La Orotava

Another day, another coach trip. This one took us to the beautiful town of La Orotava in the north of the island.

That's Teide in the background, still with some snow. More of Teide next time!

We visited the botanical gardens, with huge euphorbia...

...big, but not as big as the previous day's draco trees...

...even turtles!

You can name the other plants yourselves...

...I know I have expert followers!

However I will jump in with the stunning calliandra haematocephala alba, (sometimes called 'white powder puff'). I didn't know this one!

Loved the bamboos, a little thicker than the ones hiding our washing line! 

Back into the town and its wonderful skyline and architecture

Floor art using coloured sand...

...and a statue to the man who developed the local tradition, sometimes done in flower petals too. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2a9tyLj3cA

Coach trip to the west of the island (2)

For the second part of our day's adventures we visited Garachico and Icod de Los Vinos. Sadly the weather was dull but we still enjoyed exploring the narrow streets of Garachico with its fascinating architecture.

The town was once the main port of Tenerife until the Negra volcano erupted, destroying the harbour (https://www.spain-holiday.com/Tenerife/articles/garachico-the-prettiest-and-unluckiest-town-on-tenerife)

The lava flow can still be seen...

...and this is where the harbour once was.

A park has been made, incorporating the old entrance to the original harbour.

Last stop of the day, Icod de Los Vinos

Its most famous attraction is the draco or dragon tree, not actually a tree but very impressive.  Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracaena_draco

Leaving the town it was interesting to see a more fertile part of the island

Coach trip to the west of the island (1)

Car hire is cheap on the island but we decided to go on several excursions so that we could both enjoy the views. We weren't disappointed!

Our first visit took us to the west and north-west, taking the fast motorway past all the big tourist resorts in the south of the island.

Los Gigantes, aptly namd mountains plunging into the sea

Temperature inversion: clouds rolling down from the heights

The view from the tops was breathtaking - that's La Palma on the horizon.

Even the dandelions were different!

Another good reason for taking the coach: this was our onward route!

The beautiful village of Masca with its 90 inhabitants...

...only connected by passable roads in recent years...

...and once a pirate hide-out, even if it's a 3-hour hike to the coast!

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

We were very adventurous next day and caught the bus to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island's capital. Maybe it was because we visited the town on a Sunday, the day after a week-long fiesta but we weren't very impressed with what we saw.

First stop, the market...

...people obviously nursing their hangovers as it was very quiet.

As always, there were great displays of local produce...

...but not to everyone's taste!

Lots of walking is thirsty work

We liked this modern sculpture...

...and some of the buildings.

Another example of a lava-flow channel in the town centre

An interesting use of sea wall protection rocks: portraits of iconic figures from popular culture