After breakfast, we packed water into our bags and set off to walk up a small* hill. The correct name for out hill is “Monumento Natural de La Gaza”, but that’s quite a mouthful, so small* hill seems to work quite well.
The hill in question is situated at the end of the bay in the Los Christianos resort, which is a forty-minute walk from our hotel. The walk to the foot of the hill was pretty easy, with few people to crowd the pavements. Once we had the main beach behind us, we needed to walk under a tunnel, and around some of the old streets to avoid the ferry terminal.

That done, the hill loomed large in front of us, and as we drew closer the creamy chalky white paths climbing up it were easy to spot. When I checked out the route at home I figured the slopes didn’t look too demanding. And I was pretty confident we would be able to climb up and descend back down without the need for walking boots. 

Our climb up the hill was slow and steady. We thought we were doing well until a couple of Germans sporting strong walking boots, thick socks, and a hiking rucksack caught us up. We stood aside to let them pass, as I didn’t want to block their progress, nor did I want them on our heels all the time. After they’d passed us, we began our climb. Around the next corner, Char spotted Mount Teide, so we paused to take photos.

And a little further up I spotted a team of three young women running up the hill behind us! We let them pass, and then up the next slope and around the corner they paused to admire the view which was pretty spectacular. 

We kept going, and after twenty minutes we reached the top. Yay! I wanted to hike across the flat top of the hill to see the views of the resort on the other side of the hill. We picked our way carefully across the top, and after thirty-minutes we reached the other side and were rewarded with some gorgeous views. At times it was super windy, and in other moments the sun beat down on us so strongly, we wished we’d worn shorts.

After a short rest, we looped around the top of the hill to navigate our way back to the path down, and to soak up the views over our resort, which was the main reason for climbing the small* hill in the first place.

Our plans for an easy walk back were dashed by a huge chasm between us and where we needed to go. Without the aid of strong walking boots, I wasn’t about to lead our group down and back up the shale-covered paths. Our only option was to commute back to the start of the chasm and cross where it was shallower. This needed up being quite a scenic route back to where we needed to go. Eventually, we found the pile of rocks marking the lookout and were rewarded with this view.

The route back down was slightly harder. Walking downhill on sandy debris took more thought and hand-holding to help each other down the steeper sections. But we made it and before long were back on the path to the beach. Up and over the ferry port, through the tunnel and along the main drag back to our resort. The only difference being this time the sun was very warm and the wide pathway was jam-packed with people and two-person mobility scooters.

Back at the hotel, we headed into lunch to refuel after our four hour walk. And then decamped to the tables and chairs by the pool for a rest and a double Cappuccino (Char) or a Pepsi Max (Liz).

After I’d played my piano to further practice my timing and rhythm, we ambled around to the ice cream parlour in the main drag at the rear of the hotel. Sitting in the little square it was very pleasant with the sun shining and being sheltered from the breeze. 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing.

*small compared to Mount Teide!