Tenerife Summer 2012

We were lucky enough to go and visit Jaime's family this summer in Tenerife. Of course Lela had our apartment ready for us and filled with the touches of Love only a Grandma can do. As always, she made us feel right at home, and the boys loved being able to run upstairs anytime to visit with her and Lelo and to see if she might be making some bizcocho.

Another cool thing was the fact that a family reunion was also scheduled for this Summer. Cousins, Second Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles all came in from wherever they lived to meet up with all the family in Tenerife. There was quite a crowd. The largest cousin gathering ever assembled from what I'm told. Two weeks flew by faster than one could have imagined. We had a great time hanging out, sight seeing, and visiting with family......and the boys had a blast!! See you again next year!

Kim and Megan visit Tenerife

My cousin, Kim, and her daughter, Megan, made the trip from Oregon to Tenerife to spend 12 days with us on our little island...here's what we did:

...And the rest of our visit with Alise (video)

Other than eating pizza, the Carnaval parade was our very first outing after Alise arrived...followed by an evening of tapas and bedtime.

The next day, we had a nice morning with breakfast near the ocean including churros and chocolate. The late afternoon/evening brought heavy rains and strong winds...so much so, that businesses closed, festivities were postponed, and the Canarian government urged people to stay in their homes....

The rest of our week was either cloudy with a chance of rain, or sunny and beautiful. We spent our time hanging out, watching movies, shopping, eating, visiting Loro Parque, basking in the sun & playing at a beach in the South, enjoying the Parque García Sanabria, and hiking and exploring the Taganana Mountains.

We also had one failed attempt to see the snow on the Teide followed by a more successful attempt a few days later, as well as a failed attempt (flat tire) to spend another day in the South followed by a visit to Playa Las Teresitas which is much closer.

Overall it was a busy and eventful visit. We're glad the sun decided to show its face at least once or twice so that Alise could bring a semi tan "home" to cold and snowy Chester, England. Now, it's back to life as "usual."

Back from La Palma: Part II

Monday morning began with breakfast and the boys playing and exploring the apartment and surrounding area. I think they loved being somewhere new and different. They liked throwing rocks off the patio, chasing the villa's cats, and venturing down our walkway all the way to the end, but not technically "out of bounds." They also liked collecting rocks, leaves, sticks and flowers on the way to Uncle "Tu-to's" (Arturo's) apartment next door as well as "nonnie nu-ie-a's" (tante Nuria's) place one more door down.

When Jaime needed to use the computer, we took them to play on the lawn in front of the reception office where they had other "goodies" guests could borrow. The boys especially liked the pool noodles, a basketball, and several cans of tennis balls. They enjoyed rolling the balls down a hill and then running to retrieve them just to head back up and start all over again. It was a great way to tire them out.

Anyhow, once everyone was ready, we headed out to the Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente for a little hiking and sightseeing. The Caldera is a massive depression 8km wide and surrounded by soaring rock walls. It was once thought to be a huge volcanic crater. Even though volcanic activity was key in its creation, scientists now believe that is was a majestically tall volcanic mountain that collapsed on itself and, through the millennia, erosion excavated this tall-walled amphitheater (as always, the pictures don't do it justice).

Access and parking for the trails is limited so we had to stop at the visitors center first to wait our turn for a parking pass. After about 30 minutes, our numbers were called and we headed up the mountain. Everyone geared up and we off we went. About mid way through our 2 mile hike, the boys decided to take a nap right in our carriers! Jaime and I tried to walk a little more carefully and fell behind the noise of our group to let them sleep as long as possible. They woke up about 10 minutes before we arrived back at our cars.

After hiking, it was lunchtime and then we went back to the apartment for a bath and some relaxing before the boys bedtime while the rest of the group headed to another beach.


On Tuesday we drove to the "big city" of Santa Cruz e La Palma. On the way through the mountains (this island has LOADS of tunnels which, by the way, the boys were VERY excited about) the clouds were literally pouring over the mountains. I've seen clouds like this before, but never where you could actually see them spilling over...

Anyhow, back to Santa Cruz the place where Jaime's mom was born and raised. We stopped to look at his grandma's old house (flat) which on the busiest main road and right across from the city Mercado. After a quick stroll through the tiny market, Jaime and I took the boys and wandered around town a bit while the rest of Jaime's family ran some errands. Afterward, it was time for lunch.

