Tenerife in Bloom

Tajinastes in Vilaflor

Recently, I have been training in the Tenerife hills for my imminent Pennine Way hike in the UK by carrying my rucksack weighing around 13 kilos, which is roughly what I'll be carrying on the walk. During my training I have been impressed by the beautiful floral displays I have seen on my walks, which as most of them have been in the south of the island has only highlighted that despite what many people believe, the south of the island is not a barren wasteland, good only for sunbathing or propping up a bar. The area around Vilaflor has been particularly stunning this year, helped no doubt by the rain in the winter and reinforced by a rather late season day of rain a couple of weeks back, which left Teide with a covering of snow in April! The Vilafor/Ifonche region has been a riot of colour with the dominant bloom being the California Poppy, although there have also been plenty of Corn Poppies as well. In the main plaza in the centre of Vilaflor, there were fine displays of the red Tajinastes just coming into bloom when I paid a visit the other day.