Costa Adeje and Las Americas
Bus Route: 843[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est]. Return: 843[El Medano].
Or, depending on timetable, any bus to Las Cristianos then 470[Granadilla] if you do not want to wait and, late at night, the 111[Santa Cruz] to Las Chafiras then taxi.
What a surprise when I walked out of the bus station and discovered the 'MagMa' Art and Conference Centre next door. This building just blew me away, the structure is as imposing as the mountains and the waves it represents. I walked all around it taking photographs before finding my way inside to the Reception office to purchase a ticket for the concert the next evening featuring the 'Kings Consort' from the UK.
I then crossed back to wander down a lane in the direction of the bay. As you can see from the photographs some of the development reminded me of the old 'Butlins' while others are very imposing hotels and apartment blocks. Even though it is January flowers are in bloom and, along with the bright street architecture the whole place definitely has a 'feel' of its own. The 'Polica Local' even use electric scooters to patrol minimising noise and pollution. I also found that the hotels are investing in solar panels to conserve energy - no bad thing on an island with no natural resources. I succumbed to a cheep 'all day' English breakfast for 3.50€, however with fresh orange juice, an extra sausage and a cup of coffee the cost escalated to 8.50€. I wandered around for a while then returned to the bus station for the 15:15 bus home.
My trip the following evening to the concert resulted in some more photos as the centre is lit up and takes on a whole new character. They change the colour periodically. The inside of the centre was just as imposing but photographs were not permitted in the performance. During the interval I approached the manager to see if I could take a photograph after the performance and he graciously allowed me to take photographs during the second half without flash and the camera set to 'silent'. After the performance I was invited to return to photograph the inside of the upper floor of the building and was given a guided tour by their Technical Director who explained to me how versatile the building is. It took 10 years to build and was meant to be at the centre of 'Costa Adeje' but, of course, during that time the area expanded and 'Los Cristianos' became the destination of choice. The building itself can be subdivided at will or hold massive conferences and banquets - the place to go for your wedding if you have a few bob in the bank! Each sub-division, when required, is totally sound-proof and fully equipped. They even paint the internal walls to suit. As the concert finished after the last bus home I took the 111 to Las Chafiras and spent 3.40€ on a taxi home.
Well worth it.
Or, depending on timetable, any bus to Las Cristianos then 470[Granadilla] if you do not want to wait and, late at night, the 111[Santa Cruz] to Las Chafiras then taxi.
Although I had been over to the 'Estaciõn' at Costa Adeke (referred to on the front of the bus as 'P Americas Est, on local stops as 'Costa Adeje' and in the printed timetable as either 'Playa Americas' or 'Costa Adeje' - confused well so was I at first), I had not been out of the station as I was connecting to another route. A word of warning here - treat your 'Bonobus' card with respect. I had decided to make the journey as it was a dull day and I had two Bonobus cards containing considerable credit which did not work because I had crumpled the magnetic strips on the card. The Titsa Information office, incidentally the Tourist Information Office is down on the sea front, issued me with new cards bearing the credit left on the old ones and I also got a new timetable as they appear to be updated approximately every three months. I had no particular plan for the week in mind so I decided to have a quick look around 'Americas'.
What a surprise when I walked out of the bus station and discovered the 'MagMa' Art and Conference Centre next door. This building just blew me away, the structure is as imposing as the mountains and the waves it represents. I walked all around it taking photographs before finding my way inside to the Reception office to purchase a ticket for the concert the next evening featuring the 'Kings Consort' from the UK.My trip the following evening to the concert resulted in some more photos as the centre is lit up and takes on a whole new character. They change the colour periodically. The inside of the centre was just as imposing but photographs were not permitted in the performance. During the interval I approached the manager to see if I could take a photograph after the performance and he graciously allowed me to take photographs during the second half without flash and the camera set to 'silent'. After the performance I was invited to return to photograph the inside of the upper floor of the building and was given a guided tour by their Technical Director who explained to me how versatile the building is. It took 10 years to build and was meant to be at the centre of 'Costa Adeje' but, of course, during that time the area expanded and 'Los Cristianos' became the destination of choice. The building itself can be subdivided at will or hold massive conferences and banquets - the place to go for your wedding if you have a few bob in the bank! Each sub-division, when required, is totally sound-proof and fully equipped. They even paint the internal walls to suit. As the concert finished after the last bus home I took the 111 to Las Chafiras and spent 3.40€ on a taxi home.Well worth it.
Comments
Post a Comment