Our port of call today was one of the Canary Islands - Tenerife and the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the archipelago. These islands off the coast of West Africa belong to Spain. Tenerife is one of the most popular destinations for tourists with up to seven million tourists annually. Incredible. The population of Tenerife is about 208,100 people that are mainly Catholic and speak Spanish and some English. The total square kilometers of this island is 150.6, and with four cruise ships including us visiting today, it should be crowded.
Tenerife is one of the busiest ports in Spain with fast ferries and merchant ships here. And the city has the most shops in the Canary Islands. So what keeps them going is trade, tourism, import and exports, and being the seat of government. One of the biggest Carnaval parades in the world happens in Tenerife. The locals are big on the night life and theaters. Plaza de Espana is the largest square in all of the islands. Fishing is a major industry with 7500 tons of fish caught a year. And what surprises a lot of visitors is that most all of the beaches are black volcanic sand and extremely hot during the summertime. One of the famous beaches imported pure white sand from the Sahara Desert to cover the black sand. Smart.
Their favorite food is fish, wrinkled potatoes, and rabbit stew. Their number one crops are bananas, and all types of veggies like onions, garlic, potatoes and tomatoes. There are substantial numbers angel sharks in the waters, a type we are not familiar with. By the way, the temperature of the sea water is in the high 50's. Cool. During the months of March to May, and September and October, it can be very windy here as well as cold at night. And one interesting fact is that when shopping, don't buy fake brand like purses and watches and expect to get them through customs at the airport. They will be confiscated.
And there were some tours here today. Mount Teide in Depth was 8 hours for $80, while Anaga Mountains and Colonial La Laguna was 4 ½ hours for $80. Santa Cruz and the Pyramic Park was 4 hours for $85. Gardens of the Valley was 4 ½ hours for $90. Tenerife Adventure in a 4x4 vehicle was 4 ½ hours for $140.
There were two things that stood out this morning. One was that we were already docked well before 8am, and second - we had absolutely no TV reception. Only the movie channel was working, and we know those are pre-recorded, not live TV. This was exactly what happened when we were here two years ago. Every possible excuse was given by the front desk people, except the real reason for the interruption. We were told today that the local government demands that all ships turn off their access to the satellite TV. Why, when no one else in the world does that? We do not know. There were three other ships in port which were the Ponant Le Bellot, the P&O Arcadia, and the largest ship, the MSC Splendida. Local ferries had their own terminal and were Armas and Fred Olsen. We assume all of the ships were in the "same boat" with the TV reception.
Last night, we had been given a note stating that today between 9am and 3pm, our carpets would be shampooed. It would take only 10 minutes per room and we need not be present while the work was taking place. After breakfast, we did see the fellows working about 5 rooms up the hallway, but when they got close to us, they knew we were still here, and went down the hallway so as not to disturb us. Hope they come back….
We left the ship by 10am and remembered that two years ago, we had been docked across from here on a long pier where we walked to town. Today we were given the closest spot to town, but we were at the Cruise Terminal where technically, it was more complicated getting off of the ship. There was a zig-zag gangway to the multi-level terminal where we took two escalators to access the ground floor. Once down on ground level, we followed the green and blue lines in the walkway which led us through a parking lot and a small marina. Then there was a pedestrian bridge that went over the highway and brought us to one of the main streets in town.
When we passed through the terminal, we had picked up a nice pocket map. This was a good time to study it so we knew the sights we were looking at along the way. One of us loves maps, while the other one of us depends more on previous visits and is able to navigate quite well like a homing pigeon. Well that seemed to work best today, because the street names in town seemed to change every single block. The cross streets do the same thing. Good grief. Whoever came up with that idea had the intentions of confusing the tourists that were visiting for the first time. Many countries do this with their streets like Mexico, Central and South America, and most of the Latin countries in Europe. Maybe someone reading this has the simple explanation to this street-naming practice.
Our hike had taken us to the Plaza de Espana, but instead of following the crowd, we turned left and walked the seaside road. That took us past Iglesia de Concepcion Cathoilc church and rhe clocktower that was covered for repairs we assume. Further up this road we saw a museum, Palacio of Justice, and the very ultra-modern Auditorio aden Martin.
Also on the way, we saw two construction rigs in the water near the shoreline. One turned out to be Floatel Reliance. We researched this rig and discovered it was accommodations for 500 offshore workers that are involved with construction in harsh sea conditions in the Gulf of America, the South Pacific, and Brazil. It was built in Singapore in 2010 and includes a gallery, a mess, cinema, an internet café, outdoor recreation and a gym, a hospital and a helicopter pad. There are rooms for up to four people with private bathrooms, similar to a cruise ship. Who knew?
