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.
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!
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.
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.
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...
You won't need to spend much time on Tenerife, before noticing the wooden balconies that hang off so many the island's houses. These "Canarian Balconies" are a famous architectural trademark of the archipelago. To learn more about them, we visited the Casa de los Balcones in Orotava.
Both the valley and the city of La Orotava are blessed with the ability to grow apparently anything. Walking through town, we marveled at the variety of plants, flowers and trees sprouting from every garden, yard, or crack in the ground. But two parks adjacent to one another bear special mention: the Jardines del Marquesado de la Quinta Roja, and the Hijuela del Botánico.
La Orotava is located midway up the valley, overlooking the coastal town of Puerto de la Cruz. Because it's not right on the ocean, it manages to largely avoid tourism -- Europeans visit Tenerife for the beach, and not much else. The elevated position also provides the town with an amazing view, and abundant access to water. There are gardens everywhere in Orotava; in yards, parks, plazas… even the weeds blossom with exuberance.
Despite all the hiking we were doing, we definitely weren't losing any weight here in Tenerife. And that didn't surprise me, considering the hearty food, and the outsized portions in which they serve it. But we loved the island's cuisine, which is quite distinct from that of the Spanish mainland.
This is the most historic and culturally significant of any city on Tenerife, and its casco antiguo, or old town, is replete in majestic palaces.
