Since my husband’s brother and his wife with two children moved to Spain
for half a year we decided to visit them in Tenerife. We stayed with them for a week in Los
Gigantes which is a small resort town in the south of the island populated with
older couples and families with children. The impression, in general, was that
half of Europe moved to the south of Tenerife to escape the winter on the
continent. The hotels, restaurants and shops were mainly catered to tourists
and were overpriced and often bad quality.
Nevertheless, if your goal is to sunbathe and to let children play in
the sand then it may be better to choose the south since it is colder in the
north. In Los Gigantes, the main attractions were a small marina and a tiny
black sand beach with a view of Los
Gigantes, majestic rocks. Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be worse
than usual (around 16 degrees C) and my baby son and I got sick. This is what
happens when you expect hot weather and end up wearing sandals and tank tops
since this is all what you brought. Besides spending time in bed, I spent most
of the time in a main town square in a café where there was an internet
connection. There seemed to be a problem with internet all over Tenerife, as many
rental properties are not connected.
One day we departed from Los Gigantes’ marina to take our little niece
on a pirate ship to see dolphins and wales. We saw a big group of dolphins and
wales but the sea had many waves which made our whole group loose our
breakfast, except the baby who was content as long as sun was not shining in
his face. There was no desire for paella served on a ship after this experience…
Probably the best trip from Los Gigantes is to drive to a pleasant
village Masca taking winding roads with hairpin bends and enjoying views of deep and
green ravines. The village was unknown until recently and its small Bay of
Masca is reputed to have been a pirate hideaway. To get there, you have to walk
in a steep gorge through dramatic rock formations and lush green flora. The
tourist information said that the walk will take three hours but our party with
children made it in 2hours 10 minutes. It was a record, especially bearing in
mind that my husband’s brother carried a 2.5 year-old daughter on his back and
a 3 month old in the front and my husband carried our son. In the end of the
picturesque walk, we had a picnic on the coast and waited for a boat to take as
back to Los Gigantes. We didn’t dare to take the same way back, which would
have required a lot of effort on our part and much more time. Only my husband
ran up the mountains to get the car left in Masca (in 55minutes!) but he has a
high level of fitness.
During the second week, we explored the north of Tenerife where we discovered
more culture, history and green nature than in the south. A real cultural
experience was attending the Carnival of
Santa Cruz, which is the second biggest after Rio Carnival. We stayed at
the hotel Principe Paz located right
in the central square of Santa Cruz where all the fun was taking place. The
carnival festivities started with a selection of the Carnival queen in an extravagant
gala. The nominees were judged by their beauty, grace and costumes. 2012 queen’s dress was called Imperio:
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| Tenerife Magazine |
The carnival, as a non-stop party, lasted for a week. 2012 carnival’s theme was flower power so the streets were full of
hippy dresses and costumes decorated with flowers. The Grand Parade on Tuesday was impressive as the queen, queen
nominees, salsa and marching bands and other participants floated by. After the
parade was over, buses decorated in flowers drove in the main avenue blasting
popular DJ music from the 70s. The fireworks culminated the excitement the day
was still not over. Discotheques in the street lasted into the wee hours of the
morning, as popular DJs played current hit music.
On Ash Wednesday, we went shopping since Santa Cruz offers tax free
merchandise. In the evening, we did not expect that the Burial of Sardine would be even more impressive than the Grand Parade. As we were having dinner around 8pm the
streets were empty and we were disappointed not to see any festivities.
Nevertheless, around 11pm black creatures started emerging from the corners.
Those were black widows, mostly men
dressed as women, ready to mourn the
death of the sardine. It was quite a show as the costumes rivaled each other
and the “widows” shed tears and many had a story to tell. As the “widows” with
elaborate costumes marched down the main streets the Sardine proceeded to her
burial grounds.
