The Good Life in Tenerife

Holiday Get-Away Time

One of the nice things about living in England is all the extra school holidays the kids get. Even though Lexi's school follows the American curriculum, they give a week's break in mid-February for what is called half-term. We always try to take advantage of the time off. Some co-workers of Chris recommended a place called Tenerife. It's an island in the Canary Islands. I had never heard of it but it's near the equator so it gets lots of sun year-round.  Sun in February... I'm there! The dreary winter days in England really start getting to you by February.

We weren't disappointed. The weather was beautiful. In the 60s at night, 70s during the day... in February! How wonderful to feel the sun on you but not get hot and sweaty from the heat.

Some History

The Canary Islands are owned by Spain but they are located in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Morocco, Africa. They were formed by volcanos erupting 40 million years ago. The islands are basically the tips of undersea volcanoes. Lexi was a little nervous that a volcano might erupt while we were there but fortunately that was not a problem.

Mount Teide

In the center of Tenerife is the tallest mountain in all of Spain, Mount Teide, which is a dormant volcano. Christopher Columbus noted that the volcano was smoking when he sailed past on his way to the New World in 1492. It is so tall the peak is usually above the clouds and it is often covered with snow. You can just barely see some snow on the peak of it on the right in the photo. I wish I had a better picture but my camera battery died right after this was taken. The movies "The Ten Commandments" and "Planet of the Apes"  were shot at the Mount Teide National Park.

Christopher Columbus stopped at the island just west of Tenerife called La Gomera on his first three voyages across the Atlantic. It was the last stop where he could take on supplies of water and fresh food.  He could also visit with his love interest living there.

 What we did

Resting on benches isn't just for the old...

We stayed in a beautiful hotel on the south side of Tenerife. The locals mostly live inland and on the north side of the island. I can imagine they are happy to avoid the 4 million tourists a year.  The area we stayed in is all fairly new and built specifically for tourism. There is a nice wide walking path along the water with restaurants, bars, shops, and hotels.  There are plenty of benches too, overlooking the water, a nice touch.

We soon discovered how practical the benches are when we noticed the average age of the tourists. All those older folks are probably glad to have a place to stop and rest. It was amazing how many elderly people we saw.

There were definitely a lot of British tourists there but we also saw people from all over Europe: Finland, Sweden, Holland, Germany, Russia. Apparently it's a popular place in the winter for inhabitants of cold places.

There was a Tony Roma's right by our hotel so we had some good old American baby-back ribs our first night there. The next day was spent hanging out by the pool. Waiters bring drinks right to your lounge chair, heaven!

Our Hotel in background

The next day we ventured out to a place called Monkey Park.  You can get right up next to the monkeys and feed them.  They love bananas.

A cheeky chimp

Pilot Whale

Our last day there we took a whale watching boat excursion. When the captain located a pod of whales, he turned off the engine and we all got silent so we could hear them exhale through their blowholes when they surfaced to breathe just feet from our boat. It was so exciting to see whales in the wild.

We also saw dolphins later in the day. We were educated by the tour guide on how much longer dolphins live in the wild than in captivity.





Our boat then headed to an area of cliffs called Los Gigantes. The movie "Clash of the Titans" was filmed there.

Los Gigantes

Here is a picture of the sunset over the beach taken from our balcony:

and a view looking away from the sunset...

Random Things I've Learned from Living in England

1.  I can now tell apart these different accents: Scottish, Irish, Australian, and northern vs. southern England. I seriously couldn't tell the difference before I moved here. Still sketchy on New Zealand and South Africa though. 

2.  If you want pita bread you have to ask for "pitta" bread. Otherwise they think you are asking about a guy named Peter (Pete-uh).

3.  You can't buy a bottle of rubbing alcohol here, they had a problem with people drinking it. 

4.  Brits love dogs, walks, pubs, and even walking their dogs to the pubs.

5.  Locals are not familiar with our American Thanksgiving treat of "pumpkin pie". They are surprised it's a sweet dessert and not a vegetable dish with the main meal.

