Exploring La Caldera de Taburiente: 27th October 2020
Today I wanted to take some of the hiking trails around the top ridge of the Caldera. I drove up out of the barranco and up towards El Paso where the visitors centre for the La Caldera de Taburiente is located. The centre provided information about the geography of the area and explained how the island is famous for being the steepest in the world. There was also information about the various hiking paths around the caldera. The visitors centre also had a great view of the ‘Cascada de Nubes’ which is a phenomenon caused when the humid moist sea air condenses when it is pushed up over the island summits resulting in cascading clouds.
I wanted to drive up to the nearby Cumbricita view point but this required a reservation as the park rangers are restricting the number of people in the area due to Covid. I was told I could come back at 4 pm when it is quieter and no reservation is required. Instead I drove down to the beach at La Bombilla to relax and had a great fish for lunch.
Later in the afternoon I returned to Cumbricita. Unfortunately it was very cloudy so I had only limited views across to the peak of Cumbricita and across the Caldera.
The mist and cloud became more dense but I was still able to hike along the trails through the pine forests but the views across the caldera were completely obscured.
The mist is a regular occurrence supporting the growth of lichens which hang from the branches of the trees.
As I started to drive back down from the view point the sky suddenly started to change colour as the sun started to set. It created wonderful colours as a backdrop to the pine trees growing on top of the peaks.
I drove back to the Caldera and watched an old American movie ‘The Local Hero’ with the others staying at the centre.
