Tag: Tenerife

Tenerife to La Gomera

When we walked back to the hotel last night after dinner about ten o’clock things were pretty quiet. There were only a few people on the streets. The party must have started after we went to bed. This morning we left the hotel at about 6:15 and the streets were packed. The crowds were beginning to head to the bus station as were we.

Partiers heading home after being up all night

We took a bus from Santa Cruz to Los Cristianos on the south end of Tenerife where we got on a ferry to La Gomera.

The ferry that took us from Tenerife to La Gomera.

At the ferry terminal in La Gomera we rented a car and drove to the La Gomera Parador overlooking the harbor.

The ferry terminal on La Gomera. Our Parador is on the cliff above it.

We took it easy for the rest of the day enjoying the balcony of our room and exploring the Parador.

Courtyard at La Gomera Parador.
Relaxing on the balcony of our room.

We ate dinner at the Parador.

Squid
Cold melon soup with ham.
Prawns.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

What a difference a day makes. Although it is still a bit hazy today you can see blue sky and the sand is gone from the air. When I woke up briefly at 4am I could still hear the party going on. But when we went out to get coffee around 9:30 it was very quiet and the street were being cleaned. Without the sandy air, pink skies and drunk partiers Santa Cruz is a much nicer place.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Street.

Museums are closed on Mondays and many of the stores are closed for Carnival. This afternoon we went for a long walk along the waterfront.

Offshore subsea construction vessel (OSCV) on the left and semi-submersible accommodation and construction support vessel on the right. On the Santa Cruz de Tenerife waterfront.

We ate dinner at a great restaurant called Etereo by Pedro Nel about half a mile from our hotel.

Crab salad to share
1.1 Kg Steak to share
Apple with cinnamon ice cream crumble to share

Tenerife Day 2 – Parador Cañadas del Teide to Santa Cruz de Tenerife

This morning we left the slopes of the Teida volcano and headed to Santa Cruz on the north east edge of Tenerife.

It was windy as we left and it kept getting more and more windy. The wind blew trees down and created quite an amazing drive. On top of that the wind is blowing massive amount of sand from the Sahara Desert over Tenerife. Visibility is almost zero and the sky is an eerie pink color. If you Google Tenerife dust storm you can see some amazing pictures of the dust storm from space. They call this weather phenomenon a Calima.

To add to the excitement Carnival is going on right now. Our plan was to check into our hotel, leave our bags, and then return the car to the airport. The plan basically worked out but we couldn’t drive all the way to the hotel. A lot of streets are closed for Carnival so we eventually found a place to park (probably illegally). I stayed with the car and Duke took the bags to the hotel and checked in. Then we found our way to the airport. No flights are flying in or out of Tenerife because of the dust storm. We turned in the car, took a bus into town and walked to our hotel.

We rested a bit then went out into the giant Carnival party, walked around and people watched.

Dinner

London to Tenerife in the Canary Islands

This morning we flew from London Gatwick to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The Canaries are a part of Spain. They are located off the northwest coast of Africa. The latitude is similar to the latitude of Florida.

Gatwick Airport
Gomera Island in the Canary Islands

The airport in Tenerife is right next to the ocean. We rented a car and drove to the Parador Cañadas del Teide. The Parador is at an altitude of about 7000 feet on the side of the the Volcano Teide in the middle of Las Cañadas Del Teide National Park. We explored a bit and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We can see the volcano Teide from the window of our room.

Viewpoint on the road to Teide National Park
Teide Volcano
Enjoying our welcome drinks in the Parador bar.

The road from the airport to our Parador was very good but also very narrow and winding. We saw a lot of bicycles both going up and coming down the road.

Parador Cañadas del Teide.

The height of the Teide Volcano is more than 12,000 feet. It is the highest point in Spain. There is a cable car (teleferico) that would take us to within 500 meters of the top of Teide but it is very windy here today so the cable car is closed. I don’t think we’ll hike up!

Our room price includes dinner and breakfast. We celebrated our first dinner in Spain and first Parador of this trip with an excellent meal

Tuna and a salad
Steak
Date ice cream with raspberry sauce