Lucha Canaria
Lucha Canaria is a unique sporting event, practiced only on the Canary Islands, so we decided to check it out.
The Town of Tegueste
Despite the fact that it's just ten minutes by car from our house in Las Mercedes, it took us nearly a month to finally visit Tegueste, one of the principal towns in the northeast quadrant of Tenerife. But I don't think it will take so long for us to return -- this is among the most charming and pleasant villages we've seen so far on the island.
Punta de Hidalgo
Located in the extreme northeast of Tenerife, the small town of Punta de Hidalgo looks out over the Atlantic, and is curiously popular with both locals and tourists.
The Roques de Garcia
Our initial driving tour of the Teide region ended at the Parador Nacional de las Cañadas, situated in front of one of the island's most impressive natural sights: the Roques de Garcia. Before calling it a day, we found the energy to complete a quick, 90-minute hike around the rocks.
The Cañadas del Teide
We emerged from the forest of las Lagunetas into the vast caldera known as las Cañadas, and our automotive tour went from "gorgeous" to "stunning". This was a landscape unlike any we'd seen before, and we took our time making our way through it.
Teide Drives: Las Lagunetas
The Teide National Park consumes an impressive percentage of central Tenerife. This is an unforgiving territory, with rough volcanic landscapes, and few towns or services, so we were surprised to find it bisected with such fine roads. Our first car tour of the park would be along the TF-24, which approaches through the forest of Las Lagunetas.
After One Month on Tenerife
One month after arriving in a new place, with a third of our journey under our belts and two thirds left to look forward to, we like to take stock of our initial impressions. Overall, Tenerife had been exceeding our expectations, and we were very pleased with our decision to come here. Here are some highlights from one month on La Gomera and Tenerife!
Puerto de la Cruz
Thus far, our adventures in Tenerife had largely focused on historic towns, local restaurants, and hikes through unpopulated areas of the highlands. But there's another whole side to the island; the side to which a huge majority of foreign visitors restrict themselves. Today, we got our first taste of that other side, with a visit to Puerto de la Cruz. And we didn't like it.
A Hike around La Caldera
At the top of the Orotava valley lies a volcanic crater named La Caldera. Today, it's a popular recreative zone, with camping lots, grills and showers, and is the nucleus of an expansive network of hiking trails. We chose to embark on a moderate four-hour walk through the surrounding forests, to the village of Aguamansa and back.
Sauzal and the Casa del Vino
On the way back from Orotava, we made a pitstop in the seaside town of Sauzal. Why delay our return home? Because we so appreciate charming small towns, of course! Yes, that's it! It had nothing whatsoever to do with the signs pointing towards the "House of Wine", I swear! But as long as we're in Sauzal already...
