Oh my what a day. I think I have seen the most views/tourist attractions/places of interest ever in one day and have been literally around the whole of Tenerife.
The day started off quite cloudy when we got on the coach but it was still quite humid.
Our guide was a local called "Alexis" who had an inclination to keep saying " Remember" instead of "Remind" e.g "Let me remember you" every five minutes. But that was quite funny.
The first stop of the day was at the massive cliffs of Los Gigantes. as with alot of the views on the island you really have to be there to see how impressive they are.
The picture is quite deceiving to how big they actually are. see those tiny white dots at the bottoms of the cliffs, they are massive fishing boats !
Next was up to the mountains, after a stop off in a small village, to a truly amazing vantage point. Because we had climbed so high up the mountain in the coach, we had actually broken through the clouds and could see above them for miles. With no cloud clover the heat was searing up here.
We also had a very clear view of Pico Del Teide in the foreground, which even higher up still.
On the way we passed reminders of the forest fires that had swept through this region a month ago.
Next we visited a point above the town of garachico, at port that in 1706 was buried by the lava flow of a nearby Volcano. You can clearly see how the Lava had spread out when it had hit the sea after cascading down the mountainside in this photo. The town has since been rebuilt on top of the old one.
Icod Del Vinos, the home of the supposedly thousand year Drago Milenario Tree was our next stop along the coast. The tree is steeped in local legend and said to have once been worshiped by the Guanche people of Tenerife. The Drago trees are only found in the Canary Islands and haven't changed much since the time of the dinosaurs, hence their strange appearance and fascination.
Next we travelled to the mountainside town of La Ortova to the Casa de los Balcones (House of the Balconies). It was nearly 400 years old.
Also saw a peculiar named shop..
We stopped next in Puerto de la Cruz where we went to a restaurant called "Cafe Berlin" to have something to eat. But when the bill came it appeared that they hadn't charged us for the drinks, so we put the money on the table and ran like the wind !
I had a walk down the sea front and saw some old men feeding some pigeons, I don't think Id ever seen so many in one place before.
Next stop was Candelaria. Home of the the statue which is the patron saint of the Canaries , The Black Madonna. Apparently there are only 6 of the same kind in the world.
I went In the Basilica where the statue is kept and the atmosphere was very calming. As you would expect there was relative silence with everyone there just to see the statue.
Outside there stood 9 statues of the 9 Guanche Kings. They represent the 9 Guanche kings (oddly enough) who ruled the island and who had converted to Christianity on the arrival of the Spanish conquerors.
By now it was getting on in the day and the day had really tired me out, the next stop was back at the apartments.
Went out for a meal at some restaurant, that I have forgotten the name of. Had some fried mushrooms and Chicken in Roquefort sauce followed by Profiteroles. Was quite nice.
Went to a bar but only had one round of drinks on account of how knackered everyone was from all the walking in the day.Slept : )
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