GR131 Walk Vilaflor to Ifonche

We set out on the Vilaflor to Ifonche route on Sunday, which is part of the GR131, a walking route that spans part of Tenerife, El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma, designed for an island hopping walking experience. This route is also in Spain, France, Belgium and Holland.
We walked a very small part of it but it trully was magnificent. We walked 11km of the route, which was great.
We started from the marker as shown in the photo which is placed perfectly beside the Hotel El Nogal & Spa Villa Alba, Vilaflor http//:hotelnogal.com An excellent hotel and spa, in a very rural setting. From the hotel as a guest you can go on organised walks whilst staying there. It was the perfect place to end the route as hospitality in the hotel is second to none. We choose to begin here simply because we had seen the markers and thought it would one day be a good walk to do. It really was breathtaking. As you can see from the photos the scenery is ever changing and I can honestly say I have never seen a wild flower meadow in Tenerife looking so amazing. The flowers and the pine trees, the little bridges and all the wildlife, what a day out. The walk has been carefully crafted by the Cabildo to give the walker a real challenge but safely. We needed our sticks and we needed lots of water. At the end of the walk there is a restaurant/bar which was a welcome site. It is our best walk to date and although we felt a bit sore today (Monday) we are already planning the next one.

Is Winter on the way?

Here in Tenerife it rarely gets cold much before October, but this year it hasn´t been cold much before November. This Sunday hubby and I decided to take to the hills where it is now a little cooler. It was amazing! What a fantastic island this is for walking. We had a super morning and returned to the sunnier coast for the afternoon.
Today I awoke to the most amazing sky of pinks, blues, purples,golds only to find that by 11am the rain had started and the sky was very grey in colour. The hills looked positively uninviting and the longing for cold days became less a priority.
I had a thought about home in the UK and thought how lucky we are to be here where the climate is a lot kinder to the body and how we see blue skies regularly for most of the year. This is not a blog to sicken those of you who don´t live here more of a reminder to us expats who often have longings for home, looking at home with the rose coloured glasses on, of course.
It is almost 40 days until Christmas and I am still in T shirts, so I am going to smile today for I am trully lucky to be here in paradise.

Foraging Feast

Sunday was a great day! Hubby and I went up the hills for a wee walk. It was a lot cooler than it has been and we even got a bit cold, yeah!! It was a fruitful day out as we filled our foraging bags with chestnuts and figs. The figs were nearly all gone but the chestnuts are still to be got, for those of you that like to forage.

Here´s a recipe for my homemade Chestnut Butter, chestnuts have fantastic nutrional value, they contain B vitamins, Iron and some vitamin C, also lots of minerals, such as potassium. They are also very low in fat and that is why they are sometimes called grains rather than nuts, also because they are very rich in fibre.

CHESTNUT BUTTER

Roast or boil your picked chestnuts and peel
Mash up the peeled chestnuts, try to crush them as much as you can but I like to leave a few bigger pieces for extra crunch
Put the mashed chestnuts in a pan with enough soya milk (or cows if you really want to) to just cover them, sugar to sweeten (optional), nutmeg, and a good glug of brandy (optional)
Bring all the ingredients to the boil and keep stirring until it starts to thicken, you´ll know it is ready when you can see the bottom of the pan when you are stirring
Take it off the heat and pour into a sterilised jar, leave a little room at the top for an extra splash of brandy (optional), the brandy helps to preserve it for longer and if you shake well before using it, this helps to keep it runny enough to use easily
Keep in a dark, cool place and use at once or will keep for approx. 12 weeks, once it is opened though store in the fridge

Mmm ..... a great wee recipe using what nature has to offer ... a good Halloween spread for your pancakes

Up the Mountains

Well hubby and me went for another walk up the mountains today here in Tenerife. It was superb. We had done part of it last week and this time parked the car a little nearer and done the second leg of it, which was approximately 7km. I managed as usual to find some amzing things, not to mention some great photos taken of nature at its best. I collected some more black tourmaline and some amber resin. It is always exciting when I find things. The wild chives were looking amazing, absolutely huge!!We were passed by three men all dressed the same in red t shirts with black lycra shorts, they were running down the mountain, one after the other. It was hilarious not just because they were running and we were panting but because they were triplets, they were identical and it was something really special and funny to see. Didn´t get a photo unfortunately but did get a photo of a rock climber, he looks fit! As far as Pixiepod the shop goes I am selling off some bead stock, need more room and new things but they are great please check them out.

Green Tourmaline

I am very excited! On Sunday we went walking, unexpectedly in a place near Vilaflor, Tenerife. It was a magical place. As I stood waiting for hubby to get his things together I noticed a stone on the ground at my feet. I bent down and picked it up, it wasn´t in the ground, it was loose and ready to be picked. It was the most beautiful green stone, after extensive research I think it is a green tourmaline. It is the choice of crystal for the fairies and this totally makes sense to me right now. It symbolises a few other things that I can also relate to.
Then we went the walk and it was the most magical place, wish trees and vibrant wildflowers.
Ah, I love NATURE!!!