57:16 Tenerife: Los Silos, a gem which sparkled throughout the hike and continued many hours thereafter.

Nestled in the valley, a tranquil town outside the carnival period, with a volcano thrown in for some real explosive fun.
As we move up, we enjoy the coastline and buildings. Should have parked in that area.

 We arrived in the town searching for the trailhead, but to our consternation, the carnival had arrived hours before us. The streets were busy, the limited parking unavailable and so we took an offshoot road to try to appease the GPS which wanted us to make a right-turn into a path that had a locked gate at its entrance. We were pressured to turn one way or the other by heavy traffic about us as well being close to destination point, so why not. The road entered was, to be generous, a single pathway with very limited space on either side of the car. It lead to a trailhead which unfortunately was not the correct one. The next problem was an inability to turn around. We kept going in the hope that the 'road' would widen somewhat in order to allow us to reverse course, or at least, have a turnaround point. Sometimes we are the eternal optimists. After about a half-mile, we managed to change direction. I had nightmares about reversing for a long distance in such a narrow space. 

  At that stage, we were in a quandary. We could not park the car; we did not know where the trailhead was and things were unlikely to improve people and traffic wise as the carnival crowds were building. On our way to this destination, we came down some 2,500 feet from the mountain above the coastal city. Aha! Instead of being frustrated in continuing what seemed a hapless search, why don't we park the car and walk up the narrow mountain road. That's exactly what we did. We found a parking space near a banana plantation and set off to reach the mountain top. Obviously, we would have liked to find the mountain trail. Nevertheless, the experience turned to be so good that given a second opportunity, we would have difficulty selecting between the two options. Improvising in hiking, accommodation, meals and odds-and-ends has been an important facet of Hike-about. 

  Being outside a forest area, the views were clear and available every moment of the hike. It was extremely steep and long enough to make it a full and tiring day. We added a further section when we noticed a path heading from the road to the interior. It gave us further perspective to the ways the farming and engineering communities live, work and build within the region. Most of all, it took us away from the carnival crowds, giving us complete tranquility, allowing us to sweat in peace.  

Partway up we view an initial minor peak.
A view from the mountain top where we enjoyed brunch.
Jen reaches a sharp bend in the road and absorbs the beauty.
A glimpse at part of the route up (and down).
On one of the tops.
Another view from the top showing the lighthouse.
The lighthouse. Some 3 weeks before, when we were above Masca, we noticed it. In our current position we were half an hour away by car plus over 3 hours of hiking at least, to allow the common view.
A view of the peak as we divert from the road to explore the interior.  

  It could be a spy...don't try this in the US though. Loved the view of the village.
Views like this make us feel some people know how to live.
  I met Mark Michelow some 60 years ago, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mark, besides my brother Mark and a few cousins, is probably a person I’ve know the longest stretching over my life. When we were kids we would play soccer at the various neighbors’ houses and Mark often joined us although he lived outside Waverley, the suburb in which I lived. Should I be allowed to mention only one thing about the man it would be to say that he is a gentleman, a very special one. Okay, I’ll stick to one thing. 

  

  This leads up to the reason for the introduction. Mark has obviously spent time traveling and studying life on the islands of the world. He has followed us closely on Tenerife, too. Because of his experience, he sent us an email recently which follows below, paraphrased: 

  ‘Jenni and Jeffrey’, it began, 'Do you know that there are no canaries inhabiting the Canary Islands?’ Truth be told, we did not know that. 

  He then followed it up with further information. ‘Now regarding the Virgin Islands, here’s some interesting information, too. ‘In the Virgin Islands, there are in fact, no canaries either’. 

  Thank you, Mark. 

Peeking into their privacy.
Doing it again inland. The telephoto gives us detail including our car parked left of the water tank. Notice line of cars parked along the main road.
Love the coastline.
Let's go home...it's a long way down...and we hope we did not get a parking fine.

Should we try this as a home for the night?
Cheers, 

Jenni and Jeffrey