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Tenerife 1999 - Page 1

Landfall


distant view of Tenerife Once the sun had risen on the 7th October, this is the view that greeted us.
Can you spot the lighthouse? It is half way up the cliff on the far right of the picture. What is amazing is that it is 246 metres (807 ft) above sea level and only half way up the cliff! lighthouse on the north coast of Tenerife


Harbour life

Our first view of Santa Cruz the capital of Tenerife Our first view of Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife. We thought it looked a bit of a dump and considered moving on in the not-too-distant future.
From our berth we can watch the cargo vessels and cruise ships coming and going. Commercial Harbour - Santa Cruz
Our neighbours We often watch other yachts coming into port and dream what life would be like aboard them. They are always two or three times bigger than us!
Yes, we still need to do mundane things like washing. The drying time is just brilliant! Nicky hanging up the washing
nigel hanging up the washing The marina has a launderette so we managed to do four huge loads. Rusalka's waterline went down (or is it up!) once it was all hung up.


Shore Leave

We were struck by the way the surrounding mountains tower over the town and harbour. Santa Cruz Harbour
the helipad The helipad, in the car park next to the harbour, is in frequent use day and night. The bells of the clock tower in the building behind play the most cracked and peculiar tune, every fifteen minutes.
Modern ferries seen thorough the incredibly intricate and beautiful metalwork around the old harbour. dockside of Santa Cruz
town waterfront Where ever you look, the jagged mountain tops of Tenerife oversee the bustle of Santa Cruz


El Mercado de Nuestra Señora de Africa

The Market of Our Lady of Africa is truly wonderful, in its forgotten corner of Santa Cruz. Here is some history and colour from a time gone by. The Gateway to Africa
Another gateway to Africa More intricate, wrought iron-work leads you into a square that whispers to you of Mexico, of North Africa... of Spanish colonials in another hot land.
The central square of the market is dominated by this clock tower and ringed with stalls selling every type of produce you could want. The Clock Tower in the African Market
Nicky buys pulses Here Nicky is overwhelmed by the range and selection of grains and pulses. A wholesome diet could be sustained for pennies from this stall alone!
This stall had a bewildering cacophony of livestock for take-away. Whether you wanted half a sack of chickens, a couple of rabbits, a cat or a box-full of hamsters, they were ready to serve. No questions would be asked as to whether they were for the pot or to become life-long pets! Chickens, rabbits, hamsters...


Keep your head up

A balcony in Santa Cruz It's amazing what you see in a town if you look up, above the shop-fronts. These cantilevered balconies remind us of La Coruña, except there they are all glassed in.
The founding fathers of the town did not stint on their balconies and decoration. They built grand and they built proud. Santa Cruz: Building 1
Santa Cruz: Building 2 Much older and much simpler buildings have survived too. I love the proportions and the way the original paint (is it distemper?) has survived and weathered in this wonderful climate.
A commercial town-house, still as active and as pretty as the day it was built. Santa Cruz: Building 3
Santa Cruz: Building 5 Maybe they will preserve this façade in the new development, but they will never be able to match the subtle and delicate original colour wash. It ages like an old master and is utterly different to modern, plastic exterior wall paints.
There's a style of exterior wood-panelling which seems quite unique to this place. This example has been heavily renovated, but you see it a lot. The wood must be about 200 years old. Maybe examples of it just haven't survived the elements elsewhere. Santa Cruz: Building 5
Santa Cruz: Building 6 Miniature palaces to commerce, with palm trees in the Plaza.
Deeply carved panelwork under a window again. The climate here must be so kind to the timber that it can survive so long, painted or not through each generation. Santa Cruz: Window detail
Santa Cruz: Round window There is modern work too, this window in an air-conditioned shopping mall looks out onto more recent developments in the heart of the city.


