St. Nicolaus swim

Diary

daily stats: 450 km by train, 3600 km by airliner, 78 km by car
sleeping: Las Calderatas
getting up at 3:30
flight to the Canaries is surprisingly long (compared to central-European flights)
- the Alps, mouth of the Rhône, the rock of Gibraltar and shop traffic
very smooth arrival, in less than hour we were already driving away on highway TF-1
traffic jam around Santa Cruz, quick replenishment in Tacoronte Lidl
climbing through vineyards to the camping place Las Calderatas

daily stats: 4 km walk, 970–1070
sleeping: Caldera
morning entomology research
short trip in fog forests around Las Calderatas
descent to Orotava through clouds/fog around ~700 m
visiting local basilica of San Augustin (in contrast with Czech religious buildings, it was warm inside)
needed gas bottle but we had to wait for tardes (13:30–16:30 was siesta)
ascent from Orotava to Caldera
ranger using hood of his truck for cargo – it worked because he only climbed

daily stats: 17 km walk (9:00–17:00), 1188–2248; 42 km drive
sleeping: camping place near San José de Los Llanos
easy climb from Caldera to road TF-24 (slightly lost in the Mars-like landscape)
Izana observatory was closer than expected, using sunscreen protection
watching paragliders starting spot
descent through trodden “conduits” in tuff
evening drive to San José
night sky with Milky Way and plethora stars

daily stats: 12 km walk (11:00–18:30), 0–950; 51 km drive
sleeping: deserted camp Los Lajos
early morning to do the shopping in San José de Los Llanos
despite that late arrival to trip start, parking near Casas de Araza on a spot where only a small car can fit in
canyon trip to sea
- dense flora, traversing above cliffs, climbing boulders, backtracking unpassable parts
- goats, little pools (frogs and beetles), cactii, opuntias
- marker stones proved quite useful
- concrete or lime disposed at the bottom of the canyon
unreachable sea (we could see the water but not the boundary where sea touches land)
“beach”
- big stones and big waves, and various garbage from the ocean
- swimming under the cliffs (paralax indicated movement due to streams)
afternoon climb into a cloud
- the dreaded inverse trip, we were really tired in the end
- fatigue and low/reflected GPS signal confused us (marker stones saved us)
- summer-like hot weather induced thirst for beer
evening drive to Los Lajos
- shopping in Chío
packing for the main climb the next day

daily stats: 14 km walk (approx 11:00–16:30), 2140–3250; 12 km drive
sleeping: Altavista hut
car failure in the morning
- drained battery, car does not start and there is no cell phone signal ~2 km around the car
- car rental managed exchange, the plan is only 2 hours delayed
- from Citroen C3 to Seat Ibiza
parking under Teide (La Catedral), totally packed with tourists
I’m feeling fatigue and my performance is very low, I’m happy that I could reach the Altavista hut (not sure if it’s the air or insufficient water/food (we hiked without much supplies)
Altavista hut
- wi-fi, WC, electricity
- cargo via cable car and helicopter (we could see it the next day)

daily stats: 13 km (5:00–13:00), 2130–3718; 79 km drive
sleeping: Las Calderatas (none but us)
no one sleeps well at Altavista (thin air, squeaky noises, snoring, warm, worn out air)
- caused morning crisis in our team, split for the climb to the cable car station
“night” climb with headlamps to see sunrise (5:00–7:15)
waiting one more hour for full sunrise
warming on sulphuric stones (destroyed our clothes)
the peak became quite crowded gradually (we were among the first up there)
quick descent, around 13:00 back to the car (we could see it from the mountain top almost all the way down)
drive to Mes del Mare, swimming in the ocean (the same day when we summitted)
drive to El Sauzal, café, nice park
evening drive to Las Calderatas
we are accumulating garbage and too much food in the car

Sleep more before the trip if the travel begins early. Otherwise headache is likely and debilitating.
Canyon trip (you need to backtrack sometimes to get further)
Life analogy (pursuing sun vs unexpected shadow)

Big thanks to MH for the photos.