Three flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Teide)

This formed Front Page news in the newspaper Diario de aviso (this  link will take you there, then just scroll down for more fotos) foto credit, DiariodeAvisos.
Fancy, jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft and planning on doing a circuit of Teide without using a parachute..........No!
Well, three adventurous types did exactly that, yesterday. They did it over Teide, "just for fun". Although, reading between the lines it formed part of a World Record for Human flight in freefall (6.42 mins). They wore special suits that allowed them to glide but because of the rareified air, gliding was more difficult.
Now, please remember that Teide is more than 2 miles high, and the last time I was there; I was watching the tourist aircrafts coming in from the North; below me!
Oh! how i wished that I had been there to see these guys dropping in. Incredible!  Pretty Cool huh!

"Buried treasure" on Tenerife

I have always been fascinated by pre 1900 Leather Bound Books, Old Maps, Lythographs and specifically Old Charts.              The smell, the romance and knowing that someone has put pen to paper; largely guessing as to its import and then lovingly painting it with now; fading water-colour.               Over the last few years, I have been doing a lot of research (mainly on the Internet) regarding just how many reported Treasures, troves or caches have been stashed on this Island alone.  There are more than Seventy!     These are very well documented, authentic and are the original places where caches have been hidden and are to be found.     Anyone can ask the correct  authorities for this information and go Treasure Hunting themselves. What it takes is a lot of patience, skill, correct equipment and Luck.

In the olden days, Treasure was hidden well above the High-Tide Line. Somewhere remote and hard to find even with the help of a fading, parched and cryptic map.  If you were superstitious you had to get a fearless crew together and cross their palms with silver before they would even think about the expedition. More recently, you still had to decypher a forgotten language, find the rough area to search and then break out a metal detector. Then, walk a search grid for hours; even days before you would stand a chance of success.

Well, the good news is that things have changed dramatically for all those budding "Treasure Hunters" out there. The 21st century has brought us a Global Positioning System that can place us within 6 feet (2 metres) of a given Co-ordinate!    Handheld gps can be bought for €100 and can be found on many mobile telefones nowadays.              So, Now the only thing we need to know is exactly where our "Cache" can be found.
The old maps cannot serve, so we have to resort to the new generation of maps and these are readily available on the Internet... and it is here that you will find a fantastic "authority" on worldwide caches.      Before I go any further you must by now realise that I am talking about a Modern Day Version of Treasure Hunting that has become a fast growing Worldwide Hobby of enthusiasts that have planted Caches in the more interesting, beautiful and inspiring parts of the Country. (sorry to kid you along a little but, please read to the very end)    The Internet site    http://geocaching.com/   then publishes the gps co-ordinates of each and every cache for us to visit. (click on the link and look around... You will have to log-in, it is free, and then you can download all 70 + co-ordinates on Tenerife) I placed a "treasure, yesterday, which will be published very soon....... It is in a remote part of the Fabulous Anaga Mountains...    I am publishing this for a very good reason.  I have found that most of the caches have been put in places that I would not have thought of even visiting. Yes, they are remote but each and every one will take you somewhere special. With Fantastic Views or Great Walking. You will learn so much about the local culture and be able to visit some out-of-the-way Restaurants/ Bars.            Good Luck, Fun Hunting and Happy geocaching. (more to come.... so please re-visit us)

Where Eagles Dare and Hunters Lair

When you look up at the skyline from Adeje you can spot white houses on the skyline. My question was this "They are on the edge of a Precipice, so how do the people get there?" The answer was simple..... Ifonche!
The other week I was up on "Roque del Conde" and observed a Pyramid of a mountain to its North called "Roque Imonde" (the highest part of which looked highly challenging)so that was where I was going.....  The easiest way to it was via Ifonche. Now let me explain about Ifonche..... there is one road in and the same road out. On my first visit the owner of the bar asked me to move my car 3 meters along. I found out why when horsemen turned up and used the wooden rail that I had blocked, to tie up their steeds. (we took a lot of horse manure home that day for the window boxes.)   Today, there was a gathering of Hunters, runners, rifles and their dogs,,, so I did not stop, but carried on passed towards "Roque Imonde".  I stopped where I could see there was a fantastic view over the whole of the South of Tenerife.

I was alone with the wind and the clouds; that was until a minibus turned up and out poured a dozen or so Para-Gliders. Well, my climb could wait, couldn't it? To be right beside these guys when they launched themselves off the precipice was too good a 'photo challenge' to miss.   So.... here's a few shots.

It only takes them a few minutes to get organised, uncross their lines, cross their hearts and wait for that all important little puff of wind that will transform them from ugly ducklings into soaring eagles.

The hunting dogs that were running around did not perturb them in the least.... and suddenly they had all taken flight and I was all alone again!

Well, there you go...... Out of the blue...... pretty cool!   huh!        I wonder if I'm too overweight to have a go?  (stop daydreaming son)

The day was still young so I turned on my booted heels and dragged myself towards that Peak I wanted to climb. It looked more and more impressive the closer I got. The ridge I followed was easier than I thought and there was only a few places where I had to scrabble and finally I got to a point where I could get no further without some rope and climbing gear. Prudence is a marvellous thing. Especially as I was on my own!

To complete my day, I did as much of a circuit as I could and took in the breathtaking views. The camera was always busy and ready as was my handheld gps. (I was hoping to get to the summit and record the height.) All the hunters were way below and only little dots of mischief ....but their whistles and calls were still carried to me with the bay of the dogs as they caught a sense of their prey.

I came down with something nagging at my mind, but what was it? It persisted all the way to the bottom, until I realised that I had left my gps .......up ....there.... somewhere.   Yes, there were a few expletives on the way back up and it is always at these moments that your mobile rings.... and what is the first questions they ask?
Its always, " where are you and what are you doing?"
So......   if ever you ring me and ask similar questions ...... be prepared.