Loro Park

On Tuesday we awoke to sunny skies and warm weather. Of course we awoke to sunny skies and warm weather the day before and the day before that and the day before that one too....so on Tuesday we decided to go to Loro Park. Loro Park is part of the Sea World family. I have to say it is the most beautiful zoo/garden I have ever seen. We made a day of it, beginning with riding the Loro Park train to the park and seeing all of the shows. It is listed as the #1 attraction listed on Trip Advisor and I can see why.










The whole day was great fun and I would definitely visit Loro Park again!

11:00 a.m. and Right on Schedule

We first noticed the whistles, drums, chanting and air horns back on Monday, March 8. At or around 11:00 a.m. the noise would begin! After a day or so we thought we should check it out. We thought it was coming from the direction of the ayuntamiento (city hall). So we followed it and sure enough, in the plaza in front of the ayuntamiento there was a full blown protest going on!!! Flags, matching shirts, chanting, banners, etc. Since then it has been going on every day....at the sound of the first whistle or air horn we can say "hmmmm, must be 11:00 and after consulting our watches, it is!




But this day, March 15, something different happened. The horns, drums, whistles, chanting and flag waving began at 11:00 as usual, but the sound was coming from a different direction!!! Instead of wafting on the air from the direction of the city hall, the noise was coming from the plaza by the little church further down the street and from the opposite direction. AND it was getting louder!! A peek over the terrace wall showed a distinct police presence. And a few minutes later we had the whole protest group walking down our street. I have no idea what the protest is about, but these people are serious, and punctual! Rain or shine, 11:00 and they are out there!

Top 10 Reasons I Love Our Apartment in Tenerife

#10- We have great people watching from our terrace but that's because we live in the center of the shopping district and have to resist buying bakery, t-shirts, cameras and jewelery everyday.

#9- Our life is filled with music but that's because our rental is directly above a disco - music starts in earnest at 11:00 p.m.

#8- Puerto de la Cruz is like a charming Bavarian tourist village dropped into the tropics but (with apologies to my German grandmas and our friends from the Heimatland) it is overrun with Germans!

#7- Our terrace overlooks the ocean and mountains but you can't listen to the waves at night because we're locked up tight to deter buglars.

6- We're located in the center of town but the noise of the workers jackhammering the plaza across the street is deafening.

#5- We don't even need a clock but that's because the church belltower looms over us, chiming every 1/4 hour 24/7.

#4- It's less than a 5 minute walk to jump in the sea but even off the coast of Africa the Atlantic's still chilly.

#3- We have 150 satellite TV channels but the only one in English is CNN and that's if the wind is right.

#2- We are catching up on 7 years of Gilmore Girls but that's because we have no other American TV, WIFI or internet connection.
And the #1 reason- There are absolutely no cockroaches inside but that's because komoto dragon sized lizards patrol our patio.

Another Commotion in the Ocean

After carefully researching the feeding habits of killer whales, sharks and other aquatic predators we decided (quoting FDR) there is nothing to fear but fear itself...so today we braved the Atlantic Ocean. The first hard part was getting in as the steps down to the water at San Telmo Playa were really slippery. Thankfully there was a railing. At the next to last step you have to sit down and then ease your way into the quite bracingly refreshing water. Okay, it was cold. So pushing off I found myself treading water as fast as I could to get warm. The water wasn't as deep as I thought it would be and being salt it kept me afloat! There was only a slight moment of panic when I thought I would be dragged out to the open ocean...okay, I'm exaggerating. The waves coming in and out carry you along with them but only for a few feet. We bobbed around in the ocean for about 15 minutes and agreed that was enough for the first time. One thing I learned...keep your mouth closed...that water is really salty!

There are always lots of sun seekers on the pier. The steps to the water are further along to the right. It was really a lot of fun. Also, my careful research confirmed that there are no ocean creatures that feed on purple lycra, so I was safe!

