Not all my trips go to plan, but that’s part of the fun, today was a mixed day but very enjoyable. I got the Granadilla bus for San Isidro to check out the Flight Simulation show mentioned a couple of posts ago. This is the long winded coastal route, which at least alerted me to the piles of sand being dumped for spreading on Las Galletas beach. It seems this bounty of sand, scraped off Los Cristianos old beach is being spread far and wide, as it is also topping up the troublesome Playa San Juan beach.

Coming into San Isidro from the El Medano road, I noticed a modern and busy looking agricultural market building, that’s one for further investigation. San Isidro itself is a busy town with the main road, Carretera General, climbing steeply on its way to Granadilla , the administrative centre for the region. The Casa Cultura turned out to be an undistinguished building next to the police station and the show was a bit of a geek fest. Several rows of tables were set out with laptops feeding off a bigger computer on the stage, to show the intricate and complicated control panels of various aeroplanes. I had imagined big machines that you could sit in pretending to be in a cockpit, they might as well have all stayed at home and played the programmes. I left pretty quickly and checked the cloakroom on the way out for anoraks, i’m sure it was only the hot weather that made them leave them at home.

Time out exploring in Tenerife is never wasted, and a few drinks and some tapas in some little side street bars focussed my mind on an alternative plan. Back on the bus, and a stop off at Los Abrigos seemed a good idea to top up my camera and my need for more input. If you like fish, you should make time to visit Los Abrigos, it’s a lovely fishing village with some of the best fish restaurants on the island.

First stop was the ironically named Playa Grande, a pocket sized beach just to the west of the harbour. Even on a Saturday afternoon, there were barely a handful of bathers, I have been in the week and had the beach and the tiny bay all to myself. and that’s before I have taken my socks off. It’s a real untouched gem, but what’s that coming over the hill, it’s a monster – development, to the west, it’s sad to see the cranes and buildings marching ever nearer.

Retracing my steps, and down into the harbour front, it was strangely quiet, as so much of the island is now. The restaurants slope down to the small harbour, where boats bob in the water as children sit on the quay dangling their feet over the edge and now and then plunge in for refreshment. Following the walkway up and around to the east, there’s a uncorrupted view across to Montaña Roja (red mountain) beyond the airport. This is a nature reserve featuring many rare species of birds, but it is possible to follow a path all the way to the peak, another trek on my things to do list. It’s at times like this that I wish I could paint, the swirling folds of the rock are amazing, and highlighted against the white capped blue sea, it would inspire any artist. On balance, I think breathing the sea air carries much more sway with me than tapping away on a computer game.

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