![]() ![]() – 1966, Planet of the Apes – 1968, Clash of the Titans – 2010 and its 2012 sequel Wrath of the Titans, and in 2023 the Last Triala, a Star Wars fan film. So much so that filmmakers have used the location for scenes in several block buster films: One Million Years B.C. Of course, we shopped.īeautiful, inhospitable, Death Valley-esque, lunar or Martian, however you choose to describe the varied topography that surrounds Pico del Teide’s, it’s enthralling and fascinating. The shop features only handicrafts made by Canarians and local wines and artisanal beers. Fortunately, we happened upon Mar de Nubes, a craft store and café run by a friendly young married couple from Tenerife and the States. More frustrating though, the wineries we had planned to visit were closed mid-week during the shoulder season. The weather had suddenly turned gray and dreary. And are embodied with a distinctive terroir from the warm climate and fertile volcanic soil. The surrounding wineries produce some of Tenerife’s best wines from Listán Negro, Malvasia, Negramoll, and Listán Blanco grapes. This area is also very popular for hiking, with many very obvious trails crisscrossing through a young forest emerging from the volcanic soil left from Pico Viejo’s last, 92 days long, eruption in 1798.Īpproaching noon, we turned toward Vilaflor, the highest village, at 4600ft, on Pico del Teide’s southern slope and surrounded by vineyards. ![]() The main road was lined with several inviting spots to stop for café! (We didn’t realize at the time, but this was also our last chance for lunch, as many places normally open in high season are closed or only open on the weekends in the shoulder seasons.)Ĭontinuing on, we had encountered what we thought was fog until, to our surprise, we emerged above the clouds at Mirador de Samara. Crossing the ridge of the mountains we descended into Santiago del Teide. Their verdant green needles, a refreshing sign of life in an otherwise barren landscape. Now over one-hundred years later new growth pines are just beginning to emerge from this carnage. Our route on TF-5 cut across the lava field left from the 1909 El Chinyero vent eruption. Teide is still considered an active volcano and while its cone hasn’t erupted in the last 850 years, side vents on its slopes have spewed destructive massive lava flows across its slopes in 1492, which Columbus noted in his logbook as he sailed on his maiden voyage of discovery, 1704,1705, 1706, 17. ![]() Though not the most direct route from Icod de los Vino to La Orotava via Pico del Teide it was, I can assure you, the most interesting. We made our own photographic pilgrimage to Teide as we drove to the Hotel Alhambra in La Orotava, our base for the remainder of our vacation. The aboriginal Guanches believed Pico del Teide held up the sky and placed offerings on the volcano’s slopes to appease Guayota, an evil deity they believed responsible for its volcanic eruptions. During the winter when its 12,000 ft summit is snow covered and there is a full moon, it’s said to shine like the beacon of a lighthouse that can be seen from the coast of Morocco. Later the moon rose and contributed a magical otherworldliness to our vista. Even in the dark blues and blacks of the night the volcano’s majestic silhouette loomed large above Icod de Vinos. The silhouette of the ancient volcano mesmerized us. ![]()
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