Advertisement
Published: October 30th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Welcome to the Canary Islands. First of all, the name is not related to canary birds but instead it was derived from the dogs (canines) which were on the islands when the island was first explored.
We were very impressed with Tenerife Island (at least the part we saw). The population of the whole archipelago is 4 million people, with half of them on Tenerife Island (the largest of the seven islands). They are much closer to Africa than to Spain, but are actually a province of Spain and the official language is Spanish. However, the primary industry here is tourism so a lot of the people speak English and some other languages. The temperature even in the winter is supposed to be warm enough to go to the beach during the middle of the day, but the sea breezes keeps it from being too hot in the summer. Today we had a nice warm summer-like day with the high reaching close to 90 degrees (according to the captain’s evening report). We hope everyone in St Louis had as nice a day too.
After the buffet breakfast, we reported to the Ipxata Lounge to join our tour group. All
five of us had to be present before they would assign any of us to a bus. They counted us, “uno, dos, tres, quarto, five”. When we asked why the switched to English for the fifth person, it was “because cinco is not a good word to use on a cruise ship.” With that we were off to a very enjoyable half day tour, but did not go to any churches.
We visited several panoramic lookout locations, saw the previously volcanic crater of Canadas del Teide (last erupting 100 years ago), and saw the main farming valley where most of Spain’s bananas and tomatoes are grown.
We stopped at El Meson El Monsterio which was located on a hill in the middle of the Orotava Valley. We had a little snack there and got to explore briefly before we went on to Puerto de la Cruz for a sightseeing tour through the city. This very picturesque fishing harbor is very clearly a tourist village with many many shops along a very beautiful beach. Jim apologized profusely to David for not heading Janet off from the store which had beautiful collections of embroidered goods. It was difficult to leave them
all there and she finally bought only a Christmas doily. After more time to explore and shop, we drove back to the ship getting a final view of this fantastic island.
Just to complete the reporting, the Canary Islands do not pay a lot of the same taxes as in the rest of Spain, so their gas costs about 0.80 euro per liter, which is less than $5.00 per gallon - a real bargain!
Back at the ship about 2:30 we had time for a small lunch and then we separated to take naps, read books, trying the swimming pool, or whatever we chose for a leisurely afternoon. When the ship departed the port at 5:00, the next port-of-call is Fort Lauderdale (7 days and 3000 miles away). In the meantime we intend to be pampered and to thoroughly rest for the next week.
Next came dinner at 6:00. For appetizers we had Cherry Bisque, Baked Cheddar Sticks, and Leek Vegetable Soup. Our main courses were Sirloin Steaks, Baked Chicken, and Marinara Fettuccini. Dessert was Pecan Pie, Pineapple Cake, Poached Peaches, English Bread Pudding, and Sherbet. This evening we decided not to have any wine. We have
developed quite a jovial relationship with our waiter and assistant waiter, so it is a light hearted atmosphere as well as delicious food. That completes this evening’s “dinner report”.
We were not sure whether this evening’s show matched our tastes (stories and songs) or not, but we gave it a try. Turned out to be a Polish Violinist who played all sorts of different styles of music (classical to rock & roll) and then told short stories in between each one. It was nice but not spectacular.
For those enquiring minds who wonder whether a retired person can actually be “on vacation”, the answer is definitely YES. This is a lifestyle that even makes retirement seem like “work”. Now we have started the final leg of our journey. Fortunately for us it is a nice long leg. Talk to your tomorrow. :-)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.284s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 7; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0443s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb