Postcard from Tenerife - 2

Icod de Los Vinos is the quiet town where I have lived for many years, it is in the north of an island, far away from the city. A walk down the main road is quite pleasant with coffee shops dominating the street. Many people come here from different parts of the island mainly for shoe shopping and for typical Canaria cuisine. The lane is narrow, one-way street with foot path separating the cobbled motorway by only a different smooth tile, there is no elevation, no step, it's a very comfortable walk, with plants and benches, at regular intervals, all the way.

The streets become alive at 9am. Every shop owner takes the responsibility of cleaning the area around his shop and that includes sweeping the foot-path outside his store too.

The cafeteria along the path, have their chairs spread on the foot paths. Parents, who leave their children to the school, come for a cup of coffee and a little chit-chat with their friends before they can get back to their routine work. 

All the stores are closed during lunch hour from 1pm to 5pm, it’s the siesta time, people have their hearty lunch and settle down to watch their favorite TV soap or watch a game of football. Market becomes alive again from 5pm to 8pm.

All shops close by 8pm, the locals will either head towards the night clubs, social groups, casinos or go for long walks along the coastal areas or simply settle down to their quiet life in pajama to watch the TV programs till their eyes droop off to sleep.

In the City of Dolls and Bears

Driving around the North of Tenerife, I noticed this sign ‘ARTlandya Dolls Museum’. I got interested because I love dolls. I have this hobby of making handicraft stuff with dolls as my specialty. I have made all kinds of stuffed dolls, Manipuri dancers, Rajasthani brides and grooms, villagers, college girls, tea pickers, etc. I don’t have any dolls with me right now, because each time I made, it got adopted. Had I collected them, I would have more than 50 dolls with me but it was difficult to find place to store my artwork, I was only too happy to give them away to anyone who appreciated.

“Where is this dolls museum?” I asked my niece

“It is in Santa Barbara, a town famous for its’ wine”

“Oh! So close to Icod de los Vinos. I want to go” said I

We drove up the main street, off Calvario lane, through narrow streets, winding through farms and chalets, colorful buildings, a convex mirror at every turn guided us of the traffic at blind spots, we turned into a steep hill, to arrive at ARTlandya Dolls Museum.

The sweet fragrance of Bougainvillea and other flowering plants transported us to a different world.  This was a beautiful farm of 11,000 square meters, separated on different terraces with breath-taking view of Mount Teide on one side and the sea view below. The weather was cool, with sun hidden behind the clouds, giving a blazing glance at regular intervals. The fresh air passed from the mountain towards Atlantic sea, stopped by to touch us, leaving behind the cool sensation under our skin.

We were warmly greeted by George Taupe, who has worked hard, brick by brick, building this museum to house the collection of more than 400 dolls and stuff toys of different shapes and sizes. George guided us as we walked up the concrete steps to enter three inter-connecting rooms that had many teddy bears and stuffed dolls.

The dolls had expressive eyes that told a story, one doll also had a tear in her eyes and it looked so real.

The teddy bears had a cheeky looks with playful poses. Apparently, the teddy bears are named after Teddy Roosevelt, former U.S. president. The story goes that on a hunting expedition, he saved a baby bear and this was much publicized, so much so, that a toy company made a baby bear in his honor. This became such a craze that they named after Teddy, hence teddy bear.

The teddy bears and dolls seemed to live in perfect harmony, each complementing the other.

We walked out to the sloping path passing through cascading fruit trees, trailing flowered plants, waterfall and fish pond to reach to the other side, that opened into two-adjoining rooms. There were many more adorable dolls made of porcelain, wood, wax and other materials from various studios all over the world.

I have no idea if they spoke to each other when they were on their own, but while I was there, I saw them standing/sitting in an inert positions, as if frozen in mid-sentence. More fragile one sat in the cabinets, while the bold ones stood out in groups.

