It's holiday time in Tenerife!

Every few years we are drawn back to Tenerife, especially at this time of year when the spring-like weather is so different to that in England and even now, better than the weather we are experiencing in northern Spain. Once again, we were based in Los Cristianos which is even more English than the Costa del Sol. It made a change for us to eat fish and chips, Sunday roasts and full English breakfasts, (served all day).

Click on any picture to see it full size.

At the northernmost part of the island we discovered a fish restaurant many years ago and we make a point of eating there on each visit. Although it is a bit more commercial now, the very narrow roads have been improved with passing places and there is the occasional coach tour, the traditional salad and fried fish served with Canarian potatoes remain the same, there's only these dishes on the menu. Even the bill was calculated in pesetas then the total converted into these new fangled euros!


The scenery is very dramatic and for the journey back we cut across the centre of the island and past Teide, (3,718 metres, the highest mountain in Spain).


As is often the case, you have to pass through the cloud on the way up and then again on the way down. If it's cloudy at sea level, then all you have to do to find the sun is drive upwards through the cloud and you will have a clear blue sky.


Another village we usually visit is Masca which is hidden away in the mountains and is so popular with tourists and coach parties that there is never any space to park.



Another day out to Icod de los Vinos and the "Drago Milenario", a very old tree.


From wherever you are, you can always get different views of Teide.


Another day out, this time to Loro Park at Puerto de la Cruz. But they have much more than just the parrots to see...
...the gardens and plants are also stunning...


...and we managed to see the seal show, dolphin show, the parrot show and the Orca show as well as visiting the crocodiles, jaguars, leopards and gorillas.


The carnival is held on Shrove Tuesday in the capital Santa Cruz and then works it's way down the island so on Sunday afternoon it was in Los Cristianos and started just outside our apartment block.


As usual, there were lots of participants of all ages dressed in very colourful and flambouyant costumes accompanied by drummers or other loud music.


I don't know how far the procession went but they were certainly giving it their all at the start.



We had a sea view from the balcony and saw many brilliant sunsets.



No doubt we'll be back again in a couple of years time.

It's time for almond blossom!

We've had a relatively mild winter here this year, no snow, (we have had a covering for a few days for the last two winters), and only a handful of light frosts. The first tree to blossom is the almond, and we have just finished harvesting the olives! We noticed a couple of trees in full bloom by the roadside as we were going into Alcañiz last Friday and yesterday some blossom on one of our trees.

Click on the image to see it full size.

Because it blossoms so early, the farmers complain that there aren't sufficient insects around to pollinate it and then as there is always the chance of a late frost the blossom can be damaged. Last year this was certainly the case and we had far fewer almonds on our trees than the previous year.

In a few weeks time the young green leaves will emerge making the landscape look very fresh and spring-like. However, as the summer progresses, the trees tend to look very dry and shrivelled and then by the time the almonds are ready for picking in the late autumn, you are never sure if they will be able to come back to life next year as they have lost their leaves and look positively dead. However, nature is a wonderful thing and so the cycle has started again.