Day 1 Getting there
It really took us two days to actually get to Tenerife.
We left Inverness, which was bathed in beautiful sunshine, heading down to Forgandenny with Peter and Bunty. All went well until we got to Perth. We filled up with fuel so that we could drive to the airport very early in the morning.
Unfortunately, Bob put petrol into the tank and not diesel. We limped to Bridge of Earn and begged the garage to fix the problem that afternoon, so that we could go on holiday. They said they would try their best and they were as good as their word. They emptied all the fuel, replaced the fuel filter and put in some diesel.
The day was saved!
Karyn, Georgia and Rory were at Forgandenny and Sharon was in her element.
We had a nice meal and a couple of drinks and then an early night, before driving to Glasgow airport at 5 in the morning.
Everything with the airport and the flight went well and we arrived in sunny Tenerife. The transfer coach was waiting and we arrived at the hotel to find a welcome cocktail, which was very nice. Our room was large and had a nice balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, but unfortunately without sun as it faces north.
We went for a walk to get our bearings and managed to find the shops and restaurants. We did a good bit of shopping - gin, beer, tonic and nibbles and tea bags to stock the fridge in the room. We also bought some for Sue and Charlie, who were arriving later.
Then we went to the rooftop bar for a couple of well-earned drinks.
After that we tried to get a table at a restaurant within the hotel, but not part of it. It was called Cumai and had a fabulous reputation. We got in that night, which was, of course, Sharon's birthday.
We had a really fabulous meal - perhaps one of the best we ever ate.
We were given some home-made bread to start. It came with three little quenelles of butter, some good oil, salt and little biscuits made from a local cereal. The bread was warm and good. The butters were fabulous. There was a prawn one which tasted like an intense buttery lobster bisque, a tomato and paprika one and a sweetcorn one. They were delightful.
Then came the amuse bouche of olives stuffed with anchovy, a paper thin ravioli of carpaccio of beef with rocket and a saffron mayonnaise and a lychee stuffed with an almond and dressed with pesto and pomegranate. They were heavenly.
The first fish course was citrus and smoked cured prawns with lemon zest. Rosemary was set on fire to create a scented smoke under the lid.
Magnificent.
Russian Salad 2019. Small vegetables in a soya froth mayonnaise with tuna smoked tuna flakes,quails eggs and flying fish roe.
Great.
Soft kind of spring rolls filled with a crab mousse with avocado and saffron with lime dressing. Outstandingly tasty.
Next was a fried Bao bun with pulled Iberico pork and sesame. So good.
Salmon Marinated and then flash fried for seconds on each side. Served with radish, seaweed, edamame beans and a truly intense black olive paste.
Superb.
Asparagus tips, Parmesan, truffle oil and more of the black olive paste.
Brilliant.
Black rice with cuttlefish and topped with fried red prawns.
Very, very good.
Marinated tuna with the most wonderful Iberico ham sauce, cucumber all topped with little olive oil spheres. Delicious.
Very rare duck breast with a pineapple salsa and a plum and cardamom chutney.
Wonderful.
Mango sorbet with sea salt on top. Unexpectedly moreish. Really good.
A little chocolate crispy crepe with a really sharp lemon sorbet, lime zest and exploding lemon popping candy.
A magnificent pudding.
Some little petit fours to finish. Shortbread biscuits, chocolate waffles with honey and pollen dark chocolate sweets with a raspberry topping.
What a finish.
A magnificent meal for Sharon's birthday and a great start to the holiday.
We really enjoyed it. We had time to meet Sue and Charlie as they arrived. They had a meal pre-prepared in the now closed hotel restaurant, which was nice. After they had that we went to the hotel bar for a couple of drinks before we went to bed after a long day for us all.
Day 2 Puerto de la Cruz
Our first full day in Tenerife.
We met Sue and Charlie for a late breakfast and agreed that we all walk into town to see what there was to see and do. We also wanted to check out options for hiring a car.
It's a downhill walk into town where there is a black sand beach and promenade area and lots of shops and restaurants.
This is the beach looking back over to our hotel.
There were surfers in the bay last night and it seems the waves endlessly crash into the breakwaters, to some spectacular effect.
There were plenty of places to stop for a coffee, so we did.
In among the modernity and the commercialisation there was this very nice little church.
