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Tenerife - Day 2
Teide & Los Cristianos |
So, you arrived in Tenerife in the morning, spent most of the day in Loro Parque so now you should head back to Santa Cruz and just before entering the city center, you'll look for the blue motorway signs that will get you onto the TF1 motorway, they'll probably say Los Cristianos or Playa de las Americas. So, read up on these two resorts, pick one you like, and go down the TF1 until you get there. Total journey time from Puerto de la Cruz is around 2 hours.
 We chose Los Cristianos and when we arrived, had no problems in getting accommodation anywhere there. We went in September but I'd imagine, like Gran Canaria, it's an idea to book ahead anywhere near Christmas, Easter or school holidays. I think Playa de las Americas (we went there too) was purpose built just for tourists but Los Cristianos is a little more residential with a little more history so nicer to look around, more schenic. Head towards the harbour for a great choice of restaurants.
DAY 2 - 11am, go whale watching and dolphin searching. (Pilot Whales). This gives you time first to see Los Cristianos by day, have breakfast and a walk around the harbour/beach area. At the harbour, you'll find several outlets each offering their own trip out to see the whales. As I said, we were in Los Cristianos so we found two or three that looked the best on paper and then went to check out the boats before we parted with our money. This proved a good idea as although each craft was in good condition, one or two of the operators were letting quite a few people on to each trip so we went with one that was a bit quieter. (They all sail off to the same place). That way, when we spotted something we could panic and run around to get the best view without knocking anyone overboard. Departures were at 11:00 13:00 15:00 hours for most of the operators and the trip lasts 2 hours, costing 2,000 pesetas per adult, 1,000 for children under 12 or free for children under 6 (lie about your age kids and spend the money on sweets instead).
By the way, they all mention dolphins too but as wih the trips here in Puerto Rico, they don't live or breed in this area but the occasional one or two seems to stray, get lost or have-a-row-and-swim- away-in- a- huff so then they are spotted.
Just half an hour sailing with Los Cristianos still clearly in view and we spotted the whales. There was a group (is it school? 'cos they're not fish are they, I'll stick with "group") of around 15 including a couple of females with babies and as we pulled up alongside them, they seemed suprisingly "not-bothered" by us. They continually swam at the surface, even the females with their young so we had great views. Of course, everyone panics at first and rushes for the best view but we stayed out with them for around 45 minutes, following them, so eventually everyone had the best view for filming, photo taking or just sitting back and watching them. Very peaceful and relaxing way to spend the morning and another amazing experience I was happy to have.
What next? Go and have some lunch then get back in the car and head for the highest point in Spain, mount Teide in the center of Tenerife.
The most scenic route seems to be the quickest route up there, following the C822 road to Granadilla de Abona then taking the C821 the rest of the way. You're journey up is on very easy to drive on roads and heading up through pine forests, eventually up through the clouds, literally and above them. Remember to stop and look back once you've got through them to appreciate the view (as above).
Now you're at the national parque of Teide, an area made up of volcanic rock formations and of course, the mountain of Teide itself. I don't know why it reminded me of being on the moon because I've never been to the moon but I imagine if there was water, oxygene and toursits in cars up there, it would look like just like Teide. Some of the things to watch out for are the huge craters, rock formations, different coloured/textured earth the higher you go.
 Once you reach the base of mount Teide, look for the cable-car ride. It costs 2,000 pesetas and every 10 minutes there's a car to take you the 8 minutes to the top. From there the views are breathtaking. The weather and cloud becomes a distant view below you. Once up there you can stay and walk around. The peak's so volcanic that the whole area has a very strong smell of sulphur and the earth is yellow! Another experience not to miss. From here you're ready to head home, travelling down the north of the island heading for Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The roads are more narrower and windy so expect your journey time to be slightly longer down. Again you're travelling for the most part through alpine forest so there's loads of stop off points along the way to enjoy the views.
On the way back, don't forget the last boat from Santa Cruz leaves at 19:00 hours!! We reached Teide around 4pm and eventually got to Santa Cruz around 6pm without having to rush my driving. This allows you a good hour at the mountain and time to stop off at points along the way. Once you come into Santa Cruz the port ("Puerto") is well sign posted.
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