Snorting, grunting and oinking he stuck his head deep in the bucket and devoured every last morsel. Maybe I’m talking about my breakfast routine, maybe about the rare Canarian Black Pig at Agrocanarias in Santa Cruz, or maybe both! For me it was a day to get far away from British TV and bunting, so with a notebook crammed with events I caught the early 111 Titsa bus up to the capital from Los Cristianos.

First stop was Plaza de España to delve below and taste some history around the old remains of Castillo de San Cristobal. The surviving fragments of the old castle wall were re-discovered when the plaza was rebuilt in 2006 and now make a nice free dip into the beseiged past of the city with pride of place going to the Tigre (tiger) canon that shot Nelson and stopped his invasion in its tracks. The developers have done a nice job of bringing the maritime past to life and with commentary and information in English as well as Spanish it’s an overlooked but fascinating insight into a British naval hero.

I have been meaning to see the Frans Lanting photo exhibition Vida, Un Viaje A Traves Del Tiempo since the 28 March opening so when I surfaced to a sprinkling of rain the Caja Canarias exhibition hall in Plaza del Patriotismo seemed an appropriate next call. The Dutch photographer is a master of wildlife shots and has filled the pages of National Geographic with some stunning photos. This exhibition is a journey through time starting from the creation of the Earth and through the evolution of life from volcanoes in Hawaii to Quiver trees in South Africa and sand dunes in Australia. Each dramatic photo comes with explanations in Spanish and English including the equipment and technique used to get the snap. It’s open until 30 June, Mon to Weds 11 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm, Thurs & Fri 11 to 1 and 5 to 8, Sat 11 to 2 and 5 to 8, it’s 5 euros to get in, 2 euros for residents, and free for Caja Canarias account holders.

A short walk up to Parque Garcia Sanabria and the Feria of flowers, plants, and local customs was just getting underway, finishing on Tues 3 May. It’s a beautiful park at any time but now its long leafy walks that centre on the fountain and performance area were lined with stalls offering loads of goodies. Friday was not a holiday in Spain and that with the dodgy weather meant it wasn’t very busy but with live music and childrens entertainment to come over the long weekend it would certainly pick up. Off the main paths there are ponds, sculptures, waterfalls, kids play areas and lovely picnic zones. Trade was slow at the stalls but I did my bit by buying a home made chocolate cake and a tasty lemon cake, a few people were buying floral displays and the crafts like basket weaving and cigar making attracted a few curious visitors. My old complaint rung true again, there were posters around the park and stacks of programmes on all the stalls but it wasn’t advertised outside of the event, when will they learn. It’s only a few minutes walk from Plaza de España or Plaza Weyler and the key times are 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm each day, free entry.

Heading to the other end of Santa Cruz the Recinto Ferial exhibition hall was my target for Agrocanarias, not a gathering of football hooligans but a massive showcase for all the best in agriculture from across the 7 Canary Islands. Just 3 euros for this one and I barely had time to pass through the doors before being offered free biscuits and sweets, preperation for the goodie bags and samples being handed out at some of the 83 stalls on the 16,000 square metre site. The emphasis is on trade interest but there is something for everyone, the Canarian cooking championships were due to conclude later that day in the multi kitchen area, Masterchef with local ingredients. A parade of tractors and digging machines gleamed to the side of me and the little ditty I can’t read and I can’t write but it don’t really matter because I come from Oxfordshire and I can drive a tractor sprung into my head but I kept it to myself.

Moving down through the hall I picked at cheese samples and sipped the odd taster of wine, a horse was being limbered up in the show jumping ring and just beyond that was the livestock section and those lovely black pigs, straight tails not a curl in sight. OK lets get the giggle fest out of the way up front, there were bullocks, rams, and rampant cocks on display, the docile donkeys were a big attraction for parents to lift their kids close to stroke them. I felt sorry for the cows, sheep and bulls they all looked very sad, maybe they knew what the future held for them, several flared their nostrils and stamped hooves when I got near, well I had recently enjoyed meat balls. The show finishes on Sunday but there are some great events held at the Recinto Ferial and with a balcony cafe bar and a restaurant it’s a good place to visit.For me that was my list exhausted and time to return south, a great day out and not a royal in sight.

The fair may have moved on from the Tenerife capital Santa Cruz but there is a new white knuckle ride in town, the City Sightseeing tour bus or Guiri GuaGua as the locals refer to it. My friends Neal and Karen, the Bournemouth section of the Armada Sur may never forgive me for dragging them onto the first of 2 days of free trial rides on the bus to launch the new tourism service.

