Getting about

A tour of the south seemed like a likely start. Nothing too strenuous,
no complicated routes. So Gorse Foz set off with his human sat
navigating next to him. GF would add that when it comes to map reading
on a journey, SV is second to none.

The first stop was at the commercial salt pans where sea salt is
extracted via evaporation at the rate of about ten thousand tonnes
each year. (This is radically reduced from the 360k tonnes extracted
in the old days before refrigeration, when salt was the primary
preservative for fish).

Just around the bend from there was "Los Hervidoros" or the boiling
waters. This stretch of coast is pounded by the Atlantic breakers as
they try to reclaim the area invaded by the last great lava flows.
Here and there soft stone has been eroded beneath the the thick lava
and huge caves undercut the cliffs. As the waves crash against the
rocks they arc skywards in huge plumes of spray with coruscating light
effects dancing in the spume. Where the waves survive the cliffs they
sweep into the inlets ans caves and boom like distant thunder as they
give up on their forward progress and run back to the sea. It was an
exhilirating spot and the GF and SV could have stayed and watched for
hours.

We moved on. "El Golfo" was the next stop. (No, GF hasn't started
wearing stupid trousers and started chasing a little white ball
around, trying to lose it in a number of holes but not in the
surrounding landscape). "El Golfo" is where the crater of a small
volcano had partially collapsed and the sea had invaded. A small lake
nestled against the foot of the remaining walls. The water was bright
green, as a result of the unique bacteria that live in it. Though we
had been warned by the guide book... It was still startling to just
how green it was.

It was midday and a light salad seemed an appropriate gesture to
appease the volcanic rumblings from within the GF. Then we moved on to
"Yaiza" a small town spared from the volcanic flows by the earnest
prayers of the parish priest. It was an enchanting little town, with a
small but picturesque square, and the mandatory white and green or
white and blue houses.

Heading into the hills we stopped at "Femes" which provides a
panoramic view over the whole of the southern coastal plain from a col
between two peaks.

Plunging down from there we went towards the hotel, but turned off
down an unmade road to "Papagayo" on the south easternmost tip of the
island. Here charming bays with golden sand attract the hardy walker,
the adventurous motorist, and the rich and wealthy with their yatchs.
The turquoise bays with crystal clear water really look so inviting...
But GF and SV had not come prepared for that so just walked.

We headed back to the hotel, changed, then went down to the local
beach. The call of the sea was too great for the Gorse Fox and he
plunged into the a mighty Atlantic. (Well the beach was a bit stony,
and the water a tad cold to start with, so "plunge" may not be a
wholly accurate description of the event!!!). After an increasingly
pleasant swim he emerged onto the beach and wandered aimlessly and
myopically about until the Silver Vixen took pity on him and waved to
help guide him back to his glasses and towel. (He mused: I bet James
Bond doesn't suffer such indignity)