Area: Gran Canaria
I was expecting some dramatic climatic contrasts on Gran Canaria (having been caught in a blizzard in Tenerife three years ago immediately after a sun-drenched morning run) but I was still taken aback by the suddenness of the change this morning, my first on the island. Some drizzle last night and this morning in Santa Brigida, and rather cold as I had breakfast in San Matteo higher up. Even colder when I left the car at the Llanos de Ana Lopez, windy, drizzly and unpleasant - although the endemic canarian pines provided some shelter as I jogged up towards Cruz de los Llanos, a road crossing. From here, I just jogged up the metalled road east towards Redondo and then up to Pico de las Nieves (essentially the island's highpoint although its craggy neighbour is very slightly higher). The sheer reach of the road network is a little unfortunate, though was actually less intrusive than I was expecting. It does detract a little from the mountain ambience, however, as does the geodesic military installation on Nieves, similar to Puig Major on Mallorca. Unlike that mountain, however, at least you can get to the top of this one and, whilst there, the cloud began to rip away in dramatic fashion. Initially, I could only see an obvious basalt peak across the valley and then a few more shapes through the mist. Then, as I headed away from the road on a superb sandy path heading west I just popped straight through the fog bank into perfect, startling clarity. I'd been wearing insulated coat, buff and trousers and instantly removed them. The entire range was suddenly flooded with light: blue skies ahead, a huge bank of mist behind. Even better, the peak I'd seen was clearly doable from the marked trail. A few minutes running and I ploughed upwards through the pines, gaining a vague path up a broad ridge. This twisted and turned up to a rocky summit with some short scrambly walls. A groove gained a pronounced summit raised above the cloud banks. It was a stunning place to be. The peak turned out to be El Campanario, far more interesting than Nieves, which I now looked across to (and was still draped in mist). Views down to the east coast began to open out, although I remained only just above the cloud bank and it was obvious I would soon plunge back into it. So I left Roque Nublo for tomorrow and just enjoyed the wonderful running down to the Degollada de los Hornos, a five way path junction. Descending to Llanos de la Pez, I popped back into the dank, cold fog. Extraordinary. I retraced my steps down to Ana Lopez and then drove to San Matteo for a bocadillo, coffee and cake. Replenished, I drove down to Pico Bandama, much lower and not far from my accommodation in Santa Brigida. This was superb, and I did the 5k run round the extinct volcanic caldera, wonderful paths along the lip, and another leading to the bottom of the caldera itself.
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