Basically it’s a 40 minute round trip of points of interest in Santa Cruz with 11 stops. Aimed at visitors for a adult price of 9.99 euros (6 euros residents) you can hop on and off at any stop over a 24 hour period. The company operates similar buses in many countries including mainland Spain and it soon became clear on our trip that there was no local knowledge. We got on at Plaza de Espana, Neal and Karen downstairs to avoid more scorching sun and me and my camera upstairs with a sprinkling of multi national passengers. Plugging the licourice red free earphones in and selecting English from the 8 languages we were off into Avenida de Anaga and there were a few squeals as overhanging branches raked a few hair styles. The commentary seemed well informed but I pulled my plugs out, partly to let me move easier and partly because the twinkly classical music was cracking me up.

At first I thought the constant blasts on car horns were just normal Canarian banter but the upstairs attendant was looking over the side with quite a bit of concern and as we circled Parque Garcia Sanabria for a third time I started to pay a little more attention to the road ahead. Avenida de Vienticinco de Julio, part of the scheduled route was tight, very tight, with more tree interferance on our upper deck and I was now aware of some angry shouting from the street below. My mobile rung and I was surprised to hear it was Karen “we’re lost and think we should get off quickly”  made me check the route on the leaflet and look out from the bus to see the old bull ring looming up, yep we were well off course.

Scrambling downstairs I had the gaps filled in for me, we had nearly knocked a resting pedestrian off a concrete roadside bollard and scraped the bus against another bollard. That had prompted a change of driver, with the original joining the 3 other staff in frantic gestering from the leaflet map to street signs and back again, they didn’t have a Scooby Doo. Earlier when I told my footie loving pals that the bus went by places of interest they suggested CD Tenerife’s stadium, I had laughed and reminded them it was way off course but now here we were turning into Avenida San Sebastian with the floodlights of our place of worship just ahead of us. We managed a quick wave as we passed our matchday bar just down the hill from Soccer HQ. Blimey what an adventure, I had started out feeling like Cliff Richard in Summer Holiday and now I fellt like Keanu Reeves in Speed.

By now even the mainly tourists upstairs had twigged that all was not going to plan and several had filed downstairs hoping to escape the Magical Mystery Tour. As we headed out of town and then looped back along the sea front by the Auditorium an hour had passed so we belted out an S.O.S on the bell and got off outside El Corte Ingles, we didn’t want to risk heading back to Plaza de Espana. I clocked the damaged paint work as I got off, not bad for the first day, there are actually 5 buses working the route so maybe they will soon all have matching chips. A bit of forward planning would have served the bus company well, surely they should do “the knowledge” and find out about traffic priorities and where they are supposed to be going. Only this morning there was a photo in the local paper of another car tapping on the door of a tram with its front bumper, now we can add tour buses to the equation.

Of course the tour buses will learn to fit in and the taxi drivers will warm to them and greet them with polite phrases and dainty finger gestures. Look out for the big red monsters in the capital, you can get all the info about routes, service etc at their website. For me it’s another tale to tell of life in Santa Cruz – just when I thought I had seen everything.

There was a momentous event at Los Cristianos bus station on Thursday as a crowd of dignitaries gathered, not just the fact they didn’t get their pockets picked but also the arrival of 2 new micro buses, ready to improve their excellent services. Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of Tenerife’s public bus service, I’ve got a bono ticket in my pocket and I’m not afraid to use it.

For the technically minded the 2 newcomers are 27 seaters and state of the art with all mod cons and of course zero emissions – except when I get on after a curry. One bus will see service on the 468 route that came in last year running a circular service linking Parque La Reina, Las Galletas and Palm Mar. Theses buses will now run more often and take in extra rural stops at Las Rosas, Guargacho, Orotianda, Guaza, El Fraile, Costa del Silencio and La Canada. The other bus is specially adapted for those with limited mobility and will run on the 110 direct route to Santa Cruz.

And talking of Santa Cruz, the 110 will now run on weekends and fiestas giving a speedy alternative to the 111 Santa cruz to Playa de las Americas. For full listings pick up a new booklet timetable, the old fold out map versions have been overtaken by subtle tweaks to timings on many routes. Otherwise you could check out the new improved website which gives you several ways to track your bus via your phone.

I mentioned the pick pocket plague before, plain clothes police at Los Cristianos have made a big impact, please still be careful, but on a trip up west on Friday I heard several reports oif our light fingered friends doing their Fagin impression around Los Gigantes. Happy travelling and Keep Em Peeled as Shaw Taylor (ask your Gran) would say.

