My first day out...

Early Tuesday morning, I came with my brother to the store at Calle San Sabastian. My brother has tourist biz n it is fun when there are shoppers. The street is spotless, cobbled-stoned with broad tiled footpaths. Every alternate days, they clean the roads with soap n water, at 5 am…so it a pleasant feeling to walk in these clean streets so early in the morning. One by one, I see the other shops opening and all are busy cleaning their shop windows and sweeping their shops and the spotless foot paths outside their stores. They greet every passer by, sharing the latest news. Nobody is in hurry to reach any where and they love chatting, if there is no topic to discuss, then they will talk about weather….. There are very few cars at this hour of the day, but nobody honks, it is so peaceful that you can hear the footsteps of every pedestrian. Only the friendly conversation kills the silence in the air.

Main streets of Icod de Los Vinos

Icod de Los Vinos is a small village in the North of the island famous for its tourist attraction. It is famous for its Drago Milenario, which is a dragon tree believed to be of 1000 years old, and it also has a butterfly centre called Mariposario. Many tourist visit Icod de los Vinos to see these 2 main attractions. There is no big mall in Icod, however there are 2 main shopping lanes in Icod de los Vinos: Calle San Agustin and Calle San Sebastian that are right angles to each other separated by a town hall to its corners. The lanes are full of small shops that cater to the locals. Most of the shops are run by women. It is a small town where everybody knows each other and the shoppers will wait for a long chat if they visit your store.

Festival of Carmen

Summer in Tenerife means lots of festival and it is the best time to visit tis place. Every part of Tenerife has its own set of festivals. Natives of Canarias believe in Fiestas n siestas. This weekend there was a festival of Carmen celebrated in North of Tenerife at Puerto de la Cruz. This is a fiesta with strong connections to the sea, so water figures highly throughout the day. Huge crowd gathers at the sea front at San Thelmo, playing with water pistols splashing water on innocent bystanders. By late afternoon the area around the harbour becomes a thronging mass and the little beach disappears under a sea of people. Around 6.30pm an excited murmur spreads through the crowd announcing the arrival of San Telmo, followed by La Virgen del Carmen, both carried proudly on the shoulders of local fishermen. As they move with a rhythmic swaying motion which simulates being at sea, the mood of the crowd changes from one of frivolity to religious fervour and devotees clamour to touch the figures for luck. At the lovingly decorated shrine at the top of the harbour, La Virgen pauses to be serenaded by a rendition of ‘Ave Maria’ which sends a tingle down the spine. Only the hardest heart won’t be moved by the sheer intensity of emotion at that moment; all around tear stained cheeks glisten in the sunlight. The strains of ‘Ave Maria’ subside, replaced with cries of “¡Viva La VirgenỊ” and “¡Viva San TelmoỊ” which accompany the couple as they’re carried through the crowd to the water’s edge and the brightly decorated boats which have been chosen to take them on their brief sea cruise. It’s a painfully slow journey. A barrage of fireworks and blaring klaxons applaud their departure and the fact that a good fish supply should be guaranteed for another year and everyone can wander away to dry out before the sun disappears below the horizon. Celebrations take place throughout July and include the obligatory crowning of the fiesta queen, traditional Canarian dances, Jazz and rock concerts, antique car rallies, sporting events and air displays. source: http://www.realtenerifeislanddrives.com/

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.

Journeying through the airports…

During the last few months I have passed through several airports such as Mumbai, Dubai, Lagos, Accra, Paris, Madrid and Tenerife. Mumbai airport is a complete chaos. Mumbai airport has no sympathy for travellers. On the route towards airport, there is a narrow bridge leading towards the departure, which leads to traffic jam, At te airport, there is no seating arrangement nor any waiting lounge for visitors who come to see off /or receive their relatives, moreover, the airport stinks of strong phenol detergent and the bathroom attendants expects you to pay for the tissue paper that you need to wipe yourself clean. In sharp contrast is the Dubai airport, which spells luxury. It is pleasure to walk through Dubai airport; they have shiny crystal chandeliers, artificial plants and lots of shopping and have the capacity to receive 120 million passengers per year. Lagos and Accra airports are small airports, but they are better than Mumbai airport that there is place to sit with your family in the waiting lounge or in the restaurant while you wait for the flight to arrive or depart. Paris, Madrid and Tenerife are similar in design with glass and steel that offer a panoramic view of the runways and airplanes. In Paris, I loved the waiting lounge which even had easy chairs facing the runways. When there are long flights and there is a transit of few hours to rest at the airports, the passengers respond to their services on offer and benchmark their services against other airports around the word. I saw lots of constructions at Mumbai airport. I am hoping that Mumbai airport will keep in mind the comfort of the passengers and be more hospitable in its attitude towards the passengers to make the wait at the airports more pleasurable and worthwhile.