After gorging on the chocolate shell of the first half CD Tenerife had a touch of indigestion after a weaker second half saw them share the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Real Zaragoza. The visitors looked a good football side but their cynical fouls and a poor referee allowed them to grind out a draw despite ending with 10 men.
Dani Hernandez was barely back from international duty with Venezuela and didn’t look his usual sharp self but there was plenty to admire from Tenerife. They took hold of the game once William Jose had posted a first minute warning with a low shot to tickle Dani’s gloves. After that it was almost one way traffic, Cristo Martin was on good form and Vitolo ensured the midfield had plenty of bite. Suso conjured up a magic pass to Cristo that opened up the Zaragoza defence but his shot wasn’t enough to trouble keeper Alcolea.
Tenerife’s opener was a beauty, Aitor Sanz took a corner and floated the ball over the keepers outstretched hands so it hung in the air at the far post. Maxi is a real predator these days and was well placed to add a delicate header that hardly ruffled his crowning glory. The home defence was in a mean mode, especially Raul Camara who back tracked like a whippet and tackled like a rotweiller. Cristo went close again, this time slipping his shot across the goal before Zaragoza ended the half as they started it, with a shot that inched wide of the target.
Coach Ranko Popovic must have lived up to his porn star name during the break by delivering an X certificate lashing to Zaragoza, they came out mean and nasty. Mario set the tone by upending Maxi and picked up a booking, the ref was already missing several other blatant chops. The visitors pushed forward, Cabrera fired a shot in that Dani Hernandez should have grabbed but he punched instead and the ball came out to Vallejo to score from an offside position. It was a cruel blow but Tenerife had to get on with the job. Juan Carlos replaced Cristo, his first touch was a long range effort that just cleared the bar.
Diego Ifran was having a quiet game and picking up a booking that will sideline him next match didn’t help his frame of mind. Mario continued his wild ways but made one lunge too many when he fouled Juan Carlos and was shown a red card, the resulting free kick was wasted. With the man advantage Tenerife swapped Diego for Aridane to push for a winner, he was soon joined by Abdon Prats with Moyano making way. The changes didn’t bring the breakthrough, Zaragoza held tight and stopped Tenerife players by the crudest means as the ref got worse.
Albizua had a half chance, Abdon Prats was marginally too slow to run through onto a good ball and time was ticking down. A draw was still a good result against the promotion chasers, especially after they fluffed a relatively easy injury time opening. Tenerife were far from happy with the ref and Vitolo let rip at him in the tunnel, his loose lip earning him a red card and a place in the stands with Diego at Alaves next game.
Even the oil refinery and the motorway into Santa Cruz looked attractive viewed from my lofty perch in the hills above Candelaria. It was breather time a couple of hours into the La Mesa walk from Igueste to Araya and after a false start I was having some doubts about the trail I was following.
After trying the Samarines coastal route last year I was keen to try another suggestion from the Candelaria Ayuntamiento leaflet, this time it started in an inland area I was not familiar with. An early toddle around the basilica town and I caught the 131 Titsa bus to Igueste, a local advised me to head for the cemetery thankfully it wasn’t a veiled insult, just a helpful nudge down from the final bus stop at the church to the Plaza Dimas Coello with its wine press. I thought it would be a small village but it stretched and wound along several steep streets and had a nice combination of old and new buildings. Local pride was clear from notices urging a fight against any cut back in their bus lifeline, and announcements of the Good Friday morning procession at 6 am.
The walk signs got me to the start point but I picked an old looking downward trail through a barranco and had to come back to follow the tarmac road up to the right before I could connect to the old path heading up La Mesa mountain. The multi language council leaflet was only launched last year and the route showed little sign of regular visitors. It only takes a few weeks for the plants and flowers to encroach on the trail so I had to guess a little but used the overhanging rock ahead as my direction guide. Looking back I could now see the coast winding its way up to the Tenerife capital and the city outskirts were appearing over the horizon. Once past the rock I found more shade as pine trees began to share my progress, looking out to sea Gran Canaria was prominent on the skyline.
The next landmark was the partially ruined Casa de La Mesa, one of the few original dwellings that had defied the years. The path led up and round the pine trees and was now skirting the sides of a series of barrancos, quite tough on thee legs but easy on the eyes. Scaling the brow of a hill it was reward time, the Guimar valley fell away below me with the tower of Candelaria basilica a distant coastal landmark. It was a glorious sight, low whispy cloud was like a transparent dome over the terraced hills and I could see why the valley had inspired tales of mysterious and haunted trails. After plenty of admiring I started the descent down the track, there was much more greenery here and I was soon up to my armpits in flowers and shrubs.
Araya should have been calling me but at the lower level I was strolling through vineyards and almond orchards on farm land nurtured by a strong gushing water channels. La Florida was marked on the modern service road and a quick enquiry at a garden gate told me I had veered off to the side of Araya. The motorway was in sight so I walked downwards along the TF 247 saving a lengthy wait in Araya for the sporadic bus service and I was soon on the Titsa 111 heading south. Even with the detours and snack stops it had only taken me around five hours but my feet assured me I had burst through the official 6.5 km rating. That still leaves another five Candelaria routes to try, they will have to be very special to match La Mesa.