Sue and Sharon by the seaside.
More waves.
Looking along to the old fort.
We walked out to a lookout at the west end of the town.
There was lipstick murals on the pillars. At least I hope they were murals.
More waves.
There were lots of murals about the town and this one was quite striking.
We had done quite a bit of walking and so we took a taxi back to the hotel where we had some pre-dinner drinks with Sue and Charlie before a buffet dinner, drinks and then bed.
Day 3 Botanical gardens
Today was warm and sunny and after breakfast, the two of us went to the Botanic gardens, while Sue and Charlie went checking out restaurants for Charlie's 65th birthday dinner.
We went to the Jardin Botanico which is reasonably close to the hotel and easily reached. Entry is pretty cheap and we spent quite a while looking at the huge range of tropical and sub-tropical plants. The gardens were formed as a point of acclimatisation for plants that the King of Spain wanted to grow in the Royal Palace in Madrid in the 18th Century.
Presumably, there would be much more colour in the summer months, but there was certainly plenty to see.
One of the most amazing things is the huge Banyan Tree with vast spreading buttresses and air roots.
There is a nice water garden at one end.
Thee were also views out to the hills.
From there we walked some distance to another garden, which is built on a fairly steep slope. It also had lots of water features, which is where we saw a pair of Grey Wagtails.
This is the female.
The male is distinguished by the black patch on the throat.
There were nice little ponds and waterfalls, which no doubt attracted the wagtails.
Happily there was a little bar at the top of the hill where we could sit and have a cold beer and a coffee. We also got to watch a lizard lounging in the sun.
Of course, what goes up must come down, so off we set down the steps again.
There were some terraces where you could also take in the views
Once in town, it was time for lunch - tapas again and very good they were as well.
We took a taxi to the hotel as it was a bit hot and we were getting a bit tired.
In the evening, we had drinks, nibbles and played cribbage with Sue and Charlie before dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Day 4 A shopping and spa day
Today the girls wanted to look at the shops, while Bob and Charlie went to check out buses for a possible trip tomorrow. That all went well and Bob and Charlie were fortunate to find a bar that sold the coldest beer on the planet. All that walking about works up a thirst.
Fortunately the girls did not spend much money and we all met up for an early lunch, which consisted of more wine, tapas and salads.
The restaurant also had a pastry shop attached, so we all bought some sticky cakes and took them back to the hotel to have with a cup of tea.
After our afternoon indulgence, we all went to the hotel spa for the rest of the afternoon. It was very relaxing and we all enjoyed it.
In the early evening we had nibbles, drinks and cribbage while we were entertained by the local hang gliders as the sun was setting.
After dinner it was time for a nightcap and then bed., after a good day.
Day 5 La Laguna
Today, we decided to go La Laguna, which is the cultural capital of the island and has a World Heritage historical centre.
After breakfast we walked up to the main drag to catch the bus, which eventually arrived and we were lucky to get the last four seats for the journey.
It was a sunny day, but there was an edge to the wind.
Once we got off the bus, it was a bit of a walk to the centre, but fairly straightforward. La Laguna is a university city and was once an important religious centre. There are a lot of monasteries and convents. Many of the convents have high level enclosed balconies, so that the nuns could look at the world outside, without being seen.
Once we got our bearings, we headed to the old town and almost immediately, we came across an orchestra playing in front of the Cathedral.
We stopped at a little cafe for a coffee and to listen to the music in the sun.
Sue liked the coffee so much (or the Barrista), that she decided to buy some to take home.
After coffee, we set of to explore the town on our own, arranging to meet up later.
It was a very nice place to wander round and completely different from Puerto de la Cruz.
We found an old street map and Sharon felt that we should go and find the bus station so that we would know where to go to get home. This involved significant wandering about areas that were not the lovely historical centre and we soon appeared to be lost, which was slightly annoying. Happily a young lady took pity on us and took us to the new bus station. We had been trying to find a bus station that no longer existed. The new station was where we had got off the bus!
It was now getting close to time to meet up again and Bob was getting very hungry and thirsty. We set off back to the centre and found the first place we could for food. Well, sort of food, but they did have cold beer and we managed to get a plate of nachos with hot sauce and avocado sauce. It wasn't wonderful, but it was necessary. Sue and Charlie sent us a nice photo of the tapas bar they had found, which only deepened Bob's depression.
