TENERIFE: Trip to the capital, Santa Cruz on TENERIFE.

Wednesday 18 March.

I was feeling a lot better this morning and we prepared to get the bus at 8:15am to Las Americas to catch the connection from there to Santa Cruz. We took our iPads with us to read on the first section on the bus as we have seen this scenery many times before. We didn’t bother with our fleeces as the weather was now much warmer but Moira packed our rain jackets as the north-east side of the island gets a lot more cloud and rain. When we left we put on our jackets as it was, for some reason, a little chilly and also had to keep them on in the bus as the driver had the air conditioning going full blast.

It was the express bus we caught from the corner and it took under an hour to reach the bus station at Las Americas where our connection was already loading for Santa Cruz. I had time to visit the loo before we were off at 9:15 am. The first part was the usual slow section into Los Cristianos but after that it was motorway all the way to the capital of the island. This was also an express bus and there weren’t any stops until we reached our destination, it was about 72 km and it took just over an hour. There is another slower bus that goes to Santa Cruz and calls in at the airport on the way, which will be the one that we will catch when we are returning home in a fortnight. We didn’t bother reading on this part of our journey as it was all new to us. It wasn’t terribly exciting driving along the motorway but there were some beautiful mountain scenery inland with the high peaks shrouded in a thick blanket of white cloud. This side of the island was well populated and there were a number of large towns and communities stretching, in places, high up into the hills. We could see the airport down below us as we passed along the freeway and further on there were huge wind farms with the blades all turning in the breeze. Even with this breeze generating power this power it didn’t seem to be having much effect on the sea which was relatively calm with only slightly rolling waves and no white caps.

I was still wearing my rain jacket on the bus but took it off when we arrived at the terminus at Santa Cruz. We only walked a few 100 metres and I had to don it again, there was a bitter wind blowing and there were black clouds about, threatening rain. Near the bus station there was a building that made us think we had landed in Australia, it was the very similar I design to the Sydney Opera House; it was also a concert hall, the Auditorio de Tenerife 'Adan Martin'. We headed in the other direction towards what we thought was a church in the old town. It had a large square tower but when we approached it we saw two large signs at each side saying ‘entrada’, it was the market. We had a wander round the stalls but they were mainly; fruit and vegetables, meats or cheese and spices. Some of the varieties of fruit and veg weren’t familiar to us and were at a loss to what they were. From there we followed a map of the city that Moira had and should have entered the old town next but we must have missed that part as according to the map we were well into the new section. We didn’t notice any difference, it all looked the same and there wasn’t anything of particular interest to see. On the map there was a large park at the top of the town and we made for that, at least to have a seat in pleasant surroundings and a cup of coffee. One good thing about the city was that all the streets had name plates and they corresponded with the map, so we had no problems finding our way.

The park, Parque Garcia Sanabria, was very nice and mainly consisting of trees; a large variety of tropical palms. We found a bench for a break; it must have been raining earlier as we had to wipe the water from the seat. After our break we had a walk around the multitude of paths that ran between the towering palms and one beautiful archway of shrubs but unfortunately not yet in bloom. The park was a very popular place and there were a number of school parties there on a nature field trip. There were a few spots of rain as we strolled round but luckily it didn’t come to anything.

Moira said that she had read in a guide book that a tramcar went to the suburbs of Trinidad and La Laguna, high above the city. These were supposed to be the original communities and the book said it was worth a visit. As there wasn’t anything noteworthy in the city centre we decided to take that advice. We headed to the tram terminus which was near the bus station by going down a different road to the waterfront and along. At the dock area where the cruise ships come in (there weren’t any in today) we got a fine view of the mountains and ridges to the north where the climbing and trekking area is found. It was a nice stroll by the sea and there was a lovely old sailing ship in one of the docks. Further along there were what looked like oil drilling platforms being refurbished, but we weren’t aware of any oil operations in this region. Soon we picked up the tram lines and followed them to the terminus where we caught one straight away; they were in fact plentiful, running every 10 minutes. Moira was able to use the prepaid bus card for the tram as well.

