Canary Island Life

 

Day 1: Sunshine, blue skies and 70 degrees. Yes, please and thank you. Such a wonderful climate change from Paris to Tenerife. Merika met me at the airport this afternoon and then gave me an overview of the area. I can’t wait to explore more this week.

Oceanfront Puerto de La Cruz

Merika and I after dinner.

Tapas for dinner// garlic bread, mushrooms, shrimp, potatoes

Cute little park

Ocean view from Merika’s home

Day 2: 8 miles of a spectacularly beautiful hike today from the house, to downtown, through banana plantations, and down to a black sand volcanic beach. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and has various micro climates as you travel around the island.

Banana plantations and farm terraces. 

Beautiful colors and structure.

 

Playa El Bollullo

Puerto de La Cruz

Day 3: Took a 30 minute flight from Tenerife, over to the island of La Palma. La Palma was the scene of the large volcano eruption from Cumbre Vieja. It started erupting in September and was declared to finally be over last week. Over the three months of lava flow and earthquakes, 3,000 homes were destroyed, as were banana plantations and vineyards.

Los Llanos // loved the colors and this mural

  

Tazacorte colors.

Heading out to see the volcanic magma from

the recent eruption of Cumbre Vieja.

Not the best weather day to see the magma, but it’s there 

(black) and still smoldering. The eruptions started in September 

and continued until just a few weeks ago. As of last week, 

geologists declared it over.

Day 4: Another gorgeous day on the island of La Palma. Temperatures were in the 70s with sunny skies. We left Tazacorte and traveled by bus back to Santa Cruz de La Palma. On the way, we passed by the still smoldering Cumbre Vieja Volcano and its lava field. Once we got in town, we had time to eat, drink and enjoy the old town and holiday lights.

Beautiful hibiscus in Puerto de Tazacorte

 

Volcanic ash and Cumbre Vieja, still smoldering.

Cumbre Vieja Volcano and one of the lava flows.

Canary Islands are a huge exporter of bananas.

While heading to the bus, we came upon an impromptu concert 

to raise money for volcano relief for the people of La Palma.

 

Santa Cruz de La Palma

Grilled Octopus for dinner.

Day 5: “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”

—Henry David Thoreau

We hopped back over to Tenerife today and Merika drove us all through the Teide National Park. Mount Teide is said to be the 4th tallest volcano in the world and is currently dormant. Skies are so clear in this park that there’s an international observatory. As we drove through the park, the rock formations and various types of vegetation were incredible to view.

Sunset over Puerto de La Cruz

Local Tuna for dinner.

 

Top of the rocks at Teide National Park

Mt. Teide

  

Long, winding, mountain roads.

Day 6: Spent my last day here walking a few miles to Punta Brava and back, checking out the beaches and rock formations along the way. I returned in time to get my Covid clearance to fly tomorrow, though I think the nurse also removed a bit of brain matter in the process. Cheers, to a Happy New Year!

Protea Flower

Iberian ham and avocado tostado, slaw and coffee

Playa de Castillo

 

Punta Brava

Canary Islands mural. I visited the big red one left of 

center (Tenerife) and the green one top left (La Palma).

Sidewalk greenery

Brussels at Christmas

Day 1: I boarded the train from Paris and traveled into Brussels. I’m not sure if it was the early start, the gloomy day or because I was tired but my off-the-train impressions were “bleh.” However, i regrouped and found my way to the older part of town, got a warm waffle in my tummy, and started exploring. By nighttime, when every street was covered in lights and the holiday markets were kicking, I knew I’d found my groove.

  

Christmas Markets

Lights in Brussels.

Grand Place in all its glory.

Street art at one of the metro stations.

Warm Waffle in front of the Atomium.

The Atomium is 102 meters tall (330 feet) and was built for the 1958 World Expo. It wasn’t meant to last this long and only 5 of the 9 spheres are accessible to the public, for safety reasons. Each sphere is connected by stairs/escalators.

Day 2: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, my friends. While it was interesting to be out and about seeing the sites and visiting Holiday Markets with tons of other people, I definitely miss MY PEOPLE. The weather was cold and misty today so I’m looking forward to the warmer climate of the Canary Islands tomorrow.

Mannekin Pis is festively dressed on this Christmas Day. Yesterday he was not in his Santa suit so my mom and dad were shocked and I was disappointed. But today, he was and a huge smile filled my face.

Belgian Waffle with strawberries and whipped cream. Perfect start to my day.

Christmas lunch was Flemish Stew that melted in my mouth and warmed my soul…. 

and those fries… 

All over the city, you can find these comic style murals.

I think I’ve visited the Grand Place over a dozen times in two days; I just love it. Yesterday, at the top of the hour, the Christmas Tree lights would turn red for 5 minutes. Today, bells chimed at the top of the hour. It sounded magical ricocheting off the buildings.

Famous street artist from Paris, Invader, designed this tile work.

Back to Paris to catch my flight to Canary Islands tomorrow.