Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

This is a portion of Spain that is closer to Africa than it is to the Spanish mainland. Tenerife is the largest of the beautiful islands that total seven and form the Canary Islands. There were many interested countries that explored the islands and wanted to claim them as their own. By the 15th century, the islands eventually came under the rule of Henry III, King of Castile. Castilian is still the spoken language. This area has become a European resort destination because of its relatively mild climate and engaging towns.

I took an eight hour excursion to explore this part of the Canaries. We started driving out of the city to reach the original capital, La Laguna, which is an UNESCO heritage site. It has gained that status because it developed and maintained some of the traditional Spanish architecture. Additionally, the town design exemplifies the beautiful plazas and wide boulevards associated with Spain.

The next stop was up the coast to the town of Garachico.

On to Icod de Los Vinos where we would view the Dragon tree which is estimated to be over 1,000 years old.

Our last stop was the coastal resort town of Puerto de la Cruz. Take a look.

Here are some random sights.

I can appreciate the desire to make this a vacation destination. Would love to return and explore the other islands.

Update on our refugees. We got to port around 5:00 a.m. The International Red Cross was there to meet the ship with immigration authorities. The Canary Islands received almost 50,000 refugees last year. They have lots of experience. The passengers were able to put together several dozen bundles of clothes and collect a total of $6,500 to help the Red Cross care for these and other refugees.

Cheers and good night Joey