After lunch we went to see the virgin de La Nieves which is the patron saint of La Palma and the namesake of Jaime's mom, Nieves. It's a beautiful little hilltop town with a quaint church that houses the virgin. The children played in the small plaza while the adults took turns admiring the inside of the church.

What did we do after visiting the virgin???? Yep, it was off to yet another beach. We played and swam for a bit and then headed back to get the boys in bed somewhat close to a normal time.

Up Next: A bodega and a cave

El Teide in the Spring

Of the 36 plants endemic to Tenerife, there are 16 which are endemic to the specific area of El Teide National Park. The plant species here are fully adapted to the tough living conditions of high altitude, intense sunlight, extreme temperature variations and lack of moisture. The flowers bloom in May and June, and we have been wanting to get back up the mountain to see one plant in particular.

With June slipping by, we finally made it to the park late Monday afternoon to catch a glimpse of the Echium wildpretii. More commonly called tower of jewels, red bugloss, Tenerife bugloss or Mount Teide bugloss, it is a herbaceous biennial plant that grows in the subalpine zone of the ravines of Mount Teide and can reach up to 3m in height (the Spanish name is tajinaste).

As we finally passed above the clouds, and the sky and sun poked through, we saw the first display:

We drove along looking for more. There were some here and there, and carcasses of ones that had already made their seasonal appearance, but there weren't as many as we expected to see. Still, we got what we came for, and decided to take the boys for a little "hike."

As usual, the boys enjoyed exploring... stopping to examine one thing or another, or to collect a rock or stick, or to climb on something, or to just kick up some dirt.

Along the path, Jaime spotted a spartocytisus supranubius (supra = above; nubius = the cloud) in bloom. It's a white flowering plant also native to the Canaries. The common name is Retama del Teide. Jaime left the path to snap a couple of pictures, and the boys and I followed. Well, the boys followed Jaime, and I followed the boys...

There was a bonus to our little "off road" excursion... we found another Tenerife Bugloss!! Of course we couldn't resist taking more pictures, and the boys enjoyed watching the bees collect nectar from the flowers.

It was starting to get late, so we headed back toward the car. We reminded the boys of the bunny we saw the last time we visited El Teide and they were suddenly excited to find another.

Good thing Jaime did spot one on our walk back and the boys watched intently as the bunny explored the area and munched on plants. It was just too cute!!!

Another great adventure!! I'm so glad we made it to the park before all the blooms were gone, because I wasn't prepared to wait until next year to see them. Of course, no trip to the teide would be complete without a picture of the mountain and the sea of clouds surrounding it.

Mountains and Bunnies

...and the other way to escape the overcast and cloudy weather here in Tenerife?? Drive above the clouds! That's exactly what we did this past Monday. We went to escape the gloomy weather and to possibly see some snow by driving up to El Teide.

As we drove through the forest and above the clouds, we were greeted by a beautiful, clear, blue sky. The temperature was a little chilly, but the sunshine kept things comfortable. There were a few patches of snow here and there, and we thought about joining a couple and their kids playing in it, but then we decided to drive further up the mountain instead. We stopped at a bar/restaurant for a snack, Connor decided to eat his muddy shoe, and then we took the boys for a little "hike."

They had a great time exploring and collecting things like sticks and rocks. They did really really well navigating the paths and (mostly) following Mom & Dad.

As the sun started to set, we turned back towards the car. And, even though it was getting colder, the boys didn't seem to be in a hurry to end their day... until Jaime spotted a rabbit.

Once the boys caught sight of it, they took off running. Luckily it was in the direction we wanted them to go. Of course, the bunny outran our speedsters and hid in a bush. It was so cute watching the boys look and wait for the "Easter" bunny to reappear. The rabbit did make one more appearance before taking off for good, but the boys still wanted to wait. We had to tell them that maybe the bunny "went this way..." which, of course, was in the direction of our car.

We changed them, fed them in the "Auto Café," and then took the long drive down through the clouds back to our place. Another great "cloud day" escape.

"It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility." ~Rachel Carson