We soon met up and we all went back to the tapas bar and had a very nice plate of ham and cheese with a welcome glass or two of red wine and so the day was saved.
After that we went back to our favourite bus stop and waited for a bus to take us back to the hotel, which took a little while, but it turned out OK.
It was pretty warm by the time we arrived back, so we dropped off our stuff and headed for the rooftop bar, to sit in the sun and have a couple of drinks.
We were keen to go back to Cumai for another meal and Sue and Charlie were happy to join us. We were not disappointed. The food was superb and the atmosphere was really good. We had a great time sharing all the courses between us.
We started with a little spoon with a battered lychee stuffed with an almond, which was delightful.
As we had hoped, we also got the bread with the three savoury butters, oil and little crispy biscuits. It was just as good as before.
Next up was the thinnest carpaccio of beef with rocket and parmesan.
We also had the Russian salad with tuna, which was also as good as before.
Crab and avocado rolls with an Iberian pork sauce and saffron mayo.
At this point, Charlie was so excited that he threw a glass of white wine all over himself.
Maria, the owner persuaded us that we needed to try the eggs. These were fried, with the yolks still very soft, but the whites had a wee crispy frill round the edges. A pile of truffle was added and then the whole lot was scrambled for us at the table. Delicious.
Although they did look a bit like grey scrambled eggs!
Then we had slow braised pig's cheeks with crushed potatoes and onion with an outstanding sauce.
Pudding - it was called apple pie, but didn't look like any apple pie I have ever eaten. It was sublime. The pastry on the top and bottom probably wasn't pastry as we know it. It was thinner than paper and very crispy. Underneath was apple, meringue, ice cream, chocolate sauce, cinnamon, little puffed rice grains all with honey on top. Magnificent.
We did it justice.
They brought us some ice cold home-made limoncello to finish off an historic meal.
After that a quick nightcap and bed was all we were fit for.
Day 6 A walk in town
Today, we were going to spend a bit of time on our own, to do whatever we wanted.
After breakfast, we wanted to walk in another direction, rather than into town. However, we had to get into town first and then head up the main road to the north. It was not desperately attractive walking next to traffic, but we did see a surprising bit of wildlife next to the road.
It was a Barbary Partridge, which is native to North Africa and the Canary Islands.
We did walk a bit further out on the road and got some views back towards town and up to our hotel.
It looked like we were not gong to find our way off the road, so we turned back and went into town. We wandered through some of the back streets and had a very pleasant time. There were lots of murals and some nice quiet streets with quaint houses and a distinctly local and laid back feel to them.
There was even one flat above a craft shop covered in a crocheted blanket.
There were lots of little murals next to house doors. They were really quite sweet and hinted at an artistic community hidden behind the walls.
It was soon time for a drink, so we stopped at a nice little bar for a while.
It was so comfortable, that we stayed for some tapas and a glass of rose wine.
After our long and late lunch, we wandered a bit more, including down to the front where we saw this Egret. This is a Little Egret, common on the continent, but a very recent colonizer into the south of the UK.
Finally, we went back to the hotel and got caught up on photos and stuff, before it was time for more nibbles, drinks and cribbage with Sue and Charlie and then dinner at the hotel.
Day 7 A trip up north
It was Charlie's 65th birthday today, so we got him a car and let him drive because that's when he is at his happiest.
It was also tipping it down with rain as had been forecast. Undaunted, we carried on with our plan to drive to the mountains in the north of the island. So, we set off on the motorway, turning off at El Sauzal, home of the wine and honey museum. We didn't stop to take that in. Despite the guide books saying it was a quaint and beautiful town, it gave every impression of being a wet car park and we have enough of these at home.
El Sauzal is also home to the perfectly preserved 400 year old body of Sister Maria de Jesus. We didn't stop to see her either. Jesus is the name of the head waiter at the hotel restaurant and we can see him every day.
Instead we pressed on to the end of the road at Punta del Hidalgo. It turned out to be an inspired decision, despite the rain, which was abating to drizzle!
At the end of the road we leapt out of the car with some abandon and some anoraks to have a look at the mountains and the sea, which were worth a look.
Charlie tried out his new binoculars.
