Hike 14.07.2013 Artenara to C de Tejeda

Sunday 14 July we caught the 0815hrs Nr 220 Bus to Artenara

The bus stopped for 15 minutes at the smart new bus station in Teror

At around 1030 we arrived at Artenara

and had 11'ses at a cafe

Then we set off for one of our favourit hikes along the rim of Gran Canaria's central caldera to Cruz de Tejeda - Hike Nr 4 in Sunflower Gran Canaria Guide (in reverse, ie uphill)

Leaving Artenara - already with superb views across the caldera

Cave houses

Ermita de la Cuevita - cave church

climbing amongst the cave houses

Our route on an information board

which also shows how much we have to climb - 422 meters up and 180 meters down.

(Artenara is at 1274 meters (above sea level)

Highest point is 1698 meters

Cruz de Tejeda is at 1516 meters)

Good to know one is on the right route!

Following a forest track

then heading to the caldera rim at a sign indicating some caves

 

where we take a break with fantastic views

Roque Nublo to the left , Roque Bentaiga to the right

The trail continues to climb following the edge of the caldera

Roque Nublo in the centre

Shady spot for another break with a view

en route stretches

At 1630hrs arrived in Cruz de Tejeda where we had afternoon tea in our favourite cafe in the Parador - 

 after a most enjoyable relaxed hike.

(unfortunately our peace was shattered when a group of boisterous bikers arrived who did not appreciate how loud they were talking).

Took the 1730 hrs Nr 305 bus to San Mateo -the last bus of the day.

Then caught one of the many buses from San Mateo back to Las Palmas

Click on below link to read blog of previous time we did this hike :-

http://dutchlink.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/hike-11-march-2012-artenara-to-cruz-de.html

(below are photos of the Nr 305 bus timetables for the Cruz de Tejeda bus stop - times are actual times bus passes Cruz de Tejeda

Hike10.05 20123 Cruz de Tejeda to Culata Sunflower Hike 08

Caught the 0930hrs Nr303 bus from the Telmo Bus Station to San Mateo where we changed to the 1030hrs Nr 305 bus direction Tejeda

Arrived at a sunny Cruz de Tejeda around 1100 hrs and decided to start the day with a celebratory 11'venses at the Parador Cafe. This cafe overhangs the rim of the Tejeda Caldera and, with it's floor to ceiling windows, gives a superb panoramic view over the caldera.

 Same shot but with different exposure so that one can see the view

 ... zooming in one could clearly see the 3718 meter high peak of  Mt Teide  60 miles away on the neighbouring island of Tenerife

 We enjoyed siting in this cafe with such a superb view so much that we decided to stay for lunch - filling the time reading our Kindles and enjoying the view

 After lunch, no more excuses, we left the Parador, crossed the road, and set out on our hike to Culata - Hike Nr 8 in the Sunflower Walking Guide - below is a copy of a map from the Sunflower Guide showing he trail

 Checking the route

 It seems have not set the exposure correctly on the camera - the caldera looks hazier than it was - in fact it was a superb sunny day. 

View to the west of the caldera with Roque Bentaiga and Mt Teide clearly visible

 Roque Nublo to the right

 As the total hike to Culata would, according to the Sunflower Guide only require a total of 1 hour 35 minutes, and we at this point had 3 hours before the bus was due, we decided to relax in the shade of some pine trees and read our Kindles with a wonderful view in front of us.

 

Time to move on

 At this point, we unexpectedly came across a marked track to the right down to Tejeda - not marked in our Guidebook We kept left for Culata.

 

Time for another break - at a point mentioned in the guidebook as a spring - a pleasant shady picnic spot 

 see map below for location of this spot

 

Roque Bentaiga,  Montana Vista and Mt Teide more or less in line

 Looking back towards Cruz de Tejeda

 Roque Nublo once more

 

Approaching the village of Culata

 Culata is dominated by Roque Nublo

 At 1645 arrived at the Bus Nr 305 bus stop  close to the appropriately named Bar Roque Nublo in Culata - the end of a very pleasant scenic relaxed hike - our first proper hike in 2013.

 Photo of the bus timetable at the bus stop in Culata

 The 1712hrs 305 arrived more or less on time to take us to San Mateo where we caught the 1830 hrs Nr 303 bus back to Las Palmas

 The below timetable would indicate that one could arrive in Culata at 0840hrs - could be useful if one wanted to make a long hike from here

 Below are the timetables which we got from the Telmo bus station for the 303 and 305 buses