A swim and a cold shower after jumping out of bed soon seemed a world away as the latest Tenerife heatwave cooked me as I strolled down the hill to the Los Cristianos bus stops. Even five years after moving down from Puerto Santiago on the west coast I like to pay regular visits to make sure it doesn’t change too much. Titsa buses don’t always get the air conditioning right but the 477 direct bus felt super chilled as I sped up to Alcala, my first stop and home to my former Western Sun office.
Heading down to the plaza I noticed the concrete area by the bay was busy with sun worshippers and swimmers, it has been revamped since my days swimming there with several railed stairways into the water, there was also a life guard on duty on this latest visit. In the plaza I met up with Richard from the Lions Club outside Bar Plaza and a new K9 dog charity shop that was doing a brisk trade even though it was a work in progress. The previous weeks high tides had made a visit and retreated without any tell tale signs, it’s always a lovely relaxing place to visit with plenty of cheap bars.
Eager to cram plenty into my day I caught the bus on to Los Gigantes (top) and met the lovely Jo in the church plaza for a catch up. Asturias was pretty busy, relaxing looking at the rocky hillside ringing the plaza brought back old memories of fiestas and foam parties. The clear blue sky was buzzed regularly by an emergency helicopter, in such a busy walking and fishing area there is always an awareness of natures power. The next days papers seemed to suggest that the chopper may have been looking for any escapees froma narcopatera (drug boat) found deserted that morning at nearby Fonsalia.
Refreshed I attacked Cardiac Hill and made a few calls before walking along the coast road above Playa Santiago. I had been warned to look out for a new inshore lighthouse, it turned out to be a cleverly fashioned support pillar on the redeveloped rest area just below The Patio Bar – another old haunt. One of the main reasons for the trip was to check out progress on Callao Salvaje’s new beach about 30 mins back towards the south but as I had time I walked on to Playa de la Arena to get the hourly bus from there. By now it was late afternoon and below on Arena’s black sand beach the crowds were thinning out and the beach crew were packing away sun beds and clearing rubbish. I noticed one guard found a 200 pack of giggies and a stray bra, so if you see a lady with nicotine withdrawl swinging wildly, point her in the direaction of lost property.
Callao Salvaje is a strange place, a mix of large grand houses behind high walls, hotels, and new modern apartment blocks. What’s missing is a good quality beach, the old shingle one has always lacked facilities, sand, and easy access but after many false dawns work is well under way on a complete makeover. The pace of change has been slow but the signs are encouraging with landscaping and flower beds in place, huge mounds of imported sand await levelling but hopefully that can be finalised well before the end of the year.
The sun setting was my cue to complete my homeward journey with the Titsa 473 bus spot on time on the hour. Arriving back in Los Cristianos a few beers seemed in order after a hot busy day so I treated myself to a slow walk back up the hill with a few coolers on the way.