Tenerife wins the award for best “vaca” weekend yet. I left the Canary Islands relaxed, tanned, and refreshed. The archipelago is located off the northwestern coast of mainland Africa, and the islands are considered a part of Spain. Tenerife is the most popular and populous of the islands with about one million inhabitants. It is a volcanic island that contains the third largest volcano in the world and highest peak in Spain, El Teide. The rocky beaches and volcanic terrain were the underlining elements of Tenerife’s unconventional beauty.
Ninety degree weather sanctioned long days playing in the waves, tanning, laughing at nude people, and reading. Nights consisted of drinking wine by the apartment pool, enjoying the beach sunset, and exploring the (tacky) nightlife of Tenerife’s downtown area. My friends and I managed to get a small studio apartment on the coast, so we were able to make ourselves dinner in our mini-kitchen every evening. The exception was the Halloween Chinese Buffet, of course. We stuffed our faces with delicious food before scoping out the bar scene. Apparently Europeans don’t quite get Halloween, because every person celebrating Halloween was decked out in unreasonably dreadful costumes. The whole funny-and-creative costume mentality of the states didn’t quite transfer here. Goblins, witches, vampires, bloody zombies, and various other disturbing people tried to lure us in to their bars. We stopped in one bar, walked along the beach, and finished off the night with ice cream cones from McDonalds. It was the strangest Halloween I have ever had.
Sunday turned into adventure day. We took a long, hot, winding, stop-and-go, two hour bus ride up to Mt. Teide National Park where I found out that I can get carsick (surprise!) The volcano was fabulous, and we took a cable car to the top of the peak. The 3,000-something foot elevation reminded me of Colorado peaks, and I relished the cold, crisp air and stunning views. Tori, Alex, and I hiked around the top of the volcano and explored the Mars-like red, craggy terrain. The weekend couldn’t have been better!
