Tenerife By Bus

Bus Route: Practically anywhere on the island depending on which location you choose. Los Abrigos beach The celebration of 'Midsummer Day' which is actually the 21 st June takes place on the weekend of the 23 rd /24th June each year and is known throughout Spain and the Canaries as 'Día de San Juan' (the day of Saint John the Baptist). As we wind in the UK many religious festivals are tied in with old pagan customs as the Romans converted to Christianity. This festival brings together three local beliefs – the importance of medicinal plants in relation to health, youth and beauty; the protective nature of fire to ward off evil spirits and witches and water and its purifying effects. For the Guanches the day marked the start of the New Year.

Once more Alex and Monica, proprietors of the 'Note di Caffe' here in Los Abrigos, brought a different musical combo to entertain at the 'Note de Caffe' on Sunday evening. A mixture of traditional Brazilian music and song had the audience performing not only on the dance floor but also 'on stage' selecting a variety of instruments from the 'box of tricks' brought by the duo 'Agimiroy & Paula.

Bus Routes: 470[Granadilla] to San Isidro, 111[Santa Cruz] Return: 111[Los Cristianos, P Americas] to Las Chafiras then taxi to Los Abrigos I just managed to catch the 19:40 470 which turned up at 19:30 then waited on the slip road at San Isidro for the next 111, despite roadworks on the Autopista I still managed to get to the festival for 21:10 to find that 'Spikedrivers' were in full steam. For once an event had started on time. All I can say about this group is that they were so good I bought two CDs! A good start to an excellent event. There is something unique about standing under a star lit sky on a warm evening listening to good performers with a cool beer in your hand and a lively, appreciative crowd of people around you.

Bus Routes: 450[San Isidro], 111[Santa Cruz], 101[Orotava, P de la Cruz] to La Orotava. Return: 108[Santa Cruz D], 111[Los Cristianos, P Americas] to San Isidro up to 19:30 departure otherwise Las Chafiras, 470[Los Cristianos] otherwise taxi. The festival for Corpus Christi was celebrated on the 3 rd of June in most places on the island, I later discovered that there was a small flower/sand painting in front of the church in El Medano, but the big one is held at La Orotava on the 14 th this year. They also have a romaria on Sunday 17th! I must remind you that these dates vary depending upon where Easter falls in any given year – you can check on the local websites or use the link to 'Island Connections' which publishes a fortnightly calendar. I was taking some friends with me so asked them to meet me just after 08:00 hours at the bus stop in Los Abrigos. I figured we had to get there early as the services for the romerias finish around 13:00 hours and I thought th...

The 'Note di Caffe' in Los Abrigos rang to a different tune on Sunday evening with a wide selection of titles sung in Spanish and English from various musical genre entertaining a lively crowd. It did not take long before the audience was tapping their feet and leaping up to dance floor reflecting the style being played at the time.  'Pal Santo'  delivered an outstanding performance and, due to the many encores, played solidly for over three hours pausing every now and again for a sip of the local brew. All in all Sunday was a great day!

Bus Route: 470[Granadilla], Return: 470[Los Cristianos] Where to start, I've updated the 'Los Abrigos' photo album with some photos of changes in the village and lifeguard (I think) training down on the beach. I have also added some photos to the Granadilla de Abona photo album ,  of of the trip there on Saturday 9 th for the 'classic car rally' and other displays relating to the fiesta. The main event, the Romeria for San Antonio de Padua who is the patron saint of the municipality is in a new photo album. Just as Tenerife has the carnival season in February/March where events reflect the local character we also seem to have the 'romeria' season between March and October. There is also the celebration of Corpus Cristi, this year the 3 rd June, but tied to Easter, which makes June a busy month. I have just discovered that, although the Romeria is on the Sunday10 th this year the public holiday in the municipality is on Wednesday 13 th s...

Bus Routes: 470[Granadilla] to San Isidro, 115[Santa Cruz]. Return: 116[Medano, Granadilla] to San Isidro, 470[Los Cristianos] to Los Abrigos. (Looking at the bus routes, if I had thought about it I could have got off the 116 at El Medano and waited for the 470 by the beach. The 115 to Santa Cruz happened to arrive before the 111 so I hopped on that going north.) I decided to head north once more to have a look around the 'Museo de la Naturalez y el Hombre' or the 'Museum of Nature and Man' in English having now walked past it several times. As I have mentioned previously the building was originally the Civic Hospital and there are a couple of pictures showing the wards on a display in the entrance lobby. This must have been a light and airy place to be treated judging from the layout of the museum and is built around central courtyards currently containing a selection of trees of the islands, sculpture and seating. The entrance fee was €3 an...