In one small corner of the museum, there was a workshop, where there were limbs, glass eyes, doll’s hair scattered on the table, waiting to be assembled, the doll’s unfinished faces stared at me, their expressions real, some threatening. There were acrylic paints, brushes of various sizes, molds and even an oven for the curious tourist who would like to see the demonstration.

A small souvenir shop with a small cafeteria dominates one terrace. I met Ingrid Taupe, who is behind this creativity and has an artistic eye for new recruits; She started her collection twenty years ago fired by her art studies. George and Ingrid Taupe have a similar museum in Carincia in south of Austria too and they have gradually transferred their collection to their new destination at Artlandya.

Over the hot cup of coffee and cup cakes, we cemented our friendship, sharing our common interest of art and food.

If you like nature and are looking for peace and serenity, sitting on those wooden chairs and sipping a hot cup of coffee after a tour around dolls museum, is the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Street plays at the plaza

Last week end there was a parade of street performers out side my shop in Icod de los Vinos. The actors were dressed in colorful costumes and were seen parading the lanes. They were talented artists who performed with great skill. I particularly liked this show of people dressed in toys costume. This was the show performed with great skill. There were actors dressed in musical toys suits and were seated together. The show started with the woman oiling each and every toy and moving them one by one. There was a back ground sounds of machine creaking as she moved the limb of the toys, Then she started the music from her gramophone and they moved slowly and stiffly. The movement of the actors was very controlled. There were tin soldiers, a teddy bear, a rag doll, a joker, a dancing doll and each toy had its own rhythm of dance. It was a pleasure watching the show and it was quite amazing to watch them move in rhythm with the music, falling out of shape when the music failed. The show was quite entertaining.

Traditional night of Parrandos

Every Spanish person, whom I meet, seems a happy person. I have yet to see a frown on their face. Well they have reason to be. During these four months that I have been here in Tenerife, I have noticed that there has been festival every week-end at some or the other part of this island. Lucky people, they have just siesta and fiesta. The part of the island where I am staying there is tranquillity at all times. People walk at their own pace, no one is in hurry to reach anywhere, their working hours are only from 9am to 1pm and then from 4pm to 8pm. And between one and four, I don’t see anybody on the road except few cars crossing the village. Sometimes, when I am walking on the streets during those hours, I can even hear my own footsteps. I get surprised, when people who know me, stop their car in the middle of the road to chat with me and nobody is honking...how strange! Nobody is honking! During the evenings, I see them in the clubs, watching football match or reading paper, and in the residential areas, I see people sitting outside their home and chatting with their neighbours, most of them might be planning for the next week-end party. This weekend there was an event at the fiesta called Parrandos. I was interested and I asked my brother to take me. We went there around 10pm, and streets were lighted and alive with smiling faces. All the people were dressed in their traditional clothes and formed their own group and sang the folk music. There were many different groups at various tables, each group had their own their traditional dress. Every table had peanuts, gofio (a sweet dish made of flour) and bottles of wine which they had in between their own traditional songs and music. There was a surprised meal too (a special treat) and I was tempted dig into that plate of corn and meat. The party went on for another two hours and was followed by another party for younger groups,

A strange car on the road

Late in the evening on my way to Puerto de la Cruz, I saw this car driving at a slow speed, blocking the traffic. Finally we over took this car to say the good bye to its bonnet But this is no ordinary car. This is a classic car that was winding through the curves at its own slow speed. This is a car that you don’t see them on road anymore. Today was its day out to meet other similar cars Those other antique and classic cars that it had met during the day, parked in San Sabastian street, in Icod De Los Vinos. They all stood proudly, in their shiny body, happily posing for the passing photographers. See more pictures of other antique cars on my facebook page

