Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, January, 2019
For someone who sees mostly the downside to most
anything, and the thought of travel evokes mainly air pockets and air turbulence (this time, the presence of the Dalai La ma and Bishop Desmond Tutu via their "The Book of Joy" and those of actors Glenn Close and Jonathan Price via the wonderful movie The Wife helped me with my fears; also turbulence was not so violent) missed connecting flights, sprinting across miles like a maniac at the
airport to make it to the gate before the plane will be airborne, and all the
other things that can go wrong, it is amazing that I have travelled to so many not
just places but continents on the globe. Mostly for pleasure and only because
the husband is, in my opinion, addicted to travel. It’s like a drug counselor being married to a
drug addict.
My latest trip was to Tenerife, Canary Islands,
Spain. About twenty-five years ago, a Sesame Street Producer with whom I had a
brief professional connection raved about how Canary Islands were his most
favorite place in the whole world! Now, when I myself experienced the unique
setting and beauty and history and architecture of this place, I could see why.
I actually did not want to return. I wish there was a direct flight to
Tenerife. Because of this lack, one needs to be air borne about eleven hours
with one stop minimum.
Talking of the downsides to travel, for a trip to
come together in every way, the preparation has to begin several months in
advance unless you are the kind who can go with the flow and roll with the
punches and enjoy surprises both good and bad. Adventurous as I am, I still like only the pleasant variety which this
time was the appearance of a young cat that made himself at
home in the casa where we stayed in Tejina, a province in the San Cristobal de
La Laguna municipality.
Though the trip was a huge success where almost
everything went like clockwork, including cooperation from the rain gods, the
trip began with a glitch. The GPS in the SUV initially spoke only Spanish and it
took us a while to figure out how to make her speak English. By this time, we
were royally lost. An eight-kilometer distance from the airport to Complejo
Rural Finca el Picacho turned into multiples of this number and by the time we
found our address I almost collapsed. After this initial faux pas, which only
the next day I realized happened because in the GPS’s address box, instead of
Tejina I had input San Cristobal de La Laguna because in the address provided by Booking.com our booking company, Tejina was missing. After returning I emailed Booking.com to add Tejina to this address. Lesson learned. Luckily the local hand-drawn map given us by the property owner on our first day helped us with our eventually returning home as when we showed this map to a local in La Laguna, he said that our correct location was Tejina not La Laguna. Now our GPS took us back home. But ending up
in La Laguna did help with our visit to this must-see place the next day.
Our Cottage
Our New Family Member, the restless, hard-to-photograph, 2-year-old "Baby"
Sunday we went to Puerto de La Cruz, a stunning
coastal place with great architecture and ocean views and black sand beaches.
Got there close to 1 p.m. Spent the rest of the day here after parking our car
at Loro Parque for 4 euros till 6:45 p.m. We planned on returning the next day
or the following to see Loro Parque (https://www.loroparque.com/index.php/en/).
We returned on Monday as we reserved Tuesday for Tiende (http://www.tenerife.es/portalcabtfe/en/discover-tenerife/que-ver/parque-nacional-del-teide)
and Wednesday for the Monkey Park in Azul. Oratova (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Orotava)
was not on our list but during our research on Wednesday night, we learned
about this place and yes, it is a must-see place. We went there on Thursday.
Three hours should be plenty. Paid public parking may be the only option for
parking.
On Monday, things got
a bit derailed but we still managed to visit the Monkey Park, a unique place (http://monkeypark.com/en/).
On Tuesday, went to
Loro Parque. It was a fantastic experience. Six hours would be a good amount of
time to spend here.
Puerto De La Cruz
Loro Parque
Monkey Park
Monkey eating cookie handed to him by me
He also stole from someone!
On Wednesday, went to Anaga (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macizo_de_Anaga),
another must-see place but no need to spend more than an hour hiking as better
things await you in Taganana (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taganana).
The
climb up to Taganana with its hairpin turns just like in the case of the ascent
to Tiende is for thrill seekers or fools or both. Depending upon who you are
you can decide to go or not.
Anaga
Taganana
Part of Thursday was at Oratova and the afternoon
back at Puerto de La Cruz for coffee and cake in the promenade along the
shoreline and another must-see, Risco BelloAquatic Gardens
Oratova
Risco Bello
One needs a minimum of six days in Tenerife to
really enjoy it, a vehicle of your own, and a driver who has good instincts and
a good back. Also a translation app is a great idea. This allows you to not only to communicate with the natives but also with people from around the world who you inevitably meet at such destinations.
If only there was direct a flight to Tenerife!
Ciao!
