The Road from Santiago

  It is another day of alien landscapes only a short drive from a decent cafe doing menu del dia.  We are in the shadow of Montana Rajada - with its trails and pumicy landscapes.   Let us occupy ourselves with some Canary Island facts, courtesy of the OEC The islands export $2.59 billion a year - making it the 16th out of Spain’s regions.  The top exports of Canary Islands were Refined Petroleum (€1.31B), Commodities not elsewhere specified (€187M), Coal Tar Oil (€116M), Rolled Tobacco (€95M), and Perfumes (€60.6M).   In 2024, Canary Islands imported $4.48B, making it the 13 largest importer out of the 18 autonomous communities in Spain .  The top imports of Canary Islands were Cars (€623M), Refined Petroleum (€512M), Coal Tar Oil (€158M), Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft (€158M), and Delivery Trucks (€109M) Trade is growing with the Ukraine, Brazil and Gibraltar and falling with Morocco, Italy and Canada At last we reach a restaur...

  Bobby says ‘ Amazing lunar-like landscape. I visited midday and there were parking spaces available. Definitely good spot to see if you are in the area. Set aside 30 minutes to see it.’ and you know, he’s right. We are working through the bleak and the barren.  We are in the bleak mid winter so what is going on in Tenerife   According to Tenerife Travel Tips https://tenerifetraveltips.com/christmas-in-tenerife/    ‘ Last year, we visited several markets across the island, both in the south and north, and we couldn’t find much of traditional Christmas foods, not even traditional Canarian food. The only market that somewhat reflects the vibe of a European Christmas market is in La Laguna on Plaza de San Francisco. Last year, we found there a food truck with Argentinian sausages (which, to be fair, were delicious), chicken with potatoes, stuffed baked potato, and a few other simple but tasty foods. We also tried there mulled wine (the only place where we could f...

  We are going up a mountain. It is going to be a bi g one.  It’s a beautiful day.  We’re not tired.  Apparently it is three and a half hours up. We are going to be 3715m above sea level and 7500m above the ocean floor. It is the third highest volcano in the world and the highest point above sea level in the Atlantic. Teide was formed about 170,000 years ago, probably on a Tuesday.  It is still an active volcano - as mentioned before, it grumbled away in 1909.  As the nice man said yesterday, bring a woolly.  The July and August average is about 18oC. June and September sees 14oC. It is below 10oC between November and April.   What is the point of being a large piece of geology - having chaps scramble up it, that’s what. Sir Edmund Scory ,noted in 1626, gives descriptions of ways to the top and the problem of being jolly high up.  In 1715 the English traveler J. Edens and his party made the ascent and reported their observations in the j...

Up another 350m and a brief skip between January 2009, where it appears the car has a cloaking device, and the Summer of 2024. We are passing a parador - Las Canadas del Teide.   https://paradores.es/es/parador-de-las-canadas-del-teide?utm_source=GoogleMyBusiness&utm_medium=linkgoogle&utm_campaign=paradordelascanadasdelteide&utm_term=organico&utm_content=ficha   This is what they say about themselves ‘ The Parador is a mountain mansion built at a height of over 2,000 metres. It has unbeatable views of the Teide peak, which you can enjoy while dining and even from some of the rooms. It also has a lounge with a fireplace for cooler nights, an indoor swimming pool and a gym. The Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide is an example of sustainability, one of the hallmarks of Paradores. It generates its own electricity and receives its water from the mountain. What´s more, the silence and fresh air offered by the Teide National Park are unsurpassable. A week ago John said ...