Porís de Abona → Abades
An interesting walk along the east coast to the mysterious "ghost town".
We heard about the ruined and abandoned church, saw a few photos on the instagram and we had to explore it! Mostly nice buses run here on the island ... I'm always cold in them, because the air conditioning is going like crazy. This time it was an older bus with painted graffiti seats and glued chewing gum. The names of the bus stops were not even visible, as it is usual on the monitor in front and in the middle of the bus. We went by bus fast along the highway, the volcanic hills on the left side and the wide ocean on the right. Unfortunatelly we lost a track of time and it wasn't even clear where we were, so of course, we missed the Abades stop. Actually, it didn't even matter because we got off at the next stop in Porís de Abona and decided to walk from there to Abades.
We started the trail from the bus stop in El Porís by the highway. Firstly we had to reach the ocean coast. The path seemed to last long on the map, but fortunately you can find shortcuts with stairs down between the houses. The village of Poris de Abona on the east coast of Tenerife is especially favourite for fishermen and divers. For swimmers there is a small beach on one side or stairs directly to the depths on the other side, where there is beautifully clear water for snorkeling. Since I had a desire to discover something that day, we continued around the beach along a beautiful promenade with benches and trees, until we came to a dusty path, where the village ended.
The entire east coast of Tenerife is the windiest area of the island. Waves crashed one after another and along the way, one place, where the waves were hitting rocks a bit more, immediately captivated us. Of course we had to go to take some photos and videos to the complete edge of this rock and we got a shower and not just once. But the fun was taken care of!
We continued on a dirt path, and because the sun was shining insanely, as it is normal here, we quickly dried up. Along the way, we discovered some caves and came across a beautiful sandy beach hidden among the cliffs. It is marked on the map as Playa Grande and lies on the coast called Punta de Abona. This place also hides a bunker and the Secret Surfing School. We walked through the beach and climbed a hill covered with sand until we reached a small village with a few houses and a church, in front of which local women were sitting.
The journey to Abades continues by the lighthouse de Abona, which we passed in the distance. Since we didn't have much time, we didn't go closer and we continued towards our goal - the "ghost town" at Abades. It is an unfinished sanatorium actually, but the feeling that a walk through this place gave me, will never erase this nickname.
I was just expecting a church, which is marked on the map, and I was even more surprised by the many other ruined and abandoned buildings and houses that were supposed to belong to the sanatorium. We walked past them and peeked inside from time to time when it was possible and did not look too dangerous.
I was probably the most interested in the orange-colored building furthest from all the others. It may seem that someone might live there, but it is also deserted. A two floor house with a concreted main door, in front of which lies a collapsed colorful mosaic staircase. If you want to peek inside, the only option is to climb to the second floor on the balcony. I was mainly interested in the surroundings of the building, which seemed the most mysterious. A massive long table built of stone, a stone well with a wooden roof, or two places that looked like concrete children's pools. From this mysterious building you can walk to a small beach belonging to the village of Abades.
Finally, we arrived to a huge church with a giant cross above the main entrance and another one, hanging on the wall at the back inside the building. The interior of the church is freely accessible, so there is much to explore. That day we were so lucky to have a stunning sunset! The sky behind the church was slowly turning into a warm colours, and the church was like on fire. An infinity of small clouds appeared all over the sky, and next to the church was a beautiful view of the village of Abades. It is strange, how there are all residential houses built in the same style and painted white.
As it gets dark fast, we started to look for a way to the nearest bus stop. Since there is a ravine between the sanatorium and the village of Abades, which must be bypassed, we went from the church to the right on dirt roads till we reached one camp, from which the highway was already visible. In the end, it was a very nice walk along the coast and the best way to explore new places!
Tips for you
• The whole walk with breaks took us about 3 hours.
• Start the trail in the later afternoon - the road along the coast is arid and there is no place to hide from the sun.
• Find the bunker and caves I mentioned in the story.
• Explore the lighthouse you will encounter along the way.
• Enjoy the sunset overlooking the village of Abades from a mysterious ruined church.
• If you go to the sanatorium at Abades after sunset, it could be a great beaver of courage!!
• Sign up for the Secret surfing school - could be fun!