Cruz de Tejeda - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
We are up early for a trip to the mountains, La Cumbre, in the centre of the island. We are eating breakfast at 08.00 to catch the 09.00 to San Mateo just over half an hour away. The route goes up to the university then through some of the more affluent suburbs of Las Palmas climbing all the time so good views. There is a bit of time before we catch the next bus and we wander around the modern part of town where there is a wonderful smell of cakes cooking. The next bus to Cruz de Tejeda is a real white knuckle drive! So many S bends to get to the top I feel sick even though I've taken pills! The views are stunning looking toward Las Palmas. We get off at Cruz de Tejeda and after a few breaths of clear mountain air I feel much better. We stop for coffee before taking the path up the hill beside the cafe. The first part not too bad but it gets steeper once the paths divide - but the views of Tenerife are getting better all the time so you don't notice it. Once at the top we follow a goat's track along the ridge - stunning views of the basalt Roque Nublo and across to Mount Teide. It is a beautiful clear sunny day which really adds to the impact. We follow the path down a gravel track then over a bank for more stunning views this time to the other side of the island Las Palmas. This path eventually leads down to a road which we walk along for 200m then cross to follow the track up beside a white house, what a view they have! Then following the stone path we reach Mirador Degollada de Becerra one of the best views in the Canaries. We have to retrace our steps to return to Cruz de Tejeda but it's no hardship with such panoramic views. The little deserted cafe where we had coffee is really busy so we try the Hotel Parador opposite. It looked closed but trying the door we find it open. There is a lovely terrace hidden away from the road and we enjoy delicious sandwich and refreshing soft drinks in the quiet sunshine. Refreshed we browse the now open tourist stalls before catching the 15.00 bus back down to San Mateo where we explore the small but attractive old town and I get to try one of those cakes we could smell cooking earlier! We take the 16.30 bus back to Las Palmas and return to the hotel for a well earned rest. We wander along to find a recommended cafe but it has closed down, we do however find a new bar in a street previously missed that is just off of Triana, then to Hotel Madrid for dinner, then back to La Coqueta de Cano for a nightcap.