T is for Tenerife

Many people visit Tenerife for its beaches. We were there to walk – well, after British Airways stopped interfering with our plans, that is. Our luggage didn’t arrive until 24 hours after we did, so in the absence of walking boots we spent the first day touring by car. We saw the Piramides de Guimar, which are (probably) temples for worshipping the sun, and Candelaria with its impressive Basilica and weird waterfront statues of Guanche chiefs.  As you can see, most views in Tenerife are dominated by the volcanic Mount Teide which we visited twice. The day we moved accommodation, from Guimar to Garachico, we stopped there and did the 11k trail round the caldera, and on our way back to the airport we took the cable car up to the top. This was March (2006), so there was still snow at the summit, although most days were far hotter than we normally get in the summer at home.

We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary during this trip. This was slightly less romantic than it could have been, because it was the day we were wearing yesterday’s clothes. Thanks, BA.

21 Comments »

  1. Now thats a place a have been to – many years ago! Beautiful island! Seems you had a wonderful anniversary trip- despite the lack of wardrobe.. Thanks for the tour – nice to be back:-)

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  2. I didn’t realize the Canary Islands were so close to Europe. I was thinking they were nearer the Caribbean. What a pain that the airlines lost your luggage, but it sounds like some good came out of it and you saw more than you might have, otherwise. Love the rocky promontory photo.

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    • Much more! I think that’s true of most of these holiday islands – get away from the major resorts and they are beautiful for walking. We hardly saw a soul on some of the routes.

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    • Well, it turned up 24 hours later which wasn’t too bad. Worst was having to eat dinner in the clothes we travelled in – and spilling chocolate sauce on my top!

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