that I stepped off the trail to pursue the plain tiger. It had been flying along the trail but went off a few yards and sat down on this bush. Do I risk life and limb to walk ten yards over slippy trippy ground with all sorts of snags and potential death falls in the offing? Initially I was like, fuck it, not worth it mate. Then I examined the terrain and thought it looked do-able. Gingerly I stepped with massive amounts of trepidation (and wearing super grippy trail shoes) onto the lose dirt steep slope. I got round into position and took a few photos before it flew back up to the trail and I, with a huge relief got back onto the trail. And thought that that was not my best move of the day even though I hadn’t plunged to my death. It is tricky to know if your actions and responses are the product of a little too much sun and exersion. I was certainly feeling well frazzled by the warmth of the day and enjoyed the moments when clouds covered the sun and there was a cooler shade.
I only made one near oopsie - at a steep corner I gauged the next step down but (feeling vulnerable) caught my left foot as I lifted it tentatively from its position. It scuffed the rock and I got off lightly. If it had stayed hung up on the rock I’d have maybe taken a long step forward with indecent haste and gone for a dive forward down a steep rocky bit. While that didn’t happen it reminded not to mess about and always to give the trail full attention as the near-miss adrenaline flushed through my system.
a couple more shots I risked my life for! 😁
backlit cactus with the sun in their hair
And that was about that. I had a quick check round the bottom of the hill in case any butterflies had turned up since I last looked but I was fairly certain they wouldn’t be there. It was a good day up and down a hot trail but the absence of PTs kinda coloured it as well. I greatly enjoyed my sandwiches at the top of the hill - and was super glad I’d taken them as the restaurant that is sometimes open was very closed today. I drank all the fluids in my back pack and fell asleep on one or maybe both buses back to civilisation.
A ten minute change over at the bus station was a boon but a middle aged gent who sat beside me on a crowded bus and smelled as bad as I did, was not. Back to Mary’s office and the combined exersions of 2 days out in the scorchio weather left me tired and ready for a day off. I suspect Mary had us running the next day, not sure though. A really enjoyable couple of days hiking up barrancos with the first one being the better day out due to a few unexpected treats and the absence of tigers in Hidalgo reducing the spectacle of that day somewhat. An amazing island though, both walks very worthwhile.
back to the dove from above
on our balcony
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