Visiting South of Tenerife

I am held hostage by this cruel, knife-edged cold. This kind of weather is common on my side of the island which is on the hilly regions of North of Tenerife. I have often subscribed to the idea of living in the South of this island, but my family prefer to live the quiet rural life of Buen Paso, which is beautiful, rocky stretch of coastline with green fields surrounding timeless villages, I get the view of calm sea and those picturesque sunsets whenever I am busy washing the utensils in my kitchen sink. But then geographically, this island is an area of contrasts and we only have to drive few miles and see a completely new world. This week-end, it took me one and half hour of driving through those curvy mountainous path that had luxuriant palm trees and deep green valleys, and then through the thick clouds that touched the wind sheet of my car, and finally emerging into the sunny side of the island, which is one high rise mega-resort. Los Cristianos, Playa de Las Americas and Costa Adeje make up the South of the island and it is here where most tourists are attracted to. Tourists are attracted by its bars and restaurants, all year round sunshine and fine beaches. The beaches have impressive amount of water sports on offer that include windsurfing, sailing and diving. There are sea fishing and whale watching excursions. There are theme parks such as water parks, Siam parks and go-karting tracks. There are golf clubs and every mode of entertainment. There is so much life there, a glitter world, with music and song everywhere. There are more than one thousand Indian families living on this part of the island, most of them having their own business of electronics, jewelry or restaurants. The working hours and the life style of Indian here are very erratic, with the shops doing business as late as 12pm and women and children jay walking as late as 10pm. This is in sharp contrast to the life style here in the North, where the shops close by 8pm and people are in bed by 11pm. It is the matter of choice.

A day out to a BBQ garden in Tenerife

When I reached the BBQ garden in ´La Vera´ my niece was already toasting pizza on the grill. She and her brother had gone early morning to the park to book the grill and the table in the park that had more than 20 long tables and equal amount of grill ovens. This was a very interesting park. The grill pockets were made, side by side, against the rock wall. This was a perfect place for a big family to lunch outdoors. We took marinated meat and sausages, pizzas, spring rolls and snacks and enjoyed the meals. There are many such BBQ parks all over the island which have all the facilities to make picnickers comfortable. A small restaurant, selling water, drinks and ice creams are quite convenient. The park was filled up by afternoon with picnickers celebrating a day out with music and dance. One group had a birthday celebration party and they had decorated their area of tables with balloon, lending it a festive air. The group sitting next to our table had great assortment of meals that included a big paella dish. Then was a noisy group on our right, who sang songs non stop for two full hours in the decibels that were louder than their instrumental music. BBQ parks in Tenerife are the smart places to hang around especially if you like to dine in the open space.

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,

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.

World Tourism Day on 27th September can be best celebrated in Icod De Los Vinos.

A theme for this year is ´Responding to the challenges of climate change and global warming. And Icod De Los Vinos challenges nature against all odd. A ten-thousand year old Dragon tree called Drago Millinario stands there erect in Icod De Los Vinos, greeting the tourists, who bend in all the possible angles to get the best shot of this tree which has the appearance of a giant frayed rope. People are fascinated by its unusual characteristics that include the gnarled wood, geometric buds and the sheer longevity of each specimen have earned it plenty of attention and respect over the years. Guanche ( the early inhabitants of Tenerife) elders and kings held court beneath the canopy of these trees, and the people believed the tree could foretell the future - a fine blossom pointing to a fine harvest. But the dragon tree's most striking feature - the bleeding of red rubbery sap, or dragon's blood, when cut - has not only given the tree its name, but has also been used in a wide variety of applications. The Guanches used it in various healing salves, to keep their teeth healthy and even in their mummification process. More recently it has been used as dye in toothpaste, marble, Italian violins and Venetian ladies' hair. Besides the attraction of this Dragon Tree, there is also another place that has proved to be very popular with visitors and locals alike, and that is the Mariposario del Drago, butterfly gardens and centre. This is at the end of the road known as Avenida de Canarias, very close to the dragon tree. There are exotic flowering plants, bushes, creepers with glass gardens included, which really looks like enchanted paradise with butterflies flittering away all around you. Relaxing music adds to the spell as you wander through the path admiring flowers and butterflies all around you. You go down the steps to see the exhibition room with charts and display model of life cycle of a butter-fly as well as cases of mounted specimens of butterflies that died of natural causes in the garden. There is cinema room that provides screenings of interesting films about all sorts of insects, butterflies and moths. You can spend a whole day in the Icod De Los Vinos. There is a Hindu Bazaar called Tejban S.L. on the other side of the park called Plaza Andres De Lorenzo Caceras´`, which sells local wine, cigars, cameras, watches, accessories and the souvenirs to take back home. The owner, Mr Suresh Moorjani, speaks English and Spanish fluently and is very friendly. While you are there, you could also feast your eyes with the beautiful painting that are exhibited at ´Casa De Los Caceres´ which is the cultural centre of Icod. During the festivals there are musical, drama and poetry performances held there which are performed by talented artists. And don’t forget to enjoy the typical cuisine in Icod. To celebrate the world Tourism day, there are special events in Icod De los Vinos. From 10am to 2 pm there will processions with music and dance and free entry into the park.

