Trekking to the Holy Shrine at Candelaria

Everybody is talking about trekking during this week-end. There is a fiesta this week end called ´Dia de Candelaria´ when pilgrims all over Tenerife walk or trek to a shrine of Virgin Mary at Candelaria. It is a long walk and you see them making groups and heading towards the church which is closer to Santacruz and North airport. While most of the pilgrim leave from Santa Cruz t at 12 midnight and reach the shrine during the early hours of the morning, here in Icod de Los Vinos, pilgrims begin their journey one or two days earlier. I met the group of 15, who left at 3pm from Icod de Los Vinos. They looked cheerful with haversack containing food and drinks, torch and a walking stick for a journey of 70 kms which would take them about 15 hours to reach. I have neither strength nor stamina to walk with them, so I followed them for a while and then retreated my steps as I saw them disappear into the woods. The trek is through the steep beaten path of hills, trees and shrubs. There are path-signs at regular interval directing the proper route to follow. There is one point on the route which is the meeting point where different groups from different parts of the island meet. This point offers the beautiful panoramic view of the island. It is the resting place and they share their eats and drinks and let their hair down. In between their journey of beaten path, they cut through concrete roads, where there is traffic and if somebody is too tired to walk, he can continue his journey in the car that may be driven by one of their friends. The last five hours of the trek are quite difficult and the route is going downhill, climbing down the huge rocks. At the end of the journey, they are breathless, tired and silent, they offer their prayers at the secret shrine and are back home to sleep for next 24 hours brushing away the pains from their tired limbs.

Nudism at the beaches

I sit at the beach, fully dressed, under the shade of the big rock and the European lady in light blue bikini stares at me. I smile at her, enjoying the cool sea breeze. I shift my gaze towards the silver waters that gurgles, somersaults and waves at me. There are more white-skin-people, some of them bare from the top, enjoying the sea. Being an Indian, I am not used to taking off all my clothes to sun bathe on the beach and I would find this idea totally unacceptable. Even when I decide to swim, my swim-suit will not be so revealing. I am very shy and am very embarrassed if people stare. But here, in Tenerife, I have noticed that people don’t stare. They will give you a momentary glance, smile, and then, back to their own thoughts. When they come to the beach, they come to swim and sun bathe. There are many tourists at Tenerife beaches (that stretches over 200 miles of coastline,) and most of tourists are from nearby European countries. In European countries, many of the people are deprived of sunshine especially in winter and in spring and therefore they face many health problems and brittle bones due to deficiency of vitamin D (which comes from being exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun). Spain is an interesting place for nudism and it is legal everywhere in Spain unless you are causing offence. Tenerife has many beaches and coves, and there are casual visitors daring to dress only in sunscreen for an afternoon by the sea. Only the color of their bottoms might give them away. There are official Nudist Beaches in Tenerife, the main ones are: Playa de la Tejita (El Médano) Playa de los Patos (La Orotava) Playa de las Gaviotas (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) Playa de la Tejita is the nearest one to Los Cristianos, (El Medano is about 10 miles away) and is very easy to get to. The beach is situated to the west of the town, the 'other side' of the Red Mountain. There is also a small (I believe un-official) Nudist area that can be found in Costa del Silencio, it is at the bottom of Yellow Mountain and is quite difficult to get to if you have any mobility problems. Then there are many hotels along the shore line that have private nude beaches where they can sun bathe freely without being disturbed or stared at. It is their way of being in harmony with nature which Indians need time to get used to. It all depends about when Indian men abandon their nature of staring too much.

Competitive World

I sat in front of my plasma to watch the greatest show on the earth. The Olympic Inauguration show left me spell bound. It was an amazing $300 million spectacle that featured 15,000 performers, nearly 11,000 athletes from 204 countries, and I envied those who were present there to witness it in person. All I can say is ´Wow´ With large population it is easy to sort great number of talents and place them into different slots. On word ´China´, we think of food, painting, and Tai chi, imitation of branded goods, fire works, and human rights and now we will talk about the stunning big bang show of drummers and box men and amazing fire works Can it be replicated by another nation too? Can we do it? We have a large population in India too. We too have great number of talents worth mentioning. Unfortunately, many of them are stamped under the heavy foot of politics and diplomacy of the system. Besides having talent, it is important to have influence or money to pull the strings. Last year, one special child (whom I know personally) was selected for Special Olympics. Special coach was appointed to train her for table tennis event, passport and all travelling needs were met but she was dropped off from the games just few weeks before the games. No reasons given. The parents and her teachers were shocked by these turn of events but chose to remain silent. If deserving candidates are not given chance to enter the competitive world, how can we expect to bring home any Gold?

Living in a civilised soceity

Nikita and Haresh Mehta sought judicial redress for aborting their unborn baby who has been diagnosed with a congenital heart block and the whole world is peeping into their court rooms and passing their own verdict. The child will be born with a hole in heart. A person with a hole in heart can lead a normal life, but the problem is, one will get tired very fast as compared to normal persons. Now-a-days after a surgery, a pacemaker can be planted in the heart, battery of which lasts for 10 years. Generally speaking, people with any kind of deformity (physical or mental) are always treated differently. Either they are ignored completely or they are pampered to the extreme. Equal opportunities do not come easy to them and time and time again, they have to keep proving their ability to fit into a proper slot. Deformity is a block that blinds the society to recognise true talent instantly. It is very easy for others to pass the verdict and treat them (Mehtas) like criminals, but I have met many mothers of severely mentally challenged children. Many times, mothers are blamed for the deformity of the child and are treated badly by their in-laws. Lower income makes them dependent on sponsors for medicine and education for all their life. Some of them have zero social life and they go through emotional depression and become incapable of looking after their children. Having any kind of deformity is a life time punishment, not only for an individual, but also for the parents. It is very painful for a mother to see her child suffer. Even though Mehtas do have some help like Jaslok Hospital has promised to provide a pacemaker, worth close to Rs 1 lakh, and free surgery for their baby, but is that enough? Will they have a life time financial support for the child? Who are we to presume to lecture the Mehtas from the smugness of our normalcy? Separating the chaff from grain is always tough.

Walking down the streets in Puerto de la Cruz

This week end I decided to pass my week-end with my niece at Puerto de la Cruz, which is on the north of the island about 20 minutes away from Buen Paso where I am staying. Going to Puerto de la Cruz and sitting indoors is not a good idea. So even though I am still afraid to walk freely with a broken arm, my niece insisted that we go for a short walk down the street. Puerto de la Cruz is bustling with activity. There are people everywhere. Narrow streets of the Old Town, packed with colonial architecture, make walking a safer bet than driving. The city is packed with tourist during this month of August. .There are cafes and restaurants in every street that has no traffic or walking plazas. The stores display their article outside the shops and attract the passer-by. This is a town of two halves. To the west of Plaza del Charco, whitewashed houses and cobbled lanes reflect the serenity of years gone by. Whilst to the east, the excited chatter of holidaymakers reverberates around the labyrinth of cafés and restaurants. Just a short walk in any direction, and I am surrounded by quaint stores that carry local handicrafts, cafes and bars, produce stores (the bananas are absolutely delicious), fantastic wine stores and the old harbor. San Telmo is a neighbourhood that bridges old Puerto to new Puerto. That "bridge", Paseo San Telmo, is dense with tourists, stores, gelato shops, and restaurants. The hotel lined streets and avenues behind the walkway reach out like arms, encouraging travellers to rest. We walked, rested for coffee and pastries, walked again, stopped for hamburgers and sandwiches, walked the bridge through San Thelmo, resting a while, watching the world pass by. The short evening walk lasted four hours actually and was not tiring at all.