March 23, 2006
Tenerife
Hi! I've been absent quite awhile, I know. I took a little break from life and went to Tenerife (North). I specify North because the South is a hot, unchanging concrete desert with nothing much to recommend it unless you are that brand of tourist with no desire to see the true Tenerife and more concerned that you can read a menu in your own language and get your schnitzel or fish and chips no matter what country you are in. Unless you want to join the throngs of plaster-white tourists dangling with beach chairs and expensive photography equipment that they don't know how to use, head North young man. (rant over)
It is amazing what happens when you cross the central meridian of the island. It becomes lush beyond imagination. There's weather. Forests of laurel. Quiet, solitary coastline. Fisherman and everyday people. Colorful villages sprout out of the cliffs, perched delicately over stretches of turquoise water. Always watching over you like a protective father is the snow-peaked volcano, El Teide.
And the seafood is incredible. Really good, locally caught fish and shellfish is to be had if you avoid touristy spots. Eat with the locals and you are bound to eat well. I tried to taste a different seafood each time I went to a restaurant. Even the supermarkets are an adventure; one can easily get lost among all the spices and tins, the long rows of wheeled cheeses, the enormous vegetables and moutains of ripe avocados. My absolute favorite thing to eat on Tenerife, believe it or not, are the avocados or "aguacate". There are plantations of them everywhere, and they are the creamiest, most flavorful I have ever eaten. In fact, a year ago, I stayed on a "finca" or plantation of bananas and avocados in Tenerife North. I snagged one off of a tree before leaving and nursed it to ripeness a few weeks later. The comparison to an avocado I bought here in Germany was mind-boggling.
However, I liked the "Casa Rural" where we spent 7 days this time even better than the finca. I took the photo of that lovely window there. It was restored to its original Canarian style, and beautifully so. There is nothing like staying in a village among local people, in an authentic setting ... and I especially loved how peaceful it was, nothing but frogs singing in the evening and birds in the clear morning air.
Oops, have to run....stay tuned for more, especially about the food!