Visiting Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Now that the plaster is off from my arm, my family decide to take me around for some adventure. My SIL is not too confident in driving through those crowded streets. We decided to travel by public transports of taxi, tram and Titsa bus. The taxi meter starts with 2.05 euro and with every heartbeat, it increases its meter. If you are watching your budget, it is better to take Titsa Bus. A bono of 12 euro or 30 euro can be purchased, and you can just enjoy the scenic ride comfortably. A normal one-hour ride in the Titsa bus could cost around 3.50 euro and if you take tram or another bus within two hours the second ride is free. Santa Cruz is about sixty kilometers away from my place of residence at Buen Paso and we decide to take Titsa bus, we pass through many tunnels, beaches, flowered paths and scenic villages and it takes us about one hour to reach the town. Santa Cruz is the capital of Tenerife and it is bustling and vibrant port city at the foot of the stunning Anaga Mountains. It is large enough to provide endless variety of things to do and see, yet compact enough to explore by foot or tram. Santa Cruz, being the centre of the Tenerife Metropolitan Area, is the logical hub for the island's motorway network. The concert hall of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava is the first fabulous architectural structure that greets you as you enter the city. The Auditorium – this magnificent icon of the city opened in 2003 and it is home to the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and stages a full and varied programs of music For art lovers you can see the street exhibition of sculptures along the streets as you wheel through the streets. Many of the works of art are along Rambla General Franco, the arterial walkway that runs the length of the city; Parque García Sanabria, the ‘lungs’ of the city and around Plaza de Toros (the Bull Ring). The Santa Cruz harbour is one of the busiest in Spain, and three different quays host regular ferries, fast ferries, cruise ships and merchant ships. Just 8 km outside the city below the quaint fishing village of San Andrés, is Tenerife’s most spectacular beach. One and a half kilometres of beautiful white sand brought from the Spanish Sahara and backed by palm trees. A reef protects the beach from high rollers, creating an idyllic swimming and snorkelling lagoon. Santa Cruz is characterized for its nightlife consisting of discotheques and pubs in the Marina park and Residencial Anaga, as well as pubs in La Noria street. The city is also renowned for it’s massive, popular and at the same time sophisticated carnival, one of the biggest in the World, declared of International Tourist Interest after general Franco's death. It takes the city by storm in February or March every year. During summer there are fiestas all over the city and people are all in the festive mood. We move round the city in trams that are very comfortable and its slow speed allows the comfort of watching the arteries of the city. And it takes all day, to explore the restaurants, beaches, shopping streets, and decide to return back when the limbs start complaining of too much activity. One day to visit Santa Cruz is just not enough to see it all……

Festival of Cristo del Calvario,

Fiestas in Tenerife are not quite over. There is fiesta del Santisimo, Cristo del Calvario, in this town of Icod de Los Vinos. There are line-up of events, extending up to 5th of October 2008. This week end they had selection of Icod queen and Icod princess.They have built a beautiful stage with white back ground in Plaza Andres de Lorenzo Caceras, out in the open air. The children’s show is the one that is interesting for me. The children paraded down the steps, gracefully, in their beautiful outfits waving a flying kiss to the audience. While the participants changed into their different outfits, there was variety entertainment show by other talented children There were even Disney characters that kept the children enthralled And when Mickey decided to come down the stage to greet the children, every child wanted to shake his hand. It was a perfect evening to spend in the company of smiling faces of kids of this town.

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.