There was no early church service for the Armada Sur, honest we would have, it was mid morning as we emerged from our after celebration slumbers, you can’t let a 2-1 away win in Salamanca go unmarked. First shock of the day, if you ignore the horrendous hangovers, was finding that Gordon (AKA The Moron) had fallen over (damm unsteady those local streets) the night before and had paid a visit to the hospital for 4 stitches above his eye. That was in the second group across town, myself and Andy did a zombie walk down the road from the hotel for a coffee at a service station but both found a chocolate pastry too much to stomach and left them part chewed. At least we managed a chuckle as we found a bizarre statue to pose with, clearly someone had more warped minds than us.

The General turned up in reception looking like Keith Richards on a bad day and we headed into town to meet the others, obviosly we didn’t mock our injured comrade Gordon in any way at all, even if he looked like Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. All safely gathered aboard the trusty mini bus we set off for Madrid with a half way stop at Avila penciled in. There had been some suggestion of taking in a Tercera Division game in the small historic town but with an eye on seeing the Chelsea v Liverpool game in Madrid we just took a meal break.

Avila is stunning, a medieval fortress wall embraces the town and after food we drove inside the battlements and had a quick poke around the plaza (above) and cathedral. One of the big pluses of popping over to CD Tenerife away games is the chance to taste some of Spain’s history, the cathedral was built in 1095 and is surrounded by a pride of stone lions. Looking up to the buttress’s I could see and hear large storks that had nested on the turrets, they were huge, no use offering them a bag of crumbs and a bit of bacon fat, they looked capable of swooping down and stealing a small child – we kept a close eye on The General.

The wheels of the bus were soon going round and round again as we neared Madrid close to kick off on the TV game, The General headed to the hotel after dropping us off near a Metro (underground) station. It just happened to be by Real Madrid’s impressive Bernabeu Stadium, DJ Johnny looked a little conspicuous in a CD Tenerife track suit top but it was several hours before Madrid’s home game with Real Sociedad – and no I wasn’t even tempted to go. Madrid is a great city and the Metro is just one euro for any journey, we had to change at Tribunal and Johnny our resident scouser peeled off to watch the match with the Madrid Reds at their Cavern look alike, The Tavern. The rest of us emerged at Sol, the city centre Metro stop and took the side street to our regular haunt the O Connell Street Bar, a big popular sports bar where the order of the day is a bucket of Coranita beers packed in ice and large baskets of crisps to tuck into.

Liverpool’s win merged into another victory for the local white menace, then with a ridiculously early wake up in mind and Johnny back with a contented look on his face, we adjourned to the local kebab house for a suitably greasy nosh up. This is another part of the Madrid ritual in a food house that features a large painting of a horse on the wall – they didn’t did they? Time for a bus back to our Hotel Torre Laguna, and like the Metro the bus was also just one euro. I grabbed a couple of late beers at the bar before kipping down for just over 3 hours only to rise like a zombie for our return trip to the airport to return the minibus and pile onto the plane. A gorgeously sunny Tenerife morning welcomed our return to the island blinking in the light like pit ponies that hadn’t gone to Specsavers. Good company, good fun and good grief a win, now for the rest of the season.

Encouraged by the Icod esperience my Bournemouth friends Karen and Neal were ready for another TITSA bus tour of Tenerife, flicking through my memories I realised it was at least 3 years since I had been to Granadilla so it seemed a good a destination as any. Meeting in Los Cristianos the sun was bright and Roque del Conde stood proud as it gazed down upon us with its light and dark patchwork of colours. The 470 bus was bang on time and only half full so off we set along the TF1 motorway with generous diversions down into Guaza, Costa del Silencio and through Los Abrigos before heading up through San Isidro.

It was noticeable cooler at Granadillabut still bright and the quiet sedate streets oozed charm against the Villaflor and teide backdrop. Hermano Pedro the Canaries is never far from the thoughts in his home municipality and outside the town hall at the Plaza Gonzalez Mena his bust reminds people of his heritage. It’s weird but the town hall building was being white washed, I’m sure they had just started it on my last visit, well its nice to be thorough. The tight streets of Granadilla were decorated for christmas with minimal trimmings but also an impressive series of festive themed paintings on the end of each terrace of shops. Heading out to the main church od San Antonio de Padua we saw a handfull of hikers, Granadilla is a popular springboard to the walking trails above and beyond and a great advert for rural tourism.

A couple of clouds ganged up on us and sprayed us with rain through some watery sunshine so we adjourned to a nice cosy bar. The walls were covered with old photos of the local area and some more recent ones reminded me that the snows of Mount Teide reached down into the plaza here just 5 years ago, probably the nearest it gets to the coast, just glancing distance below. The rain soon dried up and we carried on our exploring, I was hoping to find the old spring that fed the town with water but it proved elusive, I was hoping it was the secret fountain of youth, I could do with some of that. Walking to the other end of town the views down to Montaña Roja, El Medano and the heavily laden orange trees in between were wonderful and added to the quiet beauty of Granadilla.

