Canary Islands(archipelago)...Tenerife(island)...Santa Cruz(city)

Arriving in Santa Cruz

We're back above the equator, in the northern hemisphere with Ursa Major and the North Star. The stars are in alignment, and it's green and cool. Bathrooms have tp with running water to flush and wash hands. Vendors no longer persistently chase and seem more interested in their cell phones than making a sale. It's another world here in Tenerife…one of the seven Canary Islands. So, why are they named after a bird? Actually, the bird is named after the island. When Spanish sailors found the islands, they were impressed by the seals. They had no name for seals so called them sea “dogs”, or “canares”, and so the name.

The Canary Islands are part of the African tectonic plate and were formed like Hawaii, by a huge undersea volcano that had at least 30 smaller cones. Out of this came the seven islands. As expected, it is all volcanic soil, with lava, tuft, cinder type rocks, and black sand.

From the pier, we boarded our bus tour with Ancor as our guide. The land around Santa Cruz, where we were docked was dry, but after passing over the mountain ridge things turned lush green. Here, we were told, it does not rain hard, but instead has a continuous horizontal mist type rain that keeps everything green. This greener side has been transformed into countless rock terraces, the larger ones still being cultivated. Tenerife is known for potatoes, bananas more flavorful than our banana, and now avocados since the other two crops have difficulty competing on the world market.

We stopped at an overlook for a view of the town, ocean, and terraces, and watched as a group of laborers worked a potato field. The first man used a weed-wacker to get rid of the above ground greens, which were raked into piles. Then a tractor churned up the ground to expose the potatoes, as five workers loaded them into baskets. This labor-intensive way was probably necessary because of the way the hills had to be sectioned off in small terraces. Unfortunately, it is also the reason their potatoes cannot compete on the open market.

Harvesting Potatoes

Spain was the first to "discover" the islands and they quickly became a port for resupplying ships going to Africa and later to the Americas. Europe used the trade winds and current, sailing their ships south to the Canaries before heading west. Christopher Columbus stopped here three times. 

Sleepy fishing villages were transformed into European tourist towns in the 1950s. Puerto de la Cruz was one of these. We loved walking the promenade by old buildings with wooden balconies, many hotels, outdoor cafes, and of course stately cobblestoned squares each with a church. Today, businesses were closed for the Catholic Festival of the Cross. We saw several church services and many flower-laden cross shrines in the streets as well as in the foyers of homes and businesses. Carol's highlight was being asked 25 questions by local students practicing their English.

                                         Streets, Churches, and Shops of Puerto de la Cruz

Local Students Interviewing Carol

Next, we drove to the botanical gardens to see trees, flowers and bushes from all over the world.

La Laguna
The tour bus dropped us off at the ship in Santa Cruz and then we set off on our own. We found the city bus station and hopped a bus to La Laguna, the former capital of the island and walked to the city center, now a UNESCO site. Its wide pedestrian streets were lined with 15-19^th century buildings, cafes, churches, and of course booths for the holy day festival. People were enjoying a leisurely walk or conversing at the many cafes along the way.  

After meandering the historic section of town, we made our way back to the bus station, and within 10 minutes were on our way back to Santa Cruz grateful for the efficient bus system.


                   And Back to Santa Cruz

City Market

With only two hours of port time left, we scurried around covering the city highlights we had marked on a map...the huge city market, many green squares, a city park alive with festivities, churches, and theaters.

Monument to the Fallen
Soldiers of the Spanish Civil War

Oldest Theater on the Islands

  Flower Clock in Urban Park Garcia Sanabria

Especially amazing was Rambla Avenue lined with its majestic colonial style buildings, some still private homes while others now used for businesses including a preschool and the University.

Beautiful Homes along LaRambla

In the middle of the tree-lined Rambla was a wide walking path, crowded with families strolling along as they admired the many crosses created by different organizations, each with a unique theme. It reminded us of our Festival of Christmas trees back home. 

Blue skies and sunshine, amazing architecture, orange African Tulip and purple Jacaranda trees in their full glory, happy families...what's not to love about Santa Cruz? 
 Nothing that we could see!!! Yes, we did fall in love with Santa Cruz and the Canaries...and, we made it back to the ship with four whole minutes to spare!