6.  The price of a green pepper at the store here is the same as a red, yellow, or orange pepper.  All are 72 pence.  I remember the green pepper being a lot cheaper than the other colors back in the States.  Not sure why this is.

7.  I've learned that I CAN take a walk even when it's cold and rainy outside, I just bundle up and wear the proper clothes.

8.  A neck scarf does wonders to keep you warm.

Here's warm thoughts and wishes heading your way!!

Wellies

You know you live in England when each member of the family owns a pair of "Wellies". Wellington boots are rubber boots great for mucking about in the mud or the rain, each of which we have plenty of in England.

Chris and I have the traditional green boots while Lexi has the fun swirly boots.  Aren't they cute?

Our Wellies

Cock-a-Leekie

Today I had a bowl of cock-a-leekie soup for lunch.  Can you believe someone actually named their soup that?  And can you believe I actually bought a can of it?  Curiosity got the better of me.  It is mostly made of leeks with some rice, chicken, onion, and carrots. The can says it's "a delicious taste of Scotland in a can".  It was pretty good, even considering the name.

Sun Chant

In my yoga class today, we chanted "Saria" which means "sun".  We closed our eyes and imagined the sun warming us while slowly singing the word Sar-i-a. Okay, I felt a little silly but I convinced myself it was a good breathing exercise. I also figured it wouldn't hurt to try to feel the warmth of the sun, if only in my head. In these short cold dark days of English winter, any little bit helps. When we came out of class, there was the sun! Maybe we invoked the sun gods?

Advent Calendars

Something new I've discovered living over here is Advent Calendars.  I'm sure they exist back home but they are really a big deal in England, especially among children. It's a way to countdown to Christmas by having a surprise to open each day.  Usually behind each day's window there is a chocolate candy with a picture of a Christmas symbol.  Last year, as Lexi and I would drive to school each morning in December, her favorite radio station, Capital, would have a segment where a child would phone in ready to open their advent calendar window for the day live on the air.  First the kids would say what type of calendar they had such as "Polly Pocket", or "Hello Kitty" or "Gingerbread House". They never seemed to be religious. Then the drama unfolded as the kid would announce what item they just uncovered. "It's a stocking" (pronounced stawkin). Or "It's a candy cane" or a kitty (ki-ee).  The kids were so cute with their very british accents.

So this year I decided to buy Lexi her own Advent Calendar. The one I chose was Santa's Joke calendar.  What was I thinking?  She's wanting to know where the chocolate is!  Oh well, some of the jokes were cute, some we just didn't get.  "What did the biscuit say when it got run over?  Oh crumbs! Huh?  How does an intruder get into your house?  Intruder window!  Ha!

Here's a picture of our calendar:

They even sell Advent Calendars for your dog with dog treats inside:

Of course we bought one. Here are Jack and Ginger eagerly awaiting their daily Advent treat:

Gotta love that Advent!

Amen and Alleluia

I attended New Year's Eve Mass at a beautiful old church in Saalbach, Austria during our recent ski trip.

I'm not much of a skier so I let hubby and kids do the ski thing while I wandered the village and discovered the quaint church right next to our hotel.  The distinctive custard yellow building with an onion-shaped dome atop its steeple is like the centerpiece of the village. Where ever I walked, I had a view of it.

See the church?

I had stopped in to look at the church earlier in the week and noticed how beautiful it was.  But I was awe-struck when I attended an actual Mass there. Every candle on the altar was lit. Christmas decorations were still up and the Christmas trees were lit. The organ played beautiful music, even some Christmas songs, gotta love the Catholics, they keep Christmas alive until after the New Year.  The church was full of worshippers, even some straight off the ski slopes. The Mass was in German so the only words I recognized were "Amen" and "Alleluia".  I thought right then, what a great title for my next blog!

Balconies and organ at back of church

Church cemetery with Christmas trees on each grave

Church peeking out behind our Hotel