A taste of Tenerife: Fourth day

Here we go again - up there.

In the morning, as usual, I first stuffed myself with buffet breakfast. The plan for today was to climb again toward Teide, and then to turn left and make a loop back through La Esperanza. It was a "Wow, what a day!" day. This time I climbed to NP Teide non-stop. Surprisingly, cyclists don't seem to prefer this most obvious climb on the island. On my three days up to Teide I saw only two of them. They are more numerous on the costal strip, and if even that is too hard, you can put a bike on a bus to Teide and enjoy the downhill. The road from Teide to Esperanza was a pleasant surprise. It climbs some more to the astronomical observatory Izana, then follows a windy ridge before sloping down into the pine woods of Corona Forestal and winding long way down to Esperanza through quiet, misty and damp forests. After Esperanza I come out of the cloud layer and navigate small sunny roads of hillside villages, then descend the costal strip toward Puerto Cruz where I greet a bigger number of training cyclists.