Spotting a couple of surfers in the bay.
No binoculars were needed to spot this whale on a wall.
We also had wee walk on the front at Punta Del Hidalgo, but that had little to commend it except for the fact that the rain had more or less stopped.
We carried on to the town of Tegueste and eventually found the centre, which took a bit of time due to roadworks. The centre is dominated by the nice church of St Mark the Evangellist. It was started in 1700, but took years to build due to shortages of cash.
After vainly searching for a little place that the guidebook said did good churros, we went back to the bar at the car park and had coffee and a wee pastry. Outside Sharon got to know the local postie, or at least a statue to commemorate him. I have been unable to find out why the postie deserved a statue of his own
Sharon and I had gone to look for a shop that was supposed to sell the best of local produce, while Charlie and Sue had a walkabout.
We found the shop and sure enough almost everything it sold came from no more than a few miles away, including the tiny lime like fruits at the bottom of the photo. We bought a couple of these for garnishing the evening gin and tonic.
We also bought some strawberries for the car and some dried figs to take home.
Sue and Charlie said the little streets were quite nice so we walked round again with them acting as guides. It was quite quaint and pleasant.
By now, the sun was out and it was pretty warm and the rain had all dried up.
We had been given maps and advice at Punta del Hidalgo at the tourist information centre. So we carried on into the Anaga mountains to be rewarded with some outstanding views.
The first stop was the Mirador de Jardina, where we spent some time taking far too many photos of the spectacular views down the valley towards La Laguna. Apparently, this is one of the best places to hear and see canaries as in the little yellow birds. We didn't know that and didn't spot any.
Birthday boy and Sue.
There were also views towards the sea to the north of Santa Cruz, the capital.
It was all pretty good.
You couldn't take your eyes of it, really.
It was clearly selfie territory as well.
Onward and upwards into the Anaga Mountains we went until we found another viewpoint, which was really just a bit of layby, but you could walk up a bit from the road and see through 360 degrees, with both coasts and mountains visible. It was astonishing in the sunshine
Here we are. You have no idea what I went through to get the camera set up to take this photo.
But, here's a clue.
The roads became narrower and twistier (this was to become a theme of the next couple of days) as we carried on into the mountains and then down the other side towards Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz was busy and it is fair to say we took one or two wrong turnings, but we made it in the end. A bonus was that we got to see the Tenerife Auditorium, which was completed in 2003. I thought it was designed to mimic the never ending surf that crashes onto Tenerife's coastline. But no, the architect Santiago Calatrava says it is part of a gesture of self-marked plastic intention, which makes the artistic nature of the activities inside transcend to the outside.
That just confirms my view of the weirdness of architects.
It is pretty remarkable, though.
The airport is disconcertingly close to the road and the planes look a lot bigger than they appear in the photo.
Eventually we found our way out of Santa Cruz and made it back to the hotel where we had to get ready to go out for Charlie's birthday dinner.
Sharon showed off her new top given to her by her sister, Sandra for her birthday.
It had stripes for a change!
Here we are having a nice time.
We had prawns in garlic, tomato toasts, cod croquettes to start and they were all pretty good.
Charlie got leeks with his hake, which he declared a bit too leeky.
Sharon also had hake with salmon and a prawn and lobster sauce, which she liked, but the sauce could have had a bit more depth.
Sue really liked her fillet of beef with port wine sauce.
I really enjoyed my pan fried grouper with garlic. It was very good indeed.
Birthday toast.
Pistachio, caramel and lemon liqueur on the house. That was really different and very nice.
Back to the hotel where Sharon gave Charlie his birthday present of a massage hand thing. Apparently they both enjoyed it.
Once Charlie had vacated my bed, we could go to sleep after a good day.
Day 8 Mount Teide
Today was going to turn out to be the scenic highlight of the holiday, although we didn't know it as we started off driving south from our hotel. Our goal was Mount Teide, the highest point in Spain at 3718 metres - about 12200 feet.
It is a beautiful day as we headed up from the coast. There are lots of viewpoints to stop at and at the first of these you get a nice panorama of the Puerto de la Cruz.
The next stop is Margarita de Piedra an extraordinary rose shaped rock formation. It was caused by lava cooling in a particular way. Erosion of the cold lava, which has formed radial shapes, means that the radial "petals" crack off creating the rose shape.
