Revisiting Tenerife

Last year, I went to visit my family in Tenerife, Canary Islands. I have lived in this island for more than 10 years, but after setting up my home in Mumbai, I visit Tenerife now as a tourist. It gives me pleasure to revisit those places where I have had some good memories and since I know every nook and corner of the city, I just go off on my own, visiting places of interest. It’s fun travelling by bus or tram, or just by foot and exploring the place behind my lens. I took many photographs this time and here I am glad to share my pictures at the Blogadda Travel Photos Competition where I can post only five of my favorite travel photos.

Mickey meets the kids

Tenerife is known for its fiestas and siestas. During my visit, there was this dance and drama festival in the town's public park and people dressed in Disney characters took part in the event, they walked down from the stage and interacted with the audience. Even though the elders knew the people behind the costume, they played along and showed excitement that matched the expressions of children. What I particularly like about this picture is the expression of awe and excitement on children’s faces.

Pinolere Craft Fair

I visited 'Pinolere Craft fair' in the Orotava valley. People dressed in cultural outfits were promoting their heritage and the culture to the tourist. Things made by Spanish craftsmen were on display that included handicraft, pottery, food and souvenir articles. I like the costumes of Tenerife and different suburbs have different costume although it might look the same to an outsider. Spanish are very proud of their culture; in fact, they have some festivals where you cannot even take part unless you are dressed as one. You have to rent out a costume to be able to participate in their traditional events of dance and drink. What I like about this picture is the scene they had created, displaying a typical Spanish rural village with women sitting and chatting after their day chores are done.

Youngsters play at the beach

On the day I visited the San Andres Beach, at Santa Cruz, it was a sunny day. Tenerife has beaches everywhere around the island, some have black sand, some grey and this particular beach had silver white sand that is imported from neighboring island, Lanzarote. I did not swim that day, I just soaked my feet and then came back to rest under tree (yes, there are trees planted at the beach for people to sit under its shade). My nephew stretched out on the sand, sun-bathing while his sister sat next to him, covering him with sand. What I like about this picture is the force of sand as it slips down her fingers.

Day out at Pueblo Chicco

My family and I visited Pueblo Chicco which is closer to Puerto de la Cruz. This is a curious and interesting place. Pueblo Chico is the theme park in Orotava that has all the monuments and important places of interest of Canary Islands designed in miniatures. Attention has been paid to all the details of the actual monuments around the city to build its replicas in miniatures. To give the correct perception of the miniature town that looked so real with building and cars, I asked my family members to stand behind this miniature architecture. What I like about this picture is the intelligence I have used while clicking this picture to show the actual size of the miniature town.

Antique Car Show

One early morning, my brother asked me to come to the store to see the antique car show. I dressed up and went as soon as I could and was amazed to see the row of about 40 cars in the lane outside my store. The cars were in good condition and each car had it own unique features. I went crazy walking up and down the cobbled street, peeping into every car through glass window to see inside of the car and I was not the only one, everybody was doing the same. The otherwise sleepy town had residents walking down this street, some seating on the corner coffee shop and my brother was happy with business he made on that day. What I liked about this picture was this woman who couldn’t stop admiring the car and she went all around the car several times watching it from every angle

There are many more pictures that are equally interesting, but these five were my favorite. I wish to thank Blogada and Pringoo for giving me an opportunity to share my joy.

Visiting Pueblo Chico in Tenerife

Have you ever wondered how Gulliver must have felt in the town of small people surrounded by tiny buildings? Pueblo Chico, a theme park in Tenerife does just that! A trip to Pueblo chico gives a feeling of being high above the buildings and having a bird’s view of the island. The only difference is that you are not likely to be tied down by the tiny strings and nails or trapped down by tiny men. Pueblo Chico is the theme park in Orotava that has all the monuments and important place of interest of Canary Islands in miniatures. Attention has been paid to all the details of the actual monuments around the city to build its replicas in miniatures. Pueblo Chico tells the story of Guanchas, the early inhabitants of Canary Islands in the Stone Age. There is a town created with mud and stones and people in miniature engaged in the different activities such as pottery, farming and hunting. Then there are funeral processions, religious and public gatherings giving a deep insight of the life styles of Guanchas during the stone age. Through the narrow curvy path, surrounded by foliage, shrubs and flowers, we move through the airport with airplanes and traffic, salt pans, villages, cross the highways with moving traffic, Titsa bus depot, trams and reach the towns that have heritage buildings and town halls and amazing architecture. We see the traffic and the people in size of a finger nail and the buildings the size of a fist. There were streams; there were waterfalls, the sea, the boats, the beach, the Volcano. Pueblo chicco has it all. We spent about two hours winding through the path. The fragrance of the flowers and the cloudy climate was the perfect day to spend the afternoon snaking through the flowered path and making a trip through this miniature island.