The Incredible Tenerife
About 1100 kilometers off the coast of Morocco is one amazing pile of volcanic rock...a little place I like to call my retirement plan.Tenerife is, for lack of any better word, an absolutely stunning island. The sheer scale of it is almost impossible to impart - it's majestic coastlines of jagged volcanic formations, sheer drops, lush greenery, dark beaches and crystal waters are even hard to grasp in person.
In many respects I have never experienced a place of such extremes. Dramatic changes happen throughout the day - not just from day to night. Thick clouds impossible to drive through give way to crisp skies with profound views. As you go from the north to the south, breezy and misty mornings blossom into arid afternoons with blistering sunshine. Winds lash on beaches in the south to the delight of kiteboards while beachgoers revel in tranquil seaside picnics in the north.
Transitions abound as you explore the island by car...As you rise to the top of Teide, the main peak at 1700 meters above sea water, vegetation is bright, low and colorful, then thick tall and green, until it becomes sparce then absolutely non existent.
We started by driving from the north airport along the northern coast, passing the major city of San Juan, then weaving along the coast in and out of picturesque little towns like Guarachico...until we reached the western most tip, the Lighthouse at Teno. Looking to the south down the coast, we reveled in Los Gigantes, sheer, steep cliffs that tumble into the sea at a most alarming incline.
Wanting to avoid the major cities, especially the touristy ones to the south, we decided to stay in a hotel rural, hotels which are old collections of stone houses converted into hotels. We found a lovely place twenty minutes from San Juan, in Realejos in the foothills of Teide. The dark and muted hillside was tranquil throughout the day and dead silent at night.
The following day we decided to drive along the western coast, passing quickly through Gigantes and Playa San Juan, overwrought with bright red Brits, and found (rather lost, then found) our way to a tiny fishing village called Puertito with one seaside restaurant and a lovely little beach. After an early evening dip, we decided to continue the loop and drove the full circle, following the southern coastline, then heading back north once we reached the island's largest city, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
I was blown away by the size of Santa Cruz. A veritable urban city built up on a wild island in the middle of the Atlantic, its population is almost 600.000! One highlight to me is that Santa Cruz plays host to some really lovely arts and cultural centers. Most famous is Calatrava's Music Hall on the water in center downtown. A recent addition is Herzog & de Meuron's Tenerife Art Museum and one discovery I loved was El Tanque, a gutted and renovated water holding tank that is now used as a multi-use arts and performance space.
The highlight of our third day was visiting the peak of Mount Teide. The drive was incredible. Winding up the mountain, the landscape transformed again and again, alpine forsts gave way to pine forests then bushes and brush until we arrived at an area that felt practically lunar. We hopped the cable car and found our way 3700 meters above sea level, at Spain's highest point. One undoubtedly feels the elevation as a short walk left us breathless...both from altitude and the magnificent vantage point.The last day was, despite all of my reservations due to weather and time to fit everything in, my absolute favorite experience in Tenerife. Since we had covered north, west and south sides, we drove due east to get to Tenerife's easternmost point. We drove along a major highway, then a two lane road, which gave way to a one lane shared road that wound along a high ridge with sharp drops on either side down to the sea, and ultimately terminated in a little town (really more a collection of houses and one restaurant and convenience store, tucked far, far away from its nearest neighbors) whose name escapes me and is not on any map.
From there one hikes 4,5 kilometers down into the valley, past abandoned houses, wrapping around the cliffside, until you come all the way down to the sea and encounter a small collection of houses. We enjoyed a picnic on the dark black beach, in complete seclusion until early afternoon when a few more hikers made their way down. Surprisingly enough, the hike back up was half as long as the hike down! I had forgotten how much more careful one has to be when descending.
Lola was an absolute trooper, she flew down the trail, periodically peeking back around corners pleading us to 'hurry up!', she had a standoff with a goat, definitely something a four legged beast she's never encountered before, and as the sun came out on the way back to the car she continued to pick her way around rocks and up the steep hills, and made the full roundtrip with the exception of one little area, which was more due to my concern than her abilities. Call me a worrisome mother!
We rounded out the afternoon by descending yet another set of hairpin turns all the way down to San Andres, and had one more relaxing stretch on Playa Teresitas before brushing off the sand and sadly making our way to Santa Cruz and the airport for the evening flight home.Despite not having erupted for 100 years, Teide is considered to be quite unstable. It is rumored that bulge is slowly forming on the north, not due to lava, but due to an internal collapse. True extremists claim that Teide will ultimately collapse into the ocean, causing a tsunami large enough to wipe out New York City thousands of kilometers away. That said, I definitely hope that doesn't happen in my lifetime, as I will undoubtedly return to this enchanting island to unwind and lose myself once again soon.
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