Two roses.
From the rock rose we gin, sorry gain, a lot more height and come to the first of a few places to stop at the crater round the volcano itself. This was a cafe and gift shop.We did not stay long, but we did see a Canarian Finch
A little further up and along the road, we get to the main interpretive centre, which had an interesting and informative display as well as a pleasant little garden and walkway, which we took advantage of. It was worth doing this as we then started to really get some views of the mountain itself, which a little unexpectedly was covered in snow.
These Christmas tree decoration like plants are actually dead. They are red in summer and as there are a lot of them it must make for a spectacular display.
Mount Teide behind a lava flow.
Inside the display centre there seemed to be a couple of dragons.
Back outside it was cold, but the blue skies and sunshine showed off everything to its best, including these four.
The views of the mountain were pretty good from the garden.
Just in case you couldn't see it.
Sue and Sharon trying to give the impression that they had been up to the top and were now walking home.
3 wise monkeys. Charlie only needed to block one ear as he is already deaf in the other.
The next stop was within the crater proper and the landscape was unlike anything we had ever seen before. People describe it as lunar and it certainly looks like another planet.
The blue sky made it really, but it was deceptive. It was actually pretty cold. We were over 6300 feet above sea level.
You just had to get out and walk in the pumice and lava strewn hillocks.
Given time, we could have gone for much longer walks. Quite where the paths were is another matter.
Sue and Charlie went for it though. We haven't seen them since.
That was a bit of an exaggeration.
Further along the road there were even more weird landscapes to take in.
I told you it was an exaggeration. They didn't get away from us at all.
This looks like a wolf in the volcanic desert.
Actually it is just a family pet.
Once we had left the desert behind we found a nice place for tea and cakes. It was very warm out of the wind.
Back down through the eerie clouds.
We managed a late picnic lunch in Santiago del Teide, where they must have known we were coming as the picnic benches were all set up.
It was a bit of a drive back to the hotel, but Charlie managed that. As usual, we had drinks, nibbles and Sue and Bob won at cribbage again.
We were so engrossed in this and also under the illusion that the hotel restaurant was open later than it was. When we went down to dinner, there was hardly any people left and even less food. However, we managed something and we even got some wine, but it was a close run thing.
Day 9 - Masca
Today was our last day with the car and we were off to the mountains, again. This time we were heading to the village of Masca about 650 metres up in the Teno mountains to the west of our hotel.
We set off with Charlie driving again, after a leisurely breakfast. It was a nice day, with plenty of blue sky and sunshine.
We stopped off in the village of Garachico, which lies on the coast at the bottom of some pretty awesome cliffs. Garachico was once a very important port on the island, but that all changed in 1706. It was then that a volcano, Montana Negra, erupted for a number of weeks and the resultant lava flowed into the harbour and rendered it useless as a port. Overnight, the town had lost its reason for being. However, this loss meant that much of the town was rebuilt and it now has a charm that some of the other towns on the island do not have. There is a notable absence of high rise hotels and the like.
Like all good seaside towns it has a castle looking out over the ocean - Castillo de San Miguel. This dates from 1575 and it is pretty impressive for its age. It was one of the buildings untouched by the 1706 eruption. The coats of arms surrounding the doorway are really impressive. However, the history of the building is quite difficult to track down and we had no information when we were there. We did have cameras, though.
The church of Santa Ana was badly damaged in 1706, but was rebuilt to the original plans. It is a fine building and we went for a look round it as well as climbing the bell tower, just as the bells started ringing very loudly as it happened.
The views were pretty good and the bells are impressive even when they are not ringing.
The interior of the church was quite smart as well, notably the Moorish influenced octagonal ceiling above the altar.
After taking care of our souls it was time for something to nourish the body, so we found a little cafe in the square for tea and coffee.
.
We also had to think ahead and get something for a lunch. Here are Sue and Sharon outside the quaintest and best looking supermarket I have ever seen.
With a picnic successfully purchased we had a wander round some of the nice side
streets and squares of the town on the way back to the car.
The photo below shows the gate to the old port, through which everything passed prior to 1706.
Quite how these two were allowed to pass through is anyone's guess.
An old wine press.
Really fresh chicken outside a restaurant.
