April 2, 2006
Tenerife 2 - Casa Rural Ida
I was quite happy, surprised, and pleased as we pulled our green (and unknowingly cursed) Fiat Punto into the small, gravel parking lot, and looked up at the tidy collection of canarian-style bungalows clustered above us. They were painted in a very cheery, and as we came to find, typical bright reddish-orange and boasted sturdy dark-wood windows and decks. Our particular apartment was a studio, with a separate bathroom, that looked out onto an enormous patio that we seemed to have to ourselves the entire time. And that patio not only overlooked the towns, the northern coastline, and the Atlantic ... but to our right and behind us, we nestled into the green hillside and surrounding village with an astounding view of the El Teide volcano. Every day, I took pictures of it as it pulled in volumnous clouds, or glistened white in the sun. In short, the views were spectacular from every apartment's large patio. Breakfast in that atmosphere was nothing less than a dream.
Our studio was extremely good. I tend to lower my expectations before arriving at a hotel or apartment because I am usually disappointed. I was not.
The interior was just as cheery as the exterior, with a large comfortable bed, another smaller attached balcony, a window with a view over the atlantic, and beautiful canarian beamed ceilings that rose to a peak. The separate bathroom was surprisingly nice - completely renovated yet with a canarian flair -- tub and shower with great water pressure, a pedastal sink, large mirror, tiled walls and floors...all the amenities you could wish for, including enough coffee-and-creme colored towels for a week.
Ida herself was a pleasant and friendly; she offered information about what to see and where to eat, and we communicated easily as she spoke english very well. We would also find that she was compassionate and caring, and very concerned with our well-being, when we ran into some trouble later on in the trip.
Casa Rural Ida is tucked into a hillside in the township of Garachico. Mind you, it is not IN Garachico, but rather high up over it, between Garachico and Icod de los Vinos. It is a perfect location because you have easy access to the West, where you can be in 15 - 20 minutes. This is important because northern Tenerife has some rainy weather, but you can easily be in the sun again by driving that short distance west. You literally come out of the clouds into the sunshine, as the clouds get stuck on the mountain range. (see below!)
CASA RURAL IDA
c/ La Oliva, N° 9
38450 Genovés-Garachico,
Tenerife, España
Tel: +34 922 13 32 97
Fax: +34 922 13 32 97
email: ida@ruralida.com