It was here that we crossed the road and over the LRV (light rail vehicle) tracks and headed up a street that eventually took us to the Mercado Municipal Nuestra Senora de Africa, or the African Market. Although we did not research this market, we are sure it has something to do with the slave trade centuries ago. There are sculptures and monuments dedicated to some famous African people in the front of the market. There was a lot to see in this market which has a central courtyard surrounded by food, fresh meat, and fish stalls as well as fruit and veggie stands. In addition, many vendors have tables set up selling ceramics, costume jewelry, and artwork. The tiled columns and walls sure reminded us of Funchal instead of somewhere in Spain. On the lower level , there were some restaurants. It was very busy here today with locals buying food and really nice bakery goods. One of us did check out the souvenir tables, but it seemed every time I stopped to look, people crowded around me, so I left.
Upon leaving the African Market, we carefully crossed the roundabout and proceeded over an old bridge with a massive dry bed canal beneath. It must swell significantly when the rains come. Across the road, there was a group of uniformed kids on the way to the market, obviously on a field trip. They looked very happy to be out of the classroom on such a nice day.
Eventually, this street led to a mainly pedestrian street in the center of town with oodles of shopping, cafes, bakeries, and tiny boutiques. The small restaurants use the car-free street for outdoor dining. That happened where we live during the Covid crisis, and now that the scare is about over, these sidewalk tables have continued to be popular. We took advantage of the many benches along the way giving us the chance to watch the locals out and about. Many if them were elderly ladies walking their dogs or young ladies out with their babies for a stroll. One thing we noticed was that most all of the vehicles are small cars or mini vans. No big pick-up trucks here except for deliveries.
We followed the same side street we took uphill two years ago that led us past some very impressive colonial buildings, some of which were governmental and banks. Continuing uphill, we passed by a small hidden stone church right across from the Plaza Veinticinco de Julio in the center of the roundabout. The large tiled fountain and the surrounding tiled benches were quite pretty and colorful. Of course we tried out one of these benches before heading to a side street that took us to Parque Garcia Banabria. This park was very large and full of blooming jacarandas, camellias, and old growth ficus trees. We saw a huge fountain as well as a huge monument dedicated to Garcia Banabria of course. Following most of the paths planted with bamboo and bougainvillea, we exited the same way we had entered. On our way back, we ducked into the stone church for a moment, but were told by an English-speaking priest that they were locking up for the afternoon. At least we got to see the interior, but others behind us did not.
We knew there was a nice Italian restaurant on one of these side streets, but when we were here two years ago, it was a Sunday and they did not open until dinnertime. We could not find it, so we figured they had closed down. But we had done our homework before arriving here and knew of a 5 star restaurant in the Plaza de Espana closer to the ship.
Locating the main pedestrian street again, we headed downhill past all of the shops and high end stores to the Plaza de Candelaria and the corner where Compostelana was located. Our timing was just right arriving there around 1pm. The outside dining area was full, but we chose to go upstairs to their main restaurant. A handful of locals were there, which was good for us. The quietness was short-lived because of group of 25 guests filled the center tables of the restaurant. Within a half hour, the entire place was full.
We did not have to wait long for our two draft beers called Jarra Cruzcampo…very good. We chose a barbacoa chicken pizza topped with fresh tomatoes, onions, and mozzarella cheese, sprinkled with shredded parmesan. Our young Spanish waiter, Jose, was pleased that we liked the pizza and beer a whole lot. We added a dessert of a brownie with vanilla ice cream to share…also good naturally. By the time we left the main restaurant, there was not a table to be found inside or outside. Lunchtime for the Spaniards is later in the afternoon than what we are used to at home. In the same vein, dinnertime can be as late as 9 or 10 pm.
Our on way through the plaza, we stopped to buy a little keepsake of Tenerife, which was a string bracelet with Tenerife printed on a mini surfboard for a grand total of .99 Euro. The nice lady vendor even put it on my wrist before we left.
We decided to walk back to the ship along the main waterfront highway which had numerous names. There was a bridge crossing to the pier that led us right to the entrance to the terminal building. We passed through the xray, setting off the buzzer with my knee, which led to another pat down. It just comes with the territory now. We were back onboard by 3:30pm, having walked for over 5 hours. More than likely, we will feel that later on tonight.
Now that the sun had moved over the ship, we were in the shade, and it was cool enough to use a blanket outside on the veranda. We both made some progress with the dozens of photos and the "story" of our pleasant day in Tenerife. The Captain came on with his talk around 5pm, saying everyone was back onboard and we would be leaving around 6pm. Now we will have 161 nautical miles to reach the island of Lanzarote tomorrow. He expected 14 knot winds with a sea state of 3 feet and 71 degrees. Not much changes would be seen tomorrow. Good news.
Dinnertime found us ordering small pulled pork tacos, a bowl of pumpkin soup with pepitas, and one Caesar salad. Mains were chicken Cordon bleu with sliced potatoes and green peas with a dark gravy on the side. One scoop of rocky road ice cream each made us happy.
Once again, an entertainer from the Rolling Stones Lounge, Tempest B, sang some iconic songs from the World Stage. This has to be the first time that we can remember that the ship's singers took over a main show. But then, that is really a big savings for the company, isn't it? We are sure she was great, but we were so tired we missed it.
Ready or not….another port of Lanzarote tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
