MASCA

Masca is a little town about an hour and a half from us around the West side of the island, up  along a steep, winding road with lots of switchbacks.  The views are spectacular across the giant volcanic formations to the ocean.  We made the trip last P-Day.  When you start climbing the road is an adventure.  It is a good road but there are places where two cars can't pass and someone has to pull out or back up.  Tour buses frequent this road and must back up to get around some of the switchbacks.  The town is charming with less than 100 residents but with several restaurants.  Until the 1960's the town was only accessible by paths. It is considered to be Tenerife's prettiest village.  It is charming and all the more spectacular in its setting.

Wild flowers growing in the volcanic rock.

The Valleys along the way.

The vegetation on the hillsides

The switchback roads lowering into the canyon

The town of Masca along the ridge.  There is a 3 hour hike through the gorge to the ocean and you can take a boat trip from there to Los Gigantes.  We would like to do it but after reading about the hiking terrain we changed our mind.  We are too old.

An old man selling local produce on the path.

Beautiful flowers growing on the walls.

The sloping paths of volcanic rock are not easy to maneuver but they are lovely.

There is an old church that was recently restored.

We had lunch here on the patio.

Views of other parts of the village with the terraced gardens.

The village of Santiago Del Teide with the Volcano in the distance.

I risked my life crossing a busy road to get this picture.  And the photo didn't do justice to the tangled mess of this bunch of pipes.  Nothing is buried on the island, probably because of the volcanic rock everywhere.  Pipes are running in every direction on top of the ground, through all kinds of landscapes.  It never ceases to surprise me.

I think the valves are color coded for figuring out what is what and it makes them all the more can I say "artsy"