Since selling our home in Mexico we’ve been looking for a place to replace it, an escape from the cold in the winters but somewhere a little closer to Lisbon. Our searching first took us to Madeira, but that wasn’t quite warm enough. The next place to check out was the Canary Islands, which we visited in January of this year (2023).
The Canary Islands are situated 100 km off the coast of Morocco and 450 km south of Madeira, at a latitude similar to that of the North American city of Orlando in Florida. The islands belong to Spain, making them the southern most part of the European Union.
It consists of seven islands (listed from largest to smallest): Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro, which together have a population of just over 2 million (with 80% of that situated on Gran Canaria and Tenerife). We began our search in the most populous and popular island of Tenerife.
The island of Tenerife is shaped somewhat like an upside down triangle. The point below points due south and here the land is somewhat flatter with numerous beaches – compared to the rest of the island which is more mountainous and lacks beaches. For this reason it is also the most visited with numerous large resort hotels stretching from the towns of Los Cristianos to La Caleta. I suspect many people arrive at the main airport here, go to their hotel and may never go anywhere else, especially if they don’t have a car. This would also be the driest part of the island with a rather barren landscape.
The upper portion of the triangle faces north, with both points natural parks (Teno and Anaga) with high rugged mountain ranges and steep shorelines. Access is difficult, especially along the coastlines. And the roads that do break through are very narrow, windy with many switchbacks to deal with. The north side receives much more rain than the south side, obvious by how green and lush the forests within the two parks.
In the middle of the island is the main volcano of Teide rising up over 12,000 feet and is sometimes covered in snow. It is the highest peak in Spain and the third tallest volcano in the world, measured from its base on the ocean floor. The terrain here is mostly barren, however. The largest city on the island is Santa Cruz, the main port where everything the island needs to sustain itself arrives at.
The Weather in Tenerife
Tenerife is known as the “Island of Eternal Spring” because of its moderate, pleasant climate. In winter it rarely gets too cold while in summer it’s rarely too hot as the warm currents on the coast keep the air cool and the regular tropical trade winds provide cool, fresh air.
From August to October the weather is mild and sunny along coastline and it rarely rains between March and October, except in the north where the odds are you’re more likely to get a little rain.
Tenerife is the only European resort where you can bask on the beach all year round because even in January the air warms up to +22 ° C. The average temperature in Tenerife during the warm season is around 26°C while during the winter season it is +17.5°C.
The southern region is hot all year round. The warm air from Western Sahara influences this area so that temperatures rarely drop below 20°C. The weather here always pleasant and warm as the mountains simply block cold air from the north-east, and rainfall is recorded only a few times a year.
The weather in the north of the island is less stable. During the winter, the northern section of Tenerife is more humid and colder, whereas the rest of the year has comfortable average temperatures. The northern shore is hot in the summer, yet it is frequently cloudy.
During our one-week trip we experienced some of that north shore weather with periodic rains and cooler weather. The clouds seem to gather around the peaks of the two parks, clouding up the skies at times and dumping occasional rains.
Garachico
We spent our first three days in Garachico, which at one time was the main port for the island. It’s said to be one of the prettiest towns on the islands and we very much enjoyed our stay there. We stayed at the La Quinta Roja Hotel, which we highly recommend, and which also has one of the best restaurants in Garachico. Another good option is the El Roque Hotel, which has the added benefit of a swimming pool. La Quinta Roja is set next to the picturesque town plaza and shares space on the San Francisco square along with a convent with the same name.
The coastline here closely hugs the mountains that loom nearly overhead and behind, leaving little room for development or even roads. The road to Garachico winds steeply back and forth before finally reaching the coastline. What other land is available is mostly taken up for the planting of bananas, with small plantations found all along the coast on either side of Garachico.
A couple interesting notes about Garachico:
In 1706, Garachico was bustling with shipping traffic. It was the islands largest commercial harbor and a strategic place in the daily comings and goings of seafarers traveling between the New World and Europe. But then on May 5th everything changed when the Arenas Negras volcano erupted. Two rivers of lava ran down the volcano with the first pouring into the harbor, making it no longer navigable, while the second destroyed most of the town’s major buildings. Only the San Miguel Castle, the fort that protected the Garachico road, and La Puerta de Tierra, the entrance to the old harbor precinct, survived.
