Senses were on high alert as the free Arona council bus dropped us in Valle San Lorenzo, just 20 minutes drive from Playa de Las Americas, and Los Cristianos. Tenerife loves to celebrate the traditions of Saint Andrew (San Andres) every 30th November, and the smokey smells combined with music, and the taste of chestnuts (castañas) drew thousands of revellers to the main street and Arona Farmers Market (Mercado del Agrucultor) of this popular town.
San Andres is the patron saint of wine and this is the time of year when the magic liquid reaches its peak in the barrels that are cracked open and bottles filled. At key points around Tenerife, such as Icod de Los Vinos, the wooden barrels are traditionally broken into makeshift karts to clatter down the steep streets during the celebrations. It was a bit more sedate in Valle San Lorenzo with wine served at the outdoor braziers where the chestnuts were cooked in cauldrons and pans. Wine and chestnuts were being snapped up in small one euro, or larger two euro plastic glasses, and paper bags, also with those same price and size choices. The queues stretched up the main street under the newly christened christmas lights threaded through the branches of the trees.
Just over a year ago, the Farmers Market was launched, the indoor hall provided a great central point to sample and buy local produce like vegetables, cheeses, bread, flowers and much more from 60 stalls. The Canarian folk group from Chasna provided a musical treat with traditional costumes and dancing, and children were distracted with art projects and even marzipan and chestnut modelling of animal figures. Every Saturday and Sunday the market is open to the public from 8 am to 2 pm with free parking next door and a free bus service from Playa de Las Americas through Los Cristianos and Chayofa from 10 am until the return run from 1 pm in Valle San Lorenzo.
A guide leaflet for the chestnut night listed six local bars and cafes offering a selection of chestnut influenced tapas snacks. I needed no encouragement to dip into such delights as chestnut mousse, croquettes, and chestnut ice cream. All that creative effort was much appreciated but my warmest glow came from the anticipation of queueing for a bag of chestnuts as the red hot favourites were scooped into an open paper bag to cup in my hands before picking the shells off and tasting the glorious flavour inside.
Elsewhere there was a large childrens play area where the youngsters were being shown how to make a snake of old cans to drag down the path. The clanking noise is another traditional way of celebrating the arrival of the years new batch of wine. One day may be the focus of the celebrations but outdoor chestnut stands sprout up for a few weeks from November and there are always great wines of many a vintage to enjoy in Tenerife. Long live tradition, I’ll drink to that…and eat to it!