Spring Break: Canary Islands

Unlike the American school system, classes end prior to spring break in the UK. With two finals and one project left, we had a lot of time on our hands with so many places in Europe to see! My first destination during this 5 week break (yes, 5 weeks!) was Tenerife!

We stayed in a villa on a fruit farm a few kilometers directly above Los Gigantes beach. Since the villa was on a farm, Jorge (the owner) and his wife picked us fresh bananas, lemons, oranges AND avocados. With the never ending supply of fresh fruit, we made juice and guacamole throughout the entire week. The villa comfortably fit all 8 of us and there was still room for about two more. And not to mention the stunning view! We were so high on the cliff (I would call it a hill but it was superrrr steep) that we woke up to the sun on the blue ocean every morning.

The second all of the girls woke up Monday morning we were out in the sun! Living in London has made all of us pale beyond recognition so the first chance we got we were dying for color. After a few hours of relaxation we headed to the black sand beach on the island, Los Gigantes. It's relatively small but absolutely stunning. It looks like something out of a post card. But don't go there if you want to play volleyball or beach ball because playing with balls on the beach is strictly prohibited.

By the time we got home later that night, we were so crispy we knew laying out on the beach the next day would be a pipe dream. Instead, we relaxed at the house and caught up on some fun reading. I think each of us needed a break from all of the work we had done in the last few weeks. That night, Jorge and his wife cooked us homemade paella! Paella is a traditional Spanish dish with white rice, green vegetables and meat. In our case, we had seafood and chicken.

Brooke and I on the hike

The next day we climbed the volcano on the island. The ride to and from the volcano took well over an hour but it was spectacular. The landscape changed at each level up the mountain. To our surprise we found snow even though we were wearing shorts and tank tops! We found a trail that we thought would take us straight up to the summit but we got a later start than we would have wanted so we wouldn't make the hike to the top. But I highly doubt that would have happened anyways because the girls (except Shannon!) got bored on the way up haha. For dinner, we stopped at a restaurant down the mountain. At first, the hostess/waitress seemed really cold and unfriendly. But in the end we had one of the best meals of the week and a traditional Canary Island meal.

The next two days were spent on la Playa de Los Cristianos. Anddd we found the touristy part that we hadn't exactly been missing. But laying out on the beach and reading a book was absolute perfection. Not to mention the beach volleyball! Clearly I haven't played in a while because I walked out with sore/bruised arms...well, we all did! We were so badly hurt that we couldn't play for the rest of the trip.

Our last full day in Tenerife was spent on a boat. We hired a boat for a few hours for only 40 euros. It came equip with sangria, wine and sandwiches. Our tour took us to see some dolphins and whales. It also included snorkeling but unfortunately the waves were too rough so it wasn't safe for us to dive on in. Instead, we chilled on the boat docked on the harbor. I've never been on a sail boat before this and I can easily see why so many people have fallen in love with it. Who knows...a sail boat miiight be in the mix later in life.


Tenerife tips:

• Learn how to drive a stick shift...rental companies don't carry very many automatics
• Definitely rent a villa if you have enough people...it saves you time and money because you can cook for yourself
• Don't try banana liquor...bleh!
• Flying in and out of the islands can be expensive...the cheapest places are anywhere in Spain, London and Paris.

With that in mind...our next stop was MADRID!