Dinner at ´La Centinela´

In Icod de los Vinos, the North of the island of Tenerife, there is a popular Canarian restaurant, La Centinela, the Asador, that everybody is talking about. They say that it serves the best roasted chicken. My family and I visit this restaurant during the dinner time. The place is quite crowded and we wait for our turn. We get our table for six people after 15 minutes wait and immediately on seating, before we can place our order, a bread basket arrives with two aniseed bread and four small butter packets. We place the order of roasted chicken and roasted pork, while munching on bread and butter. My brother and his wife are veggie and there is not much selection for them to order except salad, white cheese and fried potatoes. While we wait for the order, my gaze shifts to the clean walls that have various painting of sceneries and art work of Tenerife. There is a bar on one side, where people are having their drink while waiting for their tables. There are two TV’s installed on two corners of the restaurant. Canarian are very fond of watching Foot ball match and the restaurants that have TV are normally populated with diners. On the next table, opposite me, there is a group of four people, two females and two males. I see them dipping their bread in one common plate of mutton gravy that they have ordered while they wait for their roasted chicken to arrive. (Why didn’t I think of that?) The presentation of food is good. Roasted chicken is served with fried potatoes and salad. There is a special mojo, (a memorable sauce,), served with potatoes, that has a very tangy taste. Spanish don’t eat chillies at all, nor any chutneys. Only a mild tobasco is served with the meals. For five euro a dish, the presentation and the service is good, however, the chicken is not as juicy as I had expected. It is over cooked and hard, and without spices it is like eating a boiled meat coated with a brown, slimy garment. It is difficult for me to finish it but a pleasant surprise for my dog who is pleased to bless me for the bland food which is perfectly healthy for him.

World Tourism Day

This Saturday, a ´World Day of Tourism ´ was celebrated in Icod De Los Vinos. There was a parade of musician dressed in the traditional clothes on the streets. Different workshops were organised in the park where children learnt to make toys from plywood, tins, wires and bamboos Some of the children enjoyed wheeling around in the home made carts.

Poetry and Story telling Performance.....

Last evening, I was invited for music, poetry and story-telling performance by a famous group of Tenerife called Sol Y Sombra. After dinner, we went to ´´Casa de Los Caceres´´ which is a heritage building, in Icod de Los Vinos, made of wood and stones. During day, there are many art exhibitions held in this place which exhibits the art and culture of Canarias. The show was held in the patio of this cultural centre and we were greeted with a glass of iced-gin tonic with basil leaves, and we sat there under the open skies, sipping the drink and watching the show. The patio, which is in the centre of the building, is surrounded by wooden windows of all the exhibit rooms, and it was from one of those windows, that we heard the musical voice of a singer, we looked up and saw him move from one window to another with a candle in his hand, his song resonating the patio as he walked down the steps behind the patio and he finally emerged the patio to present the show. The mood was set. There were musicians playing guitar/piano and the two artists who kept us captivated with their songs, poems and animated stories. There was a good interaction between the live music and the song. After each performance, the actors and musicians kissed each other expressing their gratitude and there was loud applause. The audience clearly mesmerised, wanted as many story telling performances as they could get. One could see that each artist performed with great passion, showing stunning melodic creativity and an ever fertile imagination. Although I am not too fluent in my Spanish, I could still follow the story from their powerful expressions. Such was the show that has clung to my memory and I am still relishing the tunes…..

Home at last....

It took me nearly 24 hours to reach home in Tenerife and that includes flight time and transit time spend at the airports. My route was from Mumbai to Paris to Madrid to Tenerife. It felt like I have never been away although I am returning after three years. I live in a small town called Buen Paso, which is about 45 minutes from Los Rodeos airport in the north. I love the view on route, the streets are clean and colourful, and there is variety of flowers growing wildly on both sides of the road, red, yellow, orange, green, the sight is a treat to the eyes. Tourism is the main industry of Tenerife and every effort is made by the government to make the city worth its name. Road leading to my house View from my balcony. There are row houses opposite my house, each house is distinct from other by color. on left is the view of Atlantic ocean behind my house is new hospital which is still under construction and from my terrace there is a view og Teide, which is a dormant valcano and quite a tourist attraction.