The last outpost before the tourist areas of Tenerife is the small fishing village Los Abrigos. It is just a short drive from El Médano and it was the starting point for an Eco Walking Tour that we decided to join. The tour was organized as a school project by a girl from Sweden. We were recommended to join by a tour agent in El Médano and we were happy to take part. For us, it was a chance to see something new as well as to support in this school project.
Starting in Los Abrigos
The tour agent Peter drove us to Los Abrigos, he joined the tour as a supervisor and made sure that we found the rest of the group. Los Abrigos was still asleep when we arrived, the restaurants and cafes still preparing for the day ahead. In fact, it wasn’t even possible to find a cup of coffee. The water of the small fishing harbor was glittering in the morning sunshine. The tour would eventually take us from Los Abrigos back to El Médano and on the way, we would both learn a bit about the area as well as clean a part of the coast from litter. So everyone, except the two of us that were carrying a child was handed a plastic back and gloves to assist with the cleaning and then we started walking.
The Tour Group
Leading the group was a young girl studying at an upper secondary school in the Swedish town of Nyköping. It is mandatory in the Swedish school system to have a final project during the three years that is upper secondary school. The options are endless depending on what you are studying. Our tour guide had taken the great opportunity to do her project on Tenerife and the Eco Walking Tour was the main part of it.
The rest of the group was made up by family members of the girl, the three of us and the tour agent Peter. In fact, the whole thing turned out to be a quite funny coincidence. Peter did for sure not account for this possibility when he found us three to join the tour. The young girl was from the same hometown as me and so did, of course, the rest of her family members. So here we were a group of people that all had a connection to the small village of Vagnhärad – except for Peter, that is. Not only did we have acquaintances in common, with the additional exception of Susann and Little A, but we all had also gone to the same school.
If you are reading this Peter, once more: Well done and buy a lottery ticket.
The Eco Walking Tour from Los Abrigos to El Médano
The walk took us out of Los Abrigos to the east at Playa Chica. In the beginning, the trail was quite rocky and seeing all the black sand was really amazing. We passed one of the natural pools of Tenerife. It was quite tempting to jump right in, but after a moment of hesitation, we continued. The natural pools are just what the name indicates – enclosed spaces but without any human intervention. And the water is seawater, obviously.
The group collected garbage along the beaches and cliffs until we reached La Mareta – a small village a quarter of the distance to El Médano. Here we left the picked up litter at a recycling station before continuing the tour towards El Médano. It was eye-opening to see how much litter we had actually collected. It’s amazing – and not in a good way – how much trash people leave in nature.
The tour eventually took us past one of the coasts most distinct features – large human-made greenhouses. These are circulating in regards to production to also ensure that the earth is able to restore its nutrients. One thing is for sure, these are not fancy looking structures.
Our surroundings became impressive again once we reached the large La Tejita Beach. It is about one kilometer long. Across the beach the volcano Montaña Roja stands, overlooking the sea. This is also where the walk got more challenging as your tired legs need to push forward through soft sand. Luckily we took a short break in the shades of an old building at the far side of the beach – at the foot on Montaña Roja. It was also time to eat the lunch we had brought with us. Fortunately, the plan did not include climbing the volcano.
After the break, we continued across the Special Nature Reserve of the Montaña Roja to the beaches right outside of El Médano. The landscape here was very unique. Indeed, it felt like we had seen a lot of different terrains during our walk. At this point, we started to wonder how long we still had to go. Our walk was not getting closer to its end, as there was still a long beach to walk across.
In Hindsight and Our Recommendations
We did really enjoy the walk and the coincidence of our common home town of Vagnhärad has been a story to tell. Our guide did a perfect job and we wish her the best with her project and future career.
Our recommendations for anyone attempting this walk:
- Bring more water than you think you’ll need.
- Expect it to take longer than first planned. People are never as fast as you’d like them to be.
- Bring protection for the sun – both sun cream and a hat.
- Comfortable walking shoes are a must.
- Stop to enjoy the view.
- Do not litter!
