It was a very hot day in town, so, after lunch, we decided to go for a wander in the cool, or sometimes even cold, laurel forest of the Parque Nacional de Garajonay, a UNESCO world heritage site. We drove to and parked at Les Creces, near Las Hayes, for a circular walk through the laurel forest.
These forest are magical, grown as nature would dictate, without the intervention of any human cultivation. In fact, the only visibility of human presence is the walking trails through these forests. Dead and fallen trees in these dense woods form the basis for regeneration and new growth. Mosses and leichen trive on both dead and live trees. The only noise is comes from the wind in the trees and the deafening songs of birds everywhere. The sunlight streaking through the canopy and at times the clouds blowing through the trees complete the magic of these forests.