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Our first port of call in the series. One of the Canaries, this island is a haven for birds, flowers, sunshine, sand, sea and fortunately for me, history.
Tenerife (or Ten er reef ee as it should be) is between the north west coast of Africa and the Spanish mainland. 794sq miles, it is hot most of the year round the coast and freezing all the year on top of Mount Teidi, the towering volcano which stands 3718m high, making it the highest point of the whole of Spain. 1.6 million visitors a year, a population of 61,100, there are no railways and it's the biggest of the 7 islands that make up the Canaries.
History on the island has to begin with the Guances. These remarkable people came to Tenerife from Africa. They were tall, had blonde hair and blue eyes, and they lived here peacefully for over 2,500 years. The Spanish Army eventually kicked them out but it took them 100 years to mange it, finally succeeding on Christmas Day 1495. The battle ended in the small town of Victoria, which is Spanish for victory. There is a small plaque that marks the spot next to an old church and under to a pine tree - the only living thing to have witnessed the battle. Some of the Guances escaped into the hills and to have the look of a Guanche now is a great honour for anyone from Tenerife.
Santa Cruz, which means Holy Cross (the cross is still here, housed in a city church), was made a free port in 1852 by Queen Isabella II. This makes it, along with Las Palmas, the busiest port in the world. Nelson lost his arm here and you can actually see the cannon that blew it off! I think it's called the little Tiger and can be found on the main road by the docks.
Orotava is where the first wealthy people of the island settled. They made their money through exporting sugar cane, wine, and later, fruit. Orotavia is built in a lush valley that was ideal for growing. The town has many churches and religious buildings which is a sign of how rich the locals were. The more money you had, the more churches you built.
The name Canary actually has nothing to do with little yellow birds but with dogs instead: 'Canine'. The name means 'The Island of Dogs' which is why in London's dock land you will find 'The Isle of Dogs' and 'Canary Wharf', both areas where products from the Canaries were unloaded.
Mount Teidi and its surrounding area is now a National Park. A road winds its way to the top but if you want to be adventurous there is a cable car that climbs (weather permitting) from 7,730ft to 11,670ft in eight minutes. You have to climb the last 524ft on foot. Be warned the air is thin!
Teidi has a cover of pine trees on its slopes, which suck up the moist air from the clouds that are often lower than the top half of the mountain. The water runs down their roots and into the hillside, then a system of man made tunnels brings the natural spring water back to the surface. They have 1,500k of water tunnels on Tenerife, enough if you spread them out, to swim to Spain in spring water!
We flew to Tenerife with Monarch through Iberia Airlines from Luton.
We stayed at The Mediterranean Palace. Grand Hotels. Playa de Las Americas, Tenerife. Tel: +922 79 36 22. This is a wonderful hotel in a very posh part of Las Americas. However, such opulence comes with a bill!
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