Well we are in Tenerife today. We arrived as the sun was breaking at 7.50am or there about. It is interesting that the sun is not setting till after 8.30pm at the moment.
We were booked on a ship’s tour that left at 9.30am which was a civilised time. We left about 5 mins early but due to a bicycle race some of the main streets were closed which meant that it took us longer than normal to get out of the port and through the city as we were heading for the mountains. Our tour was titled Northern Panorama and shows what Teneriffe is really like so we were told.
The ship was berthed in Santa Cruz which is the capital. The tour started with a drive into the mountains of Anaga, with a brief stop at the fishing village of San Andres. This beach has golden sand that has been imported as most of the sand on the island is black. There weren’t many people on the beach and only 2 old guys braving the water. We then headed for El Bailadero viewing point where we saw spectacular mountainous scenery. At the village of Taganana we were greeted by a sea of white houses perched on the side of a steep hill with an old church as the centrepiece. The church service was just starting as we entered the church. There were only a handful of people attending the service and this church houses the figure of ‘Our Lady of the Snows’. Local wine and goats cheese with delicious Spanish bread was served in a local restaurant with an amazing view of the valley. Not a bad way to start off a Sunday!! On our way back down the mountain we went to a view area where you can view the north and south side of the island but the fog had descended so we had to descend under the cloud to enjoy the view which we did eventually see. Our tour ended with us being dropped at 1.30pm into the main city area of Santa Cruz where we wondered around in the beautiful sunny afternoon taking in the sites of the city including all the beautiful old buildings and well manicured parklands. Most of the shops were closed other than the odd souvenir shop but there were a lot of locals out enjoying their Sunday in the parks with their families. We stopped at a local café where there seemed to be lots of locals eating and had some tapas and beer and wine which was quite pleasant. We headed back to the ship and sailed out of Tenerife around 6pm. We both thoroughly enjoyed Tenerife and would be happy to come back and explore further.
Some facts:
- Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands.
- Mount Teide is still an active volcano and is 3,718m above sea level
- Has an area of 795 sq miles
- Currency is euro
Next port Madeira….
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