Ride Coordinator: Nelson Diaz
Report by: Mike Raudenbush
The Canary Islands, part of Spain but 800 miles south of Spain and only 62 miles off the coast of Morocco, are one of the outermost regions of the EU, yet readily accessible by air from Madrid and other points. So if you love Europe but are tired of the same old destinations, this is the place for you! The Canaries contain enormous variety, from stark volcanic lava fields to cool pine forests to sand beaches with wind surfing. But if you are an amateur ornithologist and expect to find thousands of little yellow birds, forget it. The Canaries are not named after the bird, but rather "Insula Canaria", which means "island of the dog". Go figure.
The Canaries consist of 7 major islands, four of which we visited on our ride: Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife. The Canaries are in the trade winds. In fact, for centuries they have provided a stopover for sailing ships enroute between the four continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean. ("Columbus slept here" seems as ubiquitous in the Canaries as "Washington slept here" is in the eastern U.S.). "Fuerteventura" translates as "strong wind", and our cunning and experienced leader arranged the itinerary to ride with the wind, from north to south.
Our trip was led by Nelson Diaz and supported by Simon Proffitt of Iberocycle. For Nelson, a trip to the Canaries is a pilgrimage to his ancestral home on the island of La Palma. Nelson and Simon work together seamlessly, having conducted numerous prior trips together. We have been on other trips led by Nelson, to Mallorca and Andalucia, and there is a reason we keep coming back. Nelson is a superb leader and great fun on a cycling trip.
Our first island was Lanzarote, where we visited a unique botanical garden ("Jardin de Cactus") with cacti from around the world, then right up the road was Casa de los Volcanes. The intrepid reader can probably figure out that this translates as the "Volcano House". Because the Canaries are purely volcanic, they are chock full of lava tubes, tubes formed by lava flows, and the Casa de los Volcanes is an elaborate restaurant with paths through the lava tube, at the bottom of which is a small, dramatically lighted lake. Our photographers went nuts over this one.
The following day we rode to the west end of Lanzarote, via Timanfaya National Park, a vast area of calderas and lava fields. We parked our bikes for a bus ride on harrowing, narrow roads with steep drops on both sides. Ominously, the music selected for this ride was Mozart's Requiem. Wow. What a rush! Then on to Playa Blanca near the west end of Lanzarote.
After a day of rest in Playa Blanca, we took the short ferry ride to the island of Fuerteventura, then a 57-mile ride down the length of Fuerteventura. Fuerteventura was very different from Lanzarote. Whereas Lanzarote was notable for its dramatic volcanic topography, with jumbled slabs of solidified lava and calderas, Fuerteventura reminded me of the Mohave desert: dry and warm (not a surprise, considering that we were just a few miles from the Sahara!). If Fuerteventura was a bit uninteresting, we had nothing to fear, for the best was yet to come.
Another ferry ride took us to Gran Canaria, which I nicknamed the "Garden Island". We moved from the coast inland to the very picturesque village of Tejeda and an equally picturesque little inn in Tejeda. Mercifully, Nelson provided most of us with a bus for the long climb to Tejeda, although of course a few hard cases rode their bikes up the 6000-foot climb.
If the photographers thought Casa de Los Volcanes was photogenic, they hadn't seen anything yet. I'll bet there were over 1000 photos taken of Tejeda, nestled in the side of a mountain, all white buildings with red tile roofs (tough building codes!), and a magnificent scenic backdrop of pine covered mountains and dramatic volcanic necks reaching high into the sky like church steeples. We had two days to ride the fine roads around Tejeda. Perfectly smooth pavement, which made for delightful riding. Apparently the motor car racers agreed, because one day they were out in force for an organized race (which Simon, with his usual routing skill, was able to work around on our suggested routes). We were unsuccessful at keeping our women from flirting with the drivers, though. Several of our riders pronounced this area as "the best riding of my life".
An exhilarating 6000-foot downhill run took us to the ferry to our last island, Tenerife.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet, son" should be the welcoming banner at the entrance to Tenerife. Sure, Lanzarote had impressive volcanic sights and Gran Canaria had its lovely, forested roads, but Tenerife had these and more. First, there was the "Enchanted Forest", a route that followed the spine of the island through a dark, mysterious tangle of trees reminiscent of fairy tales, followed by a long, exciting 3500'downhill run to the coast made more exciting by a fierce wind. Then, the piece de resistance, the grand finale, the ... well, you get the picture. The Parque Nacional del Teide, the most visited national park in Spain, a wild volcanic wonderland of calderas and lava flows, And towering above it all was Teide, the highest peak in Spain at 12,198', also the third highest volcano in the world, measured from its base under the ocean -- 24,600'. And the really nifty thing: it is still hot. There are fumaroles along the path to the top, ejecting steam and the smell of sulfur. Demonstrating our multi-sport skills, we climbed Teide (with just a little help from a tram that goes within 600' of the summit and a constructed footpath the rest of the way).
A 7000' descent took us to the beach town of El Medano, a wind-surfing and kite-surfing mecca due to the strong winds. After a joyous final dinner, we said goodbye to our companions and entered the gruesome business of getting home on the airlines, an endeavor well worth it for the glorious trip we had enjoyed -- thanks to Nelson Diaz and Simon Proffitt.
Bicycle Adventure Club
PO BOX 23998 San Diego, CA 92193
Telephone (858) 715-9510 office@bicycleadventureclub.org