Tenerife By Bus

Added some photographs to the Los Abrigos and Air Sea Rescue albums: In the former it is surprising who or what you meet in a cafe/bar out here and I had a wander around the changing harbour. In the latter I spotted some activity and managed to get some shots as the drama unfolded at the extreme maximum of my zoom lens. The air/sea rescue helicopter is based at the airport. The mission took place on the 23rd February at 13:02 hours and shows the skill and bravery of the pilot and crew. I don't know any of the details of the recovery but it shows that, whether walking in the mountains or pursuing some activity in the sea we must not take nature for granted even in such a picturesque place as Tenerife. It can put someone else's live(s) at risk! View my 'Los Abrigos' Photo Album View my 'Air Sea Rescue' Album

Bus Routes: 470[Granadilla] to San Isidro, 111[Aeropuerto Sur, P Americas Est] to Airport South, 343[Aerpurto Norte, Puerto Cruz] to Puerto de la Cruz. Return: 103[Santa Cruz sin parada], 111[Aeropuerto Sur, P Americas Est] to Las Chafiras, taxi home. Having used the direct route to get to Puerto de La Cruz last time I decided to try out a different route this time to see if I could do it cheaper. The Carnival parade did not start until 16:00 so there was plenty of time available. I caught the 470 to San Isidro getting off at the roundabout (rotunda) and waiting for the 111 at the same stop to take me back over to the airport. This second leg of the journey was 'no charge' as you cannot get directly to the airport from Los Abrigos and I wasn't moving 'forward'. At the airport I caught the 343 to Puerto de la Cruz saving me 4-5€ on the journey. The downside was that, for some reason, Titsa miss out the bus at 10:50 on a Saturday so I had to wait until 11:50. T

Bus Route: 470[Granadilla] to San Isidro, 111[Santa Cruz] Return: 111[Aeropuerto Sur, P Americas Est] to Las Chafiras then taxi home. View my 'Burial of the Sardine' Photo Album Ash Wednesday, 22 February 2012, Santa Cruz Carnival 21:00 Burial of the Sardine which, in theory, should be when carnival ends however the festivities carry on until the end of the week. Indeed Los Cristianos and Los Gigantes do not hold their respective carnivals until March. General Franco's Spain banned these carnivals as they were based on pagan festivals (as was most of the Christian calendar) but the carnivals in Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz continued, they just changed the name. As I had a route for the parade this time I knew where I was going so I took a little time out to wander along the Aida de Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera and have a look at the fair which was much bigger than I had first thought. I also saw my first trams which I must try out on a future visit.

Bus Routes:  843[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est] to Los Cristianos, 343 [Puerto Cruz sin parada (no stops)]. Return:  343[Aeropuerto Norte, Aeropuerto Sur, Los Cristianos],  470[Granadilla]  or 483[El Medano] to Los Abrigos. Whilst the concerts and parties continue in Santa Cruz I thought that we would have a change of pace today and visit Carnival at Puerto de La Cruz for the 'old car' rally held on the Avenida Colõn at 13:00. I am told that not only is it a parade of vintage cars but that the owners and families also wear period dress. I haven't been to Puerto before so I checked the Titsa timetable to see if it was possible then over to the internet cafe and Google gave me the route timings. I caught the 483 at 08:51 as advised but it must have had a fast run arriving in Los Cristianos in time to catch the 343 'direct' at 09:10 instead of the 09:45 which stops at both airports. The down side was that this is the most expensive trip so far at over

Bus Route: 843[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est] to Las Chafiras, 111[Aeropuerto Sur, Santa Cruz]. Return: 111[Aeropuerto Sur, P Americas Est] to Las Chafiras, 470[Granadilla] to Los Abrigos.

Bus Route: 483[Las Cristianos, P Americas Est], 111[Santa Cruz] Return: 111[P Americas Est] then taxi or if you have the stamina the early 470[Granadilla] or 483[El Madino] View my 'Santa Cruz Carnival 2012 Parade' Photo Album Hello and off we go to Santa Cruz Carnival 2012, reputedly second only to Rio and I can well believe it! Thinking of a day out, forget it, this party goes on and on. Prior to the opening parade which started at 20:00 on Friday 17th February there has already been a month of competitions for Carnival Queens, marching bands, dancers and choirs culminating in a week of finals in held in the 'Exhibition Centre' and ticket only. I managed to watch a little of the final of the selection for the 'Queen' these are not just dresses they pull them along on a trolley, about all the poor girl can do is wave her arms and smile.

View my 'Submarine Safari' Photo Album The main album this week is 'Submarine Safari'. I took the 470 to Golf del Sur and walked down to the marina though you can also catch the 483 too (both from either direction). The company also run their own bus service from hotels in the resorts. The submarine itself is powered by electric motors which mean that is is ecologically sound both in noise and contaminants. It is a really interesting experience, both from the dive to 20 meters and for the view of the sea life in the area. Did you know that going out off the coastal shelf the sea is as deep as El Teide is high but we don't go that deep! The staff at Submarine Safari are very knowledgeable and helpful and are going to send me some more specs about the sub which I will tell you later. It was actually built in Finland and is very expensive to run so the price of a ticket is very reasonable.

Bus Route: 483[Los Cristianos], 416[Granadilla], 470[Los Cristianos] round trip. View my '416 to Granadilla' Photo Album Hello to all you snowbound folks back home, you will be pleased to know that they have it bad in Spain too but no rain here yet so no snow on the mountains. I had a trip into Las Americas to try and get a spare battery for my camera last Sunday without success I might add. They only sell clones out here and Nikon have built in a sensor which denies the use of third party batteries so be warned if you venture abroad! I wandered down to the sea front and ended up further along the beach, roughly where the view stopped when looking up the street past McDonalds the last time I was here. It has been very windy here for the last week, appears to be dying down now, so there have been 'Orange flag' warnings all along the coast. This did not stop them enjoying themselves with parachutes, probably helped so have included an update to the Costa Adej

Bus Routes: 470 [Granadilla], 111/115 [Santa Cruz]. Return: 120 [Guimar], 111 [Las Americas], 470 [Granadilla]/483 [El Medano] Hello everyone, It is a public holiday here in the Canaries and possibly Spain, just think if Drake had lost at bowls or Henry had stuck with his first wife we would have had a lot more public holidays! This one is for the Madonna of Candelaria the patron saint of the Islands. I went up to Candelaria yesterday afternoon and managed to get back here just after midnight because they start the procession at a reasonable time. The service starts somewhere between 7 and 8pm depending on dusk I think. This is unique in that pilgrims travel from all over the islands to attend this procession which is conducted by candlelight as all of the street and shop lights are switched off in the old town during the procession.