Garachico was founded by a Cristobal de Ponte in the early 16th century when he participated, and helped finance, the conquest of the Canary Islands . His son became the Marquis of this area – Marquis de la Quinta Roja – and his home in Garachico is now the hotel where we happened to be staying. Some of his descendants left for the Americas, primarily Venezuela, and one would become quite famous. He wasn’t known as a de Ponte, as that was on his mother’s side, but as Simon Bolivar, the South American liberator. Today a statue can be found of Bolivar in the Plaza la Libertad.
Icod de los Vinos
While in Garachico we drove over to the neighboring town of Icod do los Vinos, A small town, built into the hillside, it is most famous for its “Dragon” Tree, a tree that is supposedly over 1,000 years old, and perhaps as old as 2,000. That means it was well into middle age when Christopher Columbus sailed by. It’s situated in a park holding the same name, with meandering walking paths and other rich and various plants and trees from around the world. But the Dragon Tree stands out, rising high above all the other trees. I’d seen pictures of it before but had no idea it was so large – 15 meters high and 5 meters in circumference around its trunk.
It’s resin is red in color and its flowers look like miniature cactuses that grow at the very top of the tree. Also in the park are naturally formed caves, created when the lava flowed from a past eruption. Next to the park is Plaza Caceres and the San Marcos church, both worth visiting. From there you can walk into town along the pedestrian shopping street of Calle San Sebastián.
South Shore – Las Caletillas
After our stay in Garachico we drove up the north coast and cut across to the southern coastline passing through the colonial town of Laguna. Our stay this time was in the coastal town of Caletillas, next to the larger and more well-known town of Calendaria, within an apartment building situated on a hillside overlooking the sea. And our apartment had the best view of the building, with a large terrace and unobstructed views of the ocean. As well, the building’s common area pool was right next to us and rarely used. We began each day with a swim in the cool, refreshing water. The one bedroom apartment was newly renovated with a lot of attention given to details. It reminded us of our former days with Mexico Boutique Hotels – we could tell that the owners of this property “get it.” And because of that it is fully booked a year in advance. Before we left we booked for another week next year when a cancellation came up.
One day we drove just south of Calendaria to the national park of Guimar, which is a small volcano by the coast that had erupted not too long ago and the lava had flowed into the ocean. It makes for a picturesque walk along the coast, on trails of loose lava rock.
Over the next two days we explored Calendaria but mostly made trips out to the Anaga National Park on the far northeast point of the island. Anaga is famous for its ruggedness, especially when compared to the rest of the island. It is covered in lush tropical forest and paths have been carved into the steep hillsides, making for adventurous hiking.
Anaga Nature Park
Our first day took us out to the viewpoint called Aguaide just past the mountainside village of Chinamada. A windy road takes you out to the coast where the coastline drops off precipitously. There’s room to park and then a short 600m hike out to a viewpoint.
On the way out to Chinamada we passed the rock pinnacle of Taborno in the distance.
From there we made our way up once again to the main road and followed it to the next road that branches off to the coast, this time to Taganana. Here the road could makes its way right to the shoreline, and it’s where we had a wonderful lunch at Casa Picar in Taganana. I had the best fish’n chips I’ve ever had while Flo had fresh, fresh octopus.
After lunch we continued down along the coast to the black-sand beach of Benijo where you can see the majestic rocks of Fuera and Dentro protruding out of the water in the distance. The weather was behaving beautifully, opening up to blue skies when we needed it for a photo. From there we made our way back to the main road in the park, and crossed across to the south shore, to the beach of Teresitas. This has to be the largest beaches in this area, and certainly the blondest – no black sand here.
The next day we were planning to do a couple of hikes, one near Cruz del Carmen called “Llano Frio” and another at the end of the road that crosses the whole park, to Chamorga, but the weather was not cooperating. When we left our apartment the skies were blue but as soon as we hit Anaga’s entrance it started drizzling and by the time we were high in the mountains it was raining and blowing hard and it was cold. We started a couple of times but the rain drove us back to our car. So we headed back. And as we did the weather cleared up in front of us, so that by the time we arrived at the apartment the weather was perfect. The day wasn’t a complete loss though, as we did get to see a spectacular rainbow from our terrace.
That ended our reconnaissance visit to the Canary Islands, and we liked what we saw. We are already looking forward to our next trip next year, as there’s so much more we want to do and see.