Tenerife

Next stop Tenerife....

We went straight to Tourist Information and said "We need to go to a golden sandy beach please" and within minutes we were on the local bus to

PLAYA DE TERESITAS

a beach with sand imported from the Sahara.

Cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud (it didn't look anything LIKE the link above!) but our patience was rewarded as the sun eventually DID come out and we had a hot hour. I managed to avoid the little lady offering massages on the beach (though she was entertaining to watch) and I actually did some PROPER swimming here as there was a wave-breaker which created a sort of lake.

Others took an hours bus ride to the south to Playa de Las Americas but the weather was no better there either.




Then a walk back through the town.





The Art Gallery (and me being arty, multi-tasking, pointing and snapping)






The long corridor (it was... a long corridor!) (Pixen)



Yes!! Those were the wardrobe-jumping-shoes!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a bonus! Tonight Andrew Robley entertained us all with songs from Phantom of the Opera. He was fantastic and had us wondering "What is someone THIS GOOD doing on a cruise ship?!!!" He had just finished performing as the Phantom in Sydney and was on his way to New York City to continue his Phantom role that week. AMAAAAAZING!!

His web site is here

La Gomera

Shakey Drake's birthday!!!!!!

She was WELL WORTH the £3 phonecall =)

You cannot fly to La Gomera from Europe, you have to fly to Tenerife first, then catch a ferry (adding hours to the journey) and thus it is very quiet here and not a lot to do if you aren't a keen walker. We heard that the family of Fred Olsen owns a high percentage of the island which would explain our cruise stop here!

Las Hayas Trek

We did the Hike through the north-western area of

Garajonay National Park

which is the highest point of La Gomera (1,487m) .... and didn't we know it, the coach went up and round and up and round higher and higher into the fog and mist. I was glad I had learned the lessons from Girl Guiding...BE PREPARED....we were glad we had taken jumpers and cagoules. Others hadn't (well it WAS our summer holiday.)

It became a World Heritage site in 1986 and is home to "fauna and flora" native to the Canaries. The peaks of the park are usually covered by humid fog, the rainforest lies beneath but has a constant temperature all year round.

(Looks awful doesn't it, but it was a great trek and very accessible, we saw one lady walking her dog)





We came out of the forest passing terraced fields IN THE SUN before heading back to the boat.





It was a scenic journey back.









with our first glimpse of Tenerife's Mount Teide



Colourful rocks (there's a geology lesson here)




We walked through the harbour



But all I wanted to do was SWIM IN THE SEA.

Can you SEE ME???? I think Husb was busy getting Mount Teide in the centre of the photo! (Good job I'm not doing a CLIFFORD T. WARD)









black sand



Colourful houses



church



Lovely inside the church



roof!



Four of us in our tropical night gear (I love this night, everyone and everywhere is so colourful and SO much nicer than Black and White night)



Neil and Susan made up the 6..."All present and correct"

La Palma

♫♪♫♪ "Oh Santa Cruz you're not that faaarrrrrrrr" ♫♪♫♪

Next stop was the volcanic ocean island of La Palma, the most north-westerly island of the Canaries. Braemar docked at the main port Santa Cruz de La Palma, the island's main port...








..near the beaches with black volcanic sand.



Today's tour on this stunning and beautiful island began with a visit to the Sanctuary of Nuestra Senora de Las Nieves, The Church of Our Lady of the Snow, the patron saint of the island. It is the spiritual centre for all the people of La Palma and is located in the midst of an area of outstanding natural beauty.


The existence of this church is proved as far back as November, 20th, 1423 so it is one of the oldest places of worship in all the Canary Islands.....it is beautiful inside.









A great view by church



us



But the highlight of the tour was the visit to

Caldera de Taburiente National Park

created in 1954, which is one of the biggest volcanic craters in the world. The visitors centre had loads of information for us.







If you click on this photo to enlarge it you can see where the ship was docked on the cloudy cloudy cloudy east side of the island, and the road we took through the tunnel to the west side of the island ...THE SUNNY SIDE!!!! We came out of the tunnel on the other side of the island into glorious sun, what a bonus!








If you book a holiday here go on the west .... the sunny side.



We had a short hike over the crater border path... what fantastic scenery. The crater has a circumference of 28,000 metres, diameter of 9,000 metres and depth of 1,500 metres, lined with pine trees and bossed lava, the photos could never do it justice.









Wonderful stuff! Click for more info!

Great tree roots.



map of where we walked



me and some SKY BLUE (PUSB PUSB)



me




husb



Then back through another tunnel,the longest tunnel of all the Canaries with the longest stretch of straight road... 2km....

Apparently many locals used this stretch to see how fast their cars could go, only to get a speeding fine, the total amount probably repaid the cost of building it...



into cloud



crater



crater




This long building is one of the 2 hospitals on La Palma, all single rooms, free (NHS) and every room has a sea view! You would't mind being here for a while.

OMG OMG DID YOU SPOT THE IKEA???????!!!!!!





Back for a walk through the town...they like their flowery balconies, very pretty.






We didn't have to leave till evening so we had a beer and a bearhug.




And because we'd missed our tea we ordered room service..... the tray is getting bigger and better!

Has anyone spotted the picture on our cabin wall??!!!! What are the chances eh? =)



It was a brilliant day. La Palma is the home of the 14 international telescopes (Isaac Newton telescope, Liverpool telescope)

the Observatory

situated right at the top of the island and because of this there can be no industry, no pollution, no gases. Just good pure clean air.

There are no forest fires, no dangerous animals, no poisonous animals, no snakes, no foxes, no rats, no vermin....

just lizards, a frog and 80 varieties of bird.

No crime, no looting, no murders.

No rain.

(Well, maybe 25 days a year) (in Winter)

We loved it. (Black sand isn't very inviting though, but you can't have everything!!)

A GREAT DAY!!