La Gomera, six stages straight up

13 September

First stage, the green north

After the journey, the first hike: 13 km and 1,000 m of ascent. The laurel forest and its mosses, aeoniums, palms, terraces clinging to dizzying slopes. So beautiful and so different, with a perfect temperature on the north side of the island. Our bags travel from hotel to hotel, we walk.

14 September

On to Vallehermoso

21.5 km and 1,350 m of ascent: a day billed as crazy, and so it was. How steep this island is, and how wonderfully beautiful. A glass viewpoint above the void, red earth tracks, roques standing on the ridges. And in the evening, from the little hotel, the "wall" we will have to climb the next day.

15 September

On to Chipude, 1,590 m of climbing

17.5 km and 1,590 m of ascent. A tough start, the engine needs warming up, but where there's a will there's a way. We set off in dry country, cross the mossy forest of the national park, then find the very dry again. So happy and so proud to have managed that climb.

16 September

La Fortaleza and the Garajonay

14.2 km, 800 m up and 970 m down. The highlights: the view of the table mountain of La Fortaleza, with a fabulous clearing at the start, and the island's highest point, the Alto de Garajonay at 1,487 m, above the clouds. The fog brings welcome coolness and a magical mood.

17 September

From Imada to Playa Santiago

16.4 km, 430 m up and 1,300 m down. Setting off from our perch in Imada, at around 1,000 m. We fall for a tiny abandoned village and start dreaming of turning it into an ideal place. Then a pass, and down into the canyon, with a pretty peak as a backdrop and more abandoned hamlets. A brush too close to the prickly pears, five endless last kilometres on the road, and at last the ocean.

19 September

The last stage, to San Sebastián

16.6 km, 760 m up and 1,400 m down. A downhill start, a ridge of rock walls, a sloping traverse where, for the first time, Emmanuelle thought about turning back. Then western landscapes, the bed of a former river under a few raindrops, and the deserted Playa de la Guancha for the promised swim. One last climb to San Sebastián.

In all, almost 100 km, 6,220 m up and 7,100 m down in six stages. And the urge to keep up the pace.

20–21 September

Tenerife, the Teide and Pico Viejo

Two days on Tenerife before heading home. A shock stepping off the ferry, so we leave the seaside at once and climb towards the Teide, onto Mars. A night in the national park, sunrise and sunset over the Roques and the Teide.

On waking, the hike to Pico Viejo: what looks close from the terrace is another story on the ground. A fine crater, a breathtaking view of the Teide, then back the same way, 8 km and 1,100 m of height difference over loose rock. To finish, the pretty village of Garachico.