Sunday in the Garden with Fletchers

Sunday was bright and sunny....just the weather we needed to walk through the Jardin Botanico. The garden was started a couple of hundred years ago to acclimatize plants brought back from explorers traveling the world. The idea was to acclimatize them so they could then be transferred to Madrid. The only problem was that Madrid did not have the proper climate for these plants to live. So they stayed here in Tenerife.

The cyclone Xynthia that hit the island on February 27 did quite a bit of damage to the garden and it had been closed for several days last week. There was evidence of freshly pruned plants, shrubs and trees. It is amazing that more damage wasn't done as some of the winds were up to 120 km while the average was 93km.

This is a bust of the man who designed the garden. Not sure if those were his helpers in the background.

We came across an article about the storm in the Tenerife News newspaper which is published every 2 weeks or so. Being in English we found out how much damage Xynthis caused. We knew it had smashed most of the planters outside of the Hotel Monopol, and Sue was awakened by the sound of roof tiles smashing to the street outside her window. This was the 4th huge storm to hit the islands this winter. Millions of euroes of damage was done all over the island. Many families were without power, a crane was blown over onto several houses, and miraculously no one was killed.

The day the wind died down we regained TV reception for CNN in English. We figured the wind must have reset the dish so it could receive the signal again!

I forgot to include this video on the last blog entry. This was the Saturday evening entertainment in the Hotel Monopol lobby area. Deb and I stayed to hear a couple of songs. They were really good!

One of the aspects we really like about being here is there is a variety of live music being played on the streets and in the bars on most evenings. Often we can sit on our terrace and hear the accoustical guitar being played down the street. Life is good!

Weekend with Sue, Alan and Debra

We had a one day overlap with the Fletchers (Alan and Debra) and Sue. It was a beautiful sunny day and a lovely day to eat lunch outside. Deb and Alan flew in from England and were immediately won over by the warm weather!!

We spent the afternoon wandering around Puerto de la Cruz catching up with each other's lives.

Sue who hates having her picture taken was quick.........

but I made her settle down for this one!

We had a lovely, long, leisurely dinner on our terrace sharing lots of laughs.

Saturday morning Sue left early to catch her flight for Madrid. I was having a coffee on the terrace and was able to wave good-bye as she hopped into her cab.

Later on Saturday morning at the Hotel Monopol, we met this woman putting out the fresh flowers that welcome the guests. She told Debra and I that she has been doing this every morning for the last 20 years. What a lovely way to say welcome!

Saturday was a little overcast and misty at times, but we went up to the town of Orotava to wander the streets anyway. There are beautiful old buildings, gardens and shops where you can see the lace making process. Of course we shopped!!!!!

We wandered around until we got hungry and then started looking for some interesting place to eat. It wasn't too hard to come up with the idea of driving to El monesterio. Sue, Jim and I had been there earlier in the week and had a fabulous meal of freshly grilled fish (cherne), wrinkled potatoes with mojo sauce and wine. The chef remembered that we had been there several days earlier and recommended that we have the sama this time. Another fabulous meal! We walked around the grounds looking at the old buildings, interesting garden and roosters!!! They are all over the place and didn't mind posing for a picture now and again.

Tapas and cava rounded out the evening . We made plans to meet Sunday morning to go to the Botanical Gardens.

Cheers!

Commotion in the ocean

The waves today are absolutely spectacular! All along the seawalls the waves are crashing up and over! The first picture shows an area that shortly before this picture was taken there were cars parked........no they weren't swept away.....that would REALLY have been cool.....we watched the people move them to higher and drier ground. The sound is also pretty amazing.....can't hear anything but the crashing.

Only 3 or 4 dated to brave the waves. There was a red flag flying, but it didn't deter these guys from trying to ride the 'big one'.

Once Around the Island

Sue and I took a bus tour around the island. Spectacular views, interesting vegetation, black sand beaches, history.......and sun, sun, sun. Can't ask for more than that!

Sue with the Dragon Tree behind her at Icod.

Los Gigantes.

One of the early tribal leaders. Supposedly they were blue-eyed blondes.




Candelaria had a Jackson Mania theme for their Carnaval. They were just taking down the stage the day we were there.