The ride was quite long, I had suggested that we could walk back but it turned out to be far too far. The scenery wasn’t any better as it made its way through shopping and housing areas. There was one point where we got a good view of the mountains to the north but soon the rails ran through more built up suburbs. The tram was fairly busy with people getting on and off at the many stops before reaching the end of the line at Trinidad. When we got off it was in the main street and a row of shops, it was also very cold now we were at a much higher altitude. It was lunch time and we had hoped for a bench when we got off the tram to sit for our sandwiches but because of the cold we decided to take a walk to the end of the street turn and get the next tram back down.

The plan changed when I spotted the large dome of a church in among the houses. We headed that way and after a series of zig-zags through the back streets found the church, the Cathedral de La Laguna. It had two lovely domes and inside the aisles were rows of columns with high arches and the windows beautiful with a series of stained glass with biblical depictions. There was a mass taking place in one of the side chapels as we walked around. When we came out the sun was shining and it was milder, we found a bench at the side of the church out of the wind and there had lunch. As we were eating a band was forming, at first I thought it was going to be a parade but when they finished tuning up and got in line a hearse arrived with a coffin decked in flowers. As it was taken into the church in front of the mourners the band played a solemn dirge. When it was over we continued on our walk about.

We saw another large clock tower nearby and went to explore there. It was another church, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, and when we went in for a look around the woman wanted money to climb up the tower, we declined and satisfied ourselves with the view outside. From there we slowly strolled back to the tram terminal through a quite nice area of old houses and buildings. We got a bit lost and had to ask directions, fortunately we had been heading the right way and the tram was only a few blocks away.

When we got off the tram at Santa Cruz again we intended to catch the first bus back but first I wanted some photographs of the Sydney Opera House ‘look-a-like’. It wasn’t far away but I had to get closer because of telephone cables and lampposts blocking and spoiling the picture. On the way back to the bus station it began to rain and although only a few 100 metres we got soaked. The express bus wasn’t until 3:15 pm but there was a slow one leaving at 3 pm so we took that instead rather than hang about for 15 minutes to save maybe 10 minutes travel time. One difference with this bus was that it kept coming off the motorway at each junction to a bus stop on the slip road then back to the motorway again on the other side. The other change was that it called in at the airport, this was quite handy as it gave us an idea of the timing and where to get off when we catch the bus to go home in a couple of weeks’ time. From Los Cristianos I expected it to take a long time to Las Americas as it was now the rush hour but it took a different route from the El Teide bus and was on to the motorway again and at the terminus in about 5 minutes.

I went to the loo before heading for our connection while Moira went to standing the large queue. When I came out she was in a state, she couldn’t find her mini iPad in the rucksack. We searched thoroughly but it wasn’t there, only my iPad. We couldn’t figure out what had happened to it, either she had left it on the bus this morning or it got pulled out with our lunch. Moira went to the info office at the bus station and asked if it had been handed in there. It hadn’t but the woman took her details and will phone if anything turns up. By this time we were at the back of the queue when the bus arrived and I thought we wouldn’t get a seat but fortunately there were two left when we got on. It wasn’t a very happy journey back to Puerto Santiago.

We had a pizza for dinner and were back in time for ‘Eggheads’ on TV. After that I let Moira have my iPad to read the newspaper while I used the Notebook to upload the photographs I had taken and write up the highs and lows of the day in my diary. Later there was a programme with Brian Cox, ‘Stargazing Live’, in a build up to the solar eclipse that is due to happen on Friday morning. It was all right but I’m not that keen on Cox, he is as my mum used to say ‘too sweet to be wholesome’. We got to bed at 9:30 pm and read for an hour before getting to sleep. I slept on and off while in between thinking about the mislaid iPad.

SANTA CRUZ PHOTO ALBUM.