In need of a burst of sunshine we decided to use our Vacation club - in other words "Time share " Get away breaks and decided to visit Tenerife.
We found a suitable Apartment hotel in the quieter part of the South and booked that and flights. Leaving a coolish Glasgow in March we were pleased to discover Tenerife was bathed in sunshiine although it was quite windy but that made the temperature very pleasant.
The
Canary Islands have been a popular holiday destination for many years due to the mild climate especially during the winter months. It lies west of the
coast of
Morocco and started as a volcano. Tenerife is the largest of the Islands and has been described as being ladle shaped, but I think it looks more like a goose without its legs, as the "handle of the ladle" looks like a goose's bill! It has a wide range of scenery with beautiful
lush banana plantations to cinder deserts with fantastic cacti.
Although it is part of
Spain, the
Canaries are practically self-governing and have their own parliament and a special tax status. Do remember there is a limit on the alcohol, cigarettes,
perfume and gifts you can bring back before paying tax, even though they use the euros as Spain does!
**Mount Teide**
This is the dominating factor of the island. A really spectacular sight at over 3718 metres or 12,225 feet. The highest peak in the Spanish territory and I was informed that it casts the biggest sea shadow in the world. The top is often snow covered and was whilst we were there at the end of March, in fact, I was convinced there had been more snow one day!
Scientists believe it was even bigger before it collapsed or exploded and left the 16km crater of Las Canadas behind it. It was last active in 1798 but as it still coughs and splutters sulphurous smoke, you never know! Although we did see smoke I think it must have been a forest fire.
The C281 road cuts through the
national park and if it is not too windy the
cable car runs to take you up to near the summit. This is limited to walking groups due to erosion, but you can enjoy the wonderful views on a clear day. We didn't make the trip as it was very windy and as it was the end of the Easter holidays, we were told queues could be up to 3 hours long! The car takes 30 passengers at a time and takes 8 minutes to travel 2482 metres , as it travels it also ascends 1199metres, quite a gradient! Warm clothing is required and we discovered later that people with heart, respiratory problems or High
Blood pressure should not attempt the assent as the air is very thin and people can feel dizzy or get breathless. So this trip should come with a word of warning, although they say a million people make the trip each year! Hence the delays! There is a visitor centre at El Portillo, which has an audio-visual show about volcanoes and is FREE. Even if you don't go on the cable car, a visit to the area is worthwhile.
**Weather**
The peak divides the island into North and South, and the north is not as popular as it is damper and cloudier, but is much greener, the south being drier and arid.
Although talking to people who live there, the say a climate change is coming about and February had not been very good with several wet days. My sister has friends who spent a month out there and didn't find it warm enough to use the
outdoor pool. It is a very windy island and unless they found a sheltered spot, they were unable to sunbathe, their hired car became a valuable asset and they admired views from its warmth and wind proof interior. We did find it windy most days but I love to walk by the sea with the wind blowing my hair, and it did have a cooling effect although we were careful to apply lots of sunscreen, as it was hot. On one temperature gauge, we saw it had registered 26 degrees at 10.15am. and I can assure you got hotter before midday! The outdoor pool was lovely when we were there and well used. A light jacket or cardigan may be useful at night but I didn't need one every night and we also ate out a couple of times.
**Food and Drink**
A really important part of any holiday. We were staying in an aparthotel, so were
self-catering, but ate out most days. The hotel did a very reasonably priced buffet style dinner with usually fish or meat cooked on the "
barbecue grill" as you waited, we enjoyed a meal with local style foods for less than £12.00 each. We found some wonderful fish
restaurants and even three courses with the special of the day, which was
sea bass, and Tenerife
wine we only paid about £30 for two people. One night we went to a Chinese
restaurant, the food we had was excellent " A Peking Rice Banquet", but they had the tables very close and did a very fast turnover, no sooner had you laid your fork or chop stick down , but the plate disappeared an another waiter produced the next course! No Manyana here!
As in
Gran Canaria the "papas arrugadas "with mojo sauce are a popular starter, tiny
new potatoes cooked in very salty water and served with a fiery
red pepper sauce or a milder green parsley and coriander. Rabbit is served in some places and
Beef stews are a classic. Loving fish, I sampled some delicious meals with local produce. Desserts are usually very sweet, and bananas feature quite often. Honey and almonds are also used frequently and light sponges, slide down easily. We varied with our wine enjoying a local one several nights although the
house wine in some places was very palatable! Sangria was available but we prefer a nice wine. In many places big adverts outside said "British food", and "
Sunday Roast" but we prefer to eat the local foods when we are away and choose restaurants, which are described as "Tipico".