Amazingly, our son slept deeply as the huge noise blasted all
around us. Around 2am the fire was lit and the Sardine expired in the flames
with fireworks. It was interesting to find a similarity with a Lithuanian
tradition practiced during the Shrove Tuesday when a rag doll is burned to
symbolize the end of winter. Following the burial of Sardine, the dancing and
drinking in the streets lasted until the morning again. We were wondering the
whole time how the Canarians go to work the next day, especially if they party
like this every night. The carnival ended with Piñata weekend and renowned entertainment and clouds of
confetti in the streets of Santa Cruz.
The city of Puerto de la Cruz had its own carnival. We went there on
Friday night to see the High Heels
Marathon. Again, men were dressed as women and were wearing high heels and
platform shoes. They were in teams dressed in costumes reflecting some kind of
theme. For example, there was a group, which wore costumes covered in threads
and buttons and had sewing machines planted on their heads. The marathon itself
was more like a slow walk than a run since the participants were exhibiting
their costumes and falling sometimes from their towering heels. Finally, we escaped the crowds to have seafood
at Cofradía de Pescadores, enticing
with its contemporary and airy design.
After partying in the carnival, we were happy to rest and to visit less
crowded places in the north of Tenerife. For a few days, we stayed in the apartment
in a country house which had a nice garden with flowers, cactuses and orange and avocado trees,
and even offered a sauna and jacuzzi. The owner was an interesting and helpful
German lady who was born in Mexico and decorated the apartment in her handmade
art with some Mexican touches.
The location of the house was convenient to see what the north of
Tenerife has to offer. The town of Orotava charmed us with its Renaissance mansions, churches, squares
and well manicured gardens. It had an aristocratic
atmosphere since it was home to many of the island’s wealthiest and noblest
families who settled here after the Spanish conquest to grow sugar, vines and
bananas in the surrounding valley. We drove through some of banana plantations
to get to a restaurant El Calderito De La Abuela with a beautiful ocean view and delicious and authentic local cuisine.
The
well-preserved old town of San Cristóbal
de La Laguna is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This historic town served as
Tenerife’s capital until 1821 and is a gateway to Anaga Mountains. These breathtaking mountains, covered in lush
laurel trees and ferns and intersected by deep ravines, offer many splendid
hiking trails. They were surprisingly not touristic and a nice change from the
beach scene.
We took a winding and steep road through
Anaga to get to Taganana, a fishing village, which offers a
spectacular panorama of the ocean. We devoured fresh seafood dinner in one of
the restaurants on the nearby point while watching the sun setting in the rocks
in the ocean.
A group of daring Canarians who swam in the cold ocean told us
that this hidden spot is one of the best on the island and advised us to stay
away from populated beach towns. If you look for another pleasant restaurant
with a view of the ocean, just such called La Caseta it is located in a small village Punta de Hidalgo.
No visit to Tenerife would be complete without a visit to Teide National Park, another UNESCO
World Heritage site, to see Teide volcano, the highest Spanish peak. The park
provides evidence of the geological processes that
support the evolution of oceanic islands and atmospheric conditions, which create
a unique landscape.
It also has many walking trails leading through pine trees.
After a long walk we were happy to discover a local restaurant near the parking
lot. It was crowded with sporty locals who came to ride bikes in the park and
the elderly who chatted away and enjoyed the sun by the entrance. The best
surprise was the menu of the day. Without an explanation, the waitress just
took me into the kitchen and showed huge pots with five different kinds of
homemade stews.
Typical Canarian dishes include varied stews made with fresh fish, vegetables,
meats, watercress, and beans. We also recommend to try Rabbit in
Salmorejo Sauce with local spices.
The food is usually accompanied with papas arrugadas, "wrinkled potatoes" which basically are potatoes with peel cooked in salted water and served with green and spicy orange sauce known as mojo.
In addition to the islands' mojos, another fundamental product to Tenerife's food dishes is what's known as "gofio canario," which is a locally produced flour created by grinding roasted sweet corn and other toasted grains.