Once we left Garachico, we started to climb into the cloud and it became colder. We were leaving the sunshine behind.
The compensation was that the views were becoming more spectacular as we gained altitude.
This may look like a stone wall, but in geological terms it is a dyke. Basically volcanic lava has squeezed up through a crack in the surrounding rock. Over time the surrounding rock, which must be softer, has eroded away to leave the dyke standing proud of the surrounding land. This is a pretty impressive dyke.
It isn't too long until we emerge above the cloud and the views are even better. We can also see the road that we still have to negotiate snaking away in the distance.
Some people probably had a better view than we did. They were standing on the highest point that you can see in the photo below.
Here they are.
The long.....
and winding road.
There was even somewhere to eat with a fine view over the valley down towards Masca.
We had a picnic to eat, though, so we needed to get to Masca itself. It was all downhill from here and it didn't take long.
Masca is a very small village with less than a hundred inhabitants, although the population is significantly raised by tourists and by people staffing the restaurants and shops that have sprung up to part travellers from their money.
The setting is astonishing and you cannot help but keep taking photos.
What a setting for a picnic. There was actually a wee guy serenading us with a guitar nearby. He wasn't that good, so no photo.
The local pigeons were waiting for crumbs from our picnic.
The picnic was OK, but we just had to have a cup of tea and some cake overlooking the village and the gorge which led to the sea 3 hours walk away.
The choice of cake included a cactus cheesecake, which Sharon had and professed it to be just fine.
Once fortified by tea and cake, we carried on up the road, which became ever narrower and ever more serpentine. Charlie had fun, whilst the rest of us became ever more white knuckled, studiously looking up the hill rather than down at the steep drop below.
It actually rained pretty heavily on the way home, but Charlie coped admirably to get us home in plenty of time for a rest and a change of clothes before drinks, nibbles and cribbage prior to dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Day 10 - Lazing by the pool
With the car having been returned and it being our last day, we had decided to have a lazy time by the hotel pool. It was very warm and sunny, so it was ideal for that.
We were on the sun loungers soon after we had eaten breakfast, as were quite a few others. Essentially, we lay about reading a book all morning, with only the odd break to get into the pool to cool off.
There is only so much lounging about that a person can stand. Besides, it was time to have some lunch. The four of us went off to get changed and then we wandered up to the local restaurants to see what we could find.
We found a nice little restaurant which served some good tapas, the pick of which were the prawns in garlic. They were so good, that we ordered a second bowl between us.
After lunch we had a quiet afternoon and finished all our packing and the like.
Sue and Charlie came round for drinks, nibbles and cribbage before we went for our dinner, which we had booked at The Cliff restaurant in the hotel.
This turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for our last night meal. There was absolutely no atmosphere in the room and the waitress did not engage with us.
The starter of shredded duck salad was let down by the duck being a bit on the dry side. The sweet sauce was nice, but it was not a startling starter.
The fish course was salmon and cous cous with a dill sauce. The salmon was probably a tad overdone, which made the whole dish a bit dry. It was tasty, though.
The main was a fillet of veal on an onion marmalade, with crisp potatoes and a port wine sauce. The onion marmalade was very good, but the veal was cooked differently on each of the four plates, ranging from medium to reasonably well done.
Pudding was a kind of deconstructed Tiramisu and we thought it the best dish of the meal. It was served with a complimentary glass of Moscatel, which was very nice indeed.
We retired to the bar for a nightcap, before going to bed as we had a bit of an earlier start than usual tomorrow.
Day 11 - Coming home
All good things must come to an end and so it was with this holiday.
As you might expect, it was a glorious morning when we woke on our final morning in Tenerife.
We were up early for breakfast, paid the bill and said goodbye to Sue and Charlie, who were leaving later and went to wait for our transfer to the airport with a final glance down the road to the hotel.
Sharon took advantage of the sun and stayed on the sunny side of the street beside the bins, while Bob watched over the suitcases.
As if to emphasise the sunny weather, a lovely butterfly lit up the flowers next to us.
It wasn't too long until we were at the airport and then onto the flight back to Glasgow. Next stop Forgandenny and a very welcome Chinese carry-out.
We did have a good time and saw a lot of amazing things and ate some outstanding food, but I feel we will not return to Tenerife.
