I wasn’t putting off my big walk down the Camino Real, just delaying the pleasure with a catch up around the small but delightful county town of Santiago Del Teide. I’ve arrived there before on the Titsa 460 bus from the south into near freezing conditions before the almond blossom walk but this time the digital readout above the chemist was shouting 35 degrees. A stroll through the back streets reassured me that civic pride was as strong as ever, the shrine to the local firemen outside the bomberos station had been spruced up since I last saw it a little overgrown.

But enough of skulking in cooler back streets, I was well overdue a trip up the Fuente de La Virgen de Lourdes, a short, steep trail through an ornate white archway and marked out with large white crosses. Pride of place at the top goes to a statue of Our Lady Of Lourdes, placed in a small cave next to an old spring in 1990. The walk up doesn’t take long but offers increasingly wonderful views over the small town. What a great way to spot the main influences in the history of Santiago del Teide, the pine forests, the lava fields, and even the new ring road bursting through the mountainside  tunnel.

The shrine at the top of the trail does attract visitors, floral tributes and candles surround the statue on the tiled floor, and wooden stools invite the weary climber to sit and contemplate. Outside there is an altar and a bell and it’s clear to see that the surrounding bushes and shrubs are kept in check by regular pruning. Clambering back down to the entrance bridge I felt ready for the days adventures ahead. You can read about my big Camino Real walk in Island Connections, out on Wednesday 3 August.