In our A to Z of Tenerife Part 1 we included a diverse range of things we like and find interesting about Tenerife, from a leper village to its colourful, and sometimes spicy, sauces. Part 2, N to Z includes a famous English admiral, an other-worldly flower, and the Canarian gastronomic speciality that everyone loves.
A couple of years ago A to Zs of travel destinations were all the rage so, even though I liked the idea, we kept away from doing one for Tenerife as, well, everybody seemed to be doing them.
A couple of weeks ago there was a damning report in the Spanish press about the state of Mesa Mota zona recreativo (picnic area) in La Laguna after a group of students left the area like a disaster area following a Saturday night al fresco party.
“Soy canario, no soy español.” “I’m Canarian, I’m not Spanish.” It’s something we’ve been proudly told countless times over the years in the Canary Islands. When the person saying it has referred to me as being English I usually respond with a counter “soy escocés, no soy inglés” (“I’m Scottish, I’m not English”) which usually...
Celebrating San Juan is a big thing on Tenerife, especially in places where traditions are strongest and reach back centuries. Its origins lie with the island’s aboriginal people...
Earlier in the year we stopped at a café in Candelaria with my mum. Depositing our bags by our feet brought the waitress running across to scoop them up...
Gofio is one of those strange ingredients every Tinerfeño grows up with, yet many of the millions of visitors who pass through Tenerife are totally unaware of its existence.
From first light goats are driven from the Orotava Valley into the centre of Puerto de la Cruz old town and shown their spot on the harbour's cobbled beach.
The Fiesta de San Andrés (Saint Andrew) is celebrated across Tenerife on the nights of 29 and 30 November, but the tradition is strongest in Puerto de la Cruz and Icod de los Vinos.
So, for the purpose of this exercise, these are the areas I'm referring to when pitting the south and north of Tenerife head to head in ten categories...