Conquistadors

This church tower dates right back to the Conquistadors who wrested the island from the Guanches, the original, native people. One story of Canarian 'Conquest', that of Hierro, written by Leonardo Torriani in about 1590 says, "The Christians began to disembark, and they were received with great rejoicing and happiness. They seem'd... to be Gods and not mortal men...; the heathens ...began to board the lighters as they wished to get out to the ships; and so many came on board that the ships were fully loaded." They were, of course, all taken away and sold into slavery. The Guanches did not make the same mistake when the ships returned the following year... Santa Cruz: Church Tower
Santa Cruz: Nicky and Church More of the church - La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción - whose belfry is shown above. This was originally built in 1502, although lots has happened to it since. It is said to be the repository of the original Cruz de la Conquista (Conquest Cross), planted in Tenerifian soil to try to sanctify the overthrow of the original people in 1496. This was an easy enough victory for Alonso de Lugo as previous contact and warfare had passed on to the Guanche tribes a European epidemic to which they had no immunity, and which was to all but wipe them out anyway.


Home from home

This was the first street we wondered up when we made it ashore (after very little resistance from the natives, too). The shade and those trees make it the coolest and the most pleasant change from the open sky. Here also is our favourite cafe, which we almost never can pass without succumbing to it, a seat under the trees and a couple of coffees. The street and its cafe tables are well populated with, mostly one-footed, pigeons. We don't know what they do to lose their feet, but it makes landing on a cafe table to pick up crumbs a very precarious occupation for them. Santa Cruz: Our Cafe and Street
One of Santa Cruz's great holes in the road The Mayor of Santa Cruz is very concerned that this town does not attract enough of the foreign tourists who have wrecked the resorts dotted around the rest of the island (Los Cristianos and La Playa de Las Americas, for example). Luckily, Phase One of his cunning plan is to dig half a dozen huge holes in the road. This is one of them. The noise of the work and the disruption caused to traffic has been sufficient to keep the worst of the tourists away so far, so the rest of us can continue to enjoy the place in relative peace. Let's hope Phase Two is just as dastardly...


Waterworks

The main river through Santa Cruz is marked on maps a broad blue streak called the Barranco de Santos. We went to see it and found it bone dry. They weed this one, other dry river beds on the edges of the town are very overgrown and often used as rubbish tips too. We did notice the careful excavations under the small foot-bridge, as if someone was expecting great things to happen one day... Santa Cruz's main river - dry as usual
Bailing out the dinghy after the rains begin ...and then it poured with rain for about three days. Not only did this half-fill our faithful dinghy tied alongside, it also washed all the dried, caked salt off our nav-lights and decks from the crossing to the island, weeks before. And it got the Barranco de Santos flowing for the first time this year. The only trouble with that was that the Barranco empties right into our basin of the harbour, so we were surrounded by half-trees, car tires and various lost toys all washed down by the torrent and floating around the boats. I did find a very neat water-pistol, shaped like a dinosaur...
By the time we made it back into town to have a look, the river was back to a trickle again, but at least something was flowing. Notice the bank erosion caused when it really gets going. We guess that that will happen in the early Spring when the snows on Mount Teide are melting and there is still the occasional down-pour too. Santa Cruz's main river - unusually wet


A walk on the wild side

Volcanic rock layers exposed Layers of volcanic rock have oozed and piled on top of each other as each successive eruption of Teide built Tenerife up from the ocean floor over the ages. Some used to believe that the Canaries might be a glimpse of what's left of Atlantis, but unfortunately they have risen, not sunk, to their present state.
Later on the same day we walked across this bridge. We were amazed at the extend to which it flexed as traffic hammered across it. When we reached the other side of the bridge we found a large statue of John the Baptist de la Salle, the founder of the order for which Nigel has just finished working as a teacher. The Bridge over the River Santos
Two caves We think this looks a bit like the face of an Orang-Utang!
These small caves appear all along the river bank. Are they caves or lava tunnels? Wish I'd listened more in Geography! The gorge of El Barranco de Santos
un-touched photo Isn't this lovely?
and this one too. Local wild flora in abundance
Wow... look at that Although the rains can bring out floral abundance, local plants have to survive harsher times too.


The chores go on...

We also have to start thinking about leaving for our Atlantic crossing. Here Nigel is shaping a piece of teak to help us lash butane gas bottles on deck. The chores go on...

There are more photos of Tenerife, including our visit to Mount Teide and the Christmas lights of Santa Cruz. Click here to view.