ETERNAL SPRING IN TENERIFE!

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Port of Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Aboard the Enchanted Princess

Room Aloha 212

Sunny, 78F—another gorgeous day!

Port of Santa Cruz

 

This morning as we approached the portT

Janie was really in Santa Cruz, Tenerife!

The Canary Islands form a Spanish archipelago of seven volcanic islands located in the Atlantic Ocean, about 60 miles off North Africa.  The islands were named after the Latin word for dog, “canaria,” possibly because large dogs were found here, or “seadogs” (monk seals) were once plentiful in the waters around the island.  Beaten only by Hawaii’s Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, Tenerife’s Mount Teide is the world’s third highest volcano and the highest point in all of Spain at almost 13,000 feet.

 

One interesting fact we learned from the port lecturer was that areas of the island are used to test vehicles that will navigate the terrain of Mars.  Many movies have been filmed in Tenerife, including One Million Years B.C. with Raquel Welch, Dr. Who, and Jason Bourne.  The Canary Islands are a popular holiday destination with about 12 million visitors yearly.

 

Because of its year round mild weather, Tenerife is considered the “Island of Eternal Spring.” We can vouch for that—today the temperature was around 76F and TK wore shorts!

Even though Princess Cruise Lines knew it would be arriving in this port over a year ago, their planning was not very good. The lines were long as people waited for a shuttle bus to get to the end of the port and entrance to the city. I try not to be negative in this blog, but when 200+ people are waiting for a shuttle bus in the sun with no shade, happiness does not prevail among passengers. Most of the passengers are about our age, with varying degrees of mobility, and standing for 45 minutes in those conditions can be difficult.  There were probably 4 cruise ships in port, but every single passenger knew over a year ago that we were visiting this port. I must imagine that the cruise line knew that too. 

 

Actually, the situation was repeated when we wanted to return to the ship. Again, we waited 45 minutes for a shuttle with about 200+ of our closest friends. The bus capacity was about 60, which meant more waiting for some.  I wonder what it will be like tomorrow in a port (La Palmas) that we were not originally scheduled for!

 

We explored Tenerife last year and opted to amble around the port of Santa Cruz on our own today.

Santa Cruz is another vibrant European city, Christmas decorations galore, monuments, sidewalk cafes and restaurants, and glorious shopping.

Breakfast here, clean and slick

Breakfast, croissants filled with custard

Poinsettias!

No words (can you read this?)

For Lawrence

Lush street with fine restaurants

War Memorial

Our motto—leave no market behind. The Market of Our Lady of Africa was exquisitely planned—two levels full of colorful fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, and other wares.

Market of Our Lady of Africa

Sculpture, seemingly an homage to fishermen

Market-clean and neat

Beans for sale!

Closeup--All are bags of different kinds of beans!

Cheese

Supermarket on lower level

Colorful fruits and vegetables

Two special highlights:

The Police Canine Corps—I think the canine corps officers were acclimating their three dogs to crowds and noise. We were mesmerized by the dogs. The Rottweiler was the oldest and most experienced, totally intent on chewing his toy, off leash. A Belgian Malinois puppy was a little more rambunctious, but mindful of its trainer. The other Belgian Malinois was in between, quite well trained, but still playful. I know not to approach police dogs, but others didn’t seem to care, and the officers seemed OK. After watching these beautiful dogs for at least a half hour…

Police Rottweiler with his toy

Belgian Malanois

Rottweiler tugging his toy

 

The Children---we heard banging rattling noise get louder and louder. Soon we realized children from a Montessori school were dragging cans along the street in a long parade of about 60.  Each child had made a sort of string toy with pop cans, tuna cans, many kinds of cans, and were trailing their cans behind them.  We have no idea if this was a special day, or just a way for the children to be creative in a little parade with their special noisy project.  The Rottweiler had no reaction to the children or the noise. The other two dogs were mildly interested. 

 

I loved this demonstration of dogs and children!  A peek into life on Tenerife!

The children and stringed cans were adorable

Police dogs watching

Very creative!

They walked blocks and blocks!

TK's Takes:  Nice day, liked wearing shorts, saw only one pigeon, nicest market we have seen (except for the fish)