Chasing Summer –

October 29th

This was my favorite of the three islands. I woke up at my usual time to get upstairs to catch the sunrise. We were just passing a small village nestled into the mountainy island when I got onto the deck.

It looked adorable, and I made a note to myself to try and catch it again when we left. We also went past a mountain with a cross lit up on the peak, and it was still dark enough to show up. There was a light drizzle falling, but by staying under the deck above, it didn’t matter.

When I made it to the breakfast area, the sun was really coming up, and rainbows began forming. Over the next hour, I sipped my tea, ate breakfast, and watched multiple rainbows appear over the island. It was quite the welcome that Tenerife was putting on.

One of the best things as we pulled into port was seeing how much closer to town we were than at the previous islands. It was going to be a 10-15 minute walk off the boat and into town.

An hour after we arrived in port, a giant P&O cruise pulled in. Now, this boat could hold 5000 passengers easily, so I decided I needed to get off the Odyssey as soon as possible to beat the hoards that would be descending.

I quickly grabbed my things, and by 9am, I was walking off the ramp and heading into town. As I had thought in 10 minutes, I found myself out of the port area and at the main square, Plaza de Espana.

The plaza has a lake (it was drained for winter when I was there) and a fountain. There is also the Insular Palace of Tenerife, the Palace of the Charter, and the Candelaria Square all off to the sides of the plaza.

A monument to the Fallen of the Spanish Civil War is in the center.

A sign reading Santa Cruz and a sculpture called “I AM Fine” are beside the lake.

The lighting around the square caught my eye and reminded me of glass blowing.

From the plaza, I headed along the water to the oddly shaped Auditorio of Tenerife. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava. While it is still impressive from a distance, up close the white mosaic that makes up the outer shell of the buildings is in need of some repair.

From the auditorium, I headed inland to the Mercado Nuestra Senora de Africa. It’s quite a long name for a walled open-air market that sells jewelry, food, groceries, and flowers.

I walked across the Puente Serrador that spans the Ravine de Santos.

Across the ravine is the Teatro Guimera with a large bronze face sculpture.

A short block away is Calle del Castillo, which is a major pedestrian shopping street. Since Halloween is only days away and this is our last port, I stopped in a couple of shops to pick up pieces for my costume.

At the other end of Calle del Castillo is Plaza Weyler & Fuente. In the center of the square is a marble fountain with children holding flowers. On the base are dolphins in each corner.

From here, I made my way through Plaza de 25 Julio, which had a fountain that reminded me of the one in Seville with the frogs and a bird in the center. On the side of the plaza is Iglesia de San Jorge.

My target was to climb up into the city to Parque Garcia Sanabria. This green space has several fountains and statues throughout it. There is also a floral clock at its entrance.

Next the the park is the Town Hall of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

From here, I began to make my way back down the hill and towards the port area. The Masonic Temple is under renovation, and there was a student field trip at Plaza Principal that I had to wait to relocate before snapping a few pictures.

Behind the Plaza de Principal is the Museum and the Circulo de Amistad XII de Enero. It was cute to see such a serious-looking building wearing a Halloween costume of a spider and her web above the door.

Behind the museum is the Iglesia de San Fransisco.

From here, I made my way back to the port and boarded the Odyssey. Our farewell at dinner showed off the island draped in sparkling lights as we headed off to Africa for our next port of call in three days.