Longing to get down and dusty after a smooth, modern road led us out of the historic centre of Granadilla de Abona. Lycra clad cyclists whizzed downhill towards San Miguel, and El Medano loomed large looking across to the south coast. At this stage we had only a fleeting glimpse of the ancient Camino del Real track that criss crossed Tenerife when foot power was king.

Maybe we felt a little under whelmed to be retracing the route of our Titsa bus but Charco del Pino was warming up in the wings and greeted us with surprises and insights into the past. “Pond of the Pine” arrived with a hint of Ooh La La in the shape of the church of San Luis IX. Petit and classy, it honours the 12th century King of France who brought the crown of thorns from the head of jesus, to Europe, Paris to be precise, during the crusades.

Alongside the church, a lane took us up to the Chiñama mirador, offering spectacular views of  natures harvest for miles around in every direction. The importance of water to this part of the island became apparent as the fluid of life filled small reservoirs and encouraged the growth of crops. There was a stone wall barn bonanza as well, some small holdings had two or three of the iconic buildings, simple, strong, and effective. In the main street there were a few cafes to quench the thirst and fill provide protein boosts for the cycle squads. My eyes grew misty as i admired the old cinema building for Charco del Pino – I yearned for a choc ice and a Kiora.

When we began the walk from the Plaza Gonzalez Mena by the leafy gardens and admin offices in Granadilla town, there were no clear pointer to routes start point. There was similar uncertainty just after the church of Charco del Pino. A wide path dropped down to the south and seemed to head for the lip of the La Orchilla barranco, but it veered off in the wrong direction and turned out to be a false dawn. After puffing back up we found the true path in all its glory, a few yards from the main road. The universally regocnised white and green  bold stripes on large rocks confirmed our path down into the deep ravine.

It was like a green cathedral once we followed the zig zag path down, and it was framed nicely by the 1940s bridge that spanned the main road high above. What a pleasure to test the legs on the tight turns and the steep climb back up the far side. Varied crops battled for supremecy as we squeezed past a fence dividing a modern farm from the old Camino. The thought of herding animals up that challenging climb gave us a new respect for the farmers craft. When we hit the top road it was like a culture clash, seeing how easily modern machinery had carved out the road like a knife through butter. It left us with just a short walk down to San Miguel where cold drinks welcomed us as we refelcted on the many other walks that spilled out among the hills that spread down to the coast.