**Resorts**
We had chosen a quieter area to stay in, but took a taxi into
Los Cristianos. It used to be a sleepy
fishingvillage, and some older places are still around the lovely harbour. Now it is a popular tourist spot, with streets full of tables and umbrellas to shade people as they eat. The seafront is crammed with restaurants, bars and shops and a lot is pedestrianised. Behind this, densely packed high rises have appeared, but a little peace is still found in the
plaza around the pretty white church.
We enjoyed a walk along the harbour, high above the traffic coming with goods to be shipped. Ferrys frequently come and go, many yachts were moored and day trips were leaving for visits along the coast, so there was a lot to watch.
A pleasant walk along the
sandy beach with its neatly lines of
sun beds and umbrellas took us into
Playa de las Americas, which is a purpose built
resort. If you like a busy place, with loads of shops, bars and nightlife this is the place for you. We found it OK for a short visit, which was mostly spent on the beach, but prefer the quieter places on the island. The two resorts merge into one now, but are very different. Dividing the two resorts is Mount Chayofita, which is quite an amazing sight
. Nearly every 50 steps we were accosted by ticket touts for timeshare. It is a shame you cannot enjoy a walk in the sun without being followed, we tried ignoring them, being polite and were nearly downright rude but persist they did! We were going to stop for lunch but there was a most unpleasant smell along the promenade area, so decided to get a taxi back!
**Peace and Quiet!**
We decided another day to explore the nearby fishing village of Los
Abrigos and walked back along the cliffs. Renowned for its fish restaurants we were too early in the day to eat there, but there were lots around the front and we hope to return. A taxi would be needed for the return if it was dark as the cliff path disappears and it is rough terrain for quite a way, not for prams or people who are not nimble footed! The views are fantastic and watching the local fishermen was very restful. After the hustle and bustle of Playa de
las Americas I knew that this was the part of Tenerife I preferred.
**Golf**
There are 2 excellent courses and although we don't play, we did watch some men teeing off. The wind caught the ball and plonk right over the path and into the sea! Some
hotels do special deals with the courses for their guests. The area we were in was called
Golf del Sur for obvious reasons!
**Costa del Silencio**
The Coast of Silence! The laugh was on us, we realised it was close to the airport, but were assured it was not noisy. We became quite intimate with the bottoms of aircraft. Did you know several have different coloured bottoms? We were directly on the flight path, and they flew over our hotel! Usually going in to land, but if the wind changed they took off over us which was noisier. We did become accustomed after a day or two and got to recognise all the types. We were amazed at how many countries fly into Tenerife. As my husband tests metal for landing gear and engines he does have an interest in aircraft, but we decided to accept this as part of our holiday and it really did not spoil it. We certainlt felt a part of the
Jet Set!
The coast was silent,
apart from waves crashing and birds calling, if you got a spell with no planes! In fact it was a really beautiful area.
**Shopping**
There are all the usual tourist shops with identical clothes and shoes, and all the sorts of gifts people buy to take home.
I was interested in the embroidery as a crafter, but most is machine done these days. Tenerife lace is beautiful but again quite rare and expensive to find handmade work. Lots of pretty tablemats are light to carry home, some nice pottery is on sale but this is heavier and doesn't always travel home safely! As you tour the island, the vibrant colours of the flowers catch your eye and it is possible to take home some lovely Bird of
Paradise flowers or to give them their correct name
Strelitzia. They come well packed and are delivered to your hotel on the day of departure.
There are lots of small food shops often attached to apart hotels or apartment blocks, these tend to be more expensive but it saves carrying heavy water bottles. Some lovely cakes and pastries are available at small cafe/shops!
**
Airport**
Modern busy and lacking in enough toilets was my impression. But you can see the planes landing and taking off and there were plenty of shops to while away some time.
**Will I go back?**
I hope so, because there is a lot still to explore a week was not long enough especially as we needed to recharge our batteries so really needed a restful holiday not one travelling miles. The people were friendly and helpful (except for the touts who were all British!), the weather was wonderful, the water warm and the wine delicious.
**Photos**
I will add some photos to show some of the delights of Tenerife.
I have put Good in my rating for Value for money, but it can be expensive to fly there and hotels are expensive, you get what you pay for, so shop around.
Thanks for
reading yet another of my holiday reviews!
Join the Jet set! 