Next stop was El Medano for some beach life, the bus flew down with the odd bit of sudden breaking keeping us alert in our seats on the 30 minute journey. The weather was glorious in El Medano, kite and board surfers shot the waves, sunbathers crammed into every spare spot and the promenade cafes were sizzling with warm flesh. Earlier on our bus we had noticed that concertinas were the in thing, several potential buskers were front loaded and ready to squeeze out a tune, one was on the front at El Medano, his organ looked a bit discoloured but I believe you can get some ointment for that. I had to share my pancake craving so we popped into La Boheme in the walkway behind the recently saved Hotel El Medano, sweet and savoury delights as we watched the world and its large collection of assorted dogs pass by. A brief walk later we returned to the restaurant opposite and enjoyed a coffee on their terrace overlooking the sea, it was a natural sun trap and my gaze was torn between the young lady peeling down her top on the next table and the young ladies bathing below Рoh the natural charms of the bay and Monta̱a Roja also managed to turn my head.

With plenty of time to play with we decided to march up to the main road and at least part way out of El Medano before catching a bus, it turned into a fair old hike in the beating sun. We rounded the surfers beach, the nature reserve and the camping area before taking the shade at the bus stop just as a cloud rolled over and blotted out the sun. As it didn’t look quite so promising we decided to bypass Los Abrigos and stretch the Bono tickets to Las Galletas, a brief shower greeted our arrival but a drink stop in a cafe transformed the scene back to a bright evening. Las Galletas was fairly busy and a stroll along the front and a short exploration of the shopping precinct passed some more time wisely. That just left a short hop back to Los Cristianos to finish the day with some tapas and beer at El Faro, another TITSA triumph.

Unsettled and changeable best describes recent weather in Tenerife but to my holidaying friends Neal and Karen on the run from Bournemouth snow, it was just what they needed and as they wanted to taste the TITSA touring experience we headed off to Icod de los Vinos. Rising up into the hills the early sun was soon covered by low cloud although it did filter through for a wonderful rainbow nearly touching the road just by Santiago del Teide. Passing through some drizzle we dropped down into Icod and a decent sunny day, the tight back streets were bathed in festive classics in a Canarian stylie from the speakers at key points along the shopping parade. The local businesses had even laid on free wrapping in the street – the present sort not the bling and baseball cap musical variety.

Heading along for a gawp at the Drago tree brought us to the Plaza Andres de Lorenzo Caceres for a spot of lunch, decent prices and a lovely setting among the mix of strange knarled trees and the rather out of place multi coloured kiddies car ride. News had reached us of nearby Garachico’s 3 million euro collective win on El Gordo, the Spanish christmas lottery, was that a wave crashing as we looked out along the coast, or just another large bottle of champers being cracked open? The big famous Drago tree walled in just below the plaza gets all the attention but there are plenty more in the area so we headed up the road to worship a slightly smaller neglected tree hidden away in its own small crumbling plaza – I think we might start an appeal to help it. It was then we spotted a museum, Casa de Los Caceres, a fabulous old two tier house packed with some great food influenced art like a human figure made of lentils, peas, and chick peas, I think the artist was Jamie Oliver but I wouldn’t swear to it. Coming out there was a large crowd gathered as 2 chaps performed some street theatre.

Heading back down to the plaza it started raining so we dived into the Mariposario, the Butterfly Zoo. I have meant to visit this zoo for a long time, they have had run ins with the local council and it has been open and closed more often than Jordans legs. It doesn’t look much on the outside but once inside it opens up into a huge tropical greenhouse with plants, flowers and a stream running through. The butterflies were amazing, so many of them all around us and such a range of colours. A large lizard lounging on a tree bough looked like he was stuffed after eating a feast of butterflies but he flicked his tail now and then just to show willing. As the butterflies landed on us we had to resist the natural urge to brush them off, don’t want to destroy the stock. I can’t believe some woman had taken her dog in with her, small yappy and wrinkly around the face, but the dog looked quite nice.

Deciding to head south we stopped at a bar next to the bus station where a few locals were glued to a very old western on the TV, resisting some gems among the station shop DVD collection – Kojak when he was so young he still needed a comb- we waited for our bus as a young Ninja stretched his legs up the side of another bus and played out a rythm on the side with a rolled up newspaper, of course he got on our bus and continued his impromptu drumming all the way down to Guia de Isora where we got off. Town was fairly quiet apart from a kids party in the church square, sadly they didn’t seem to want us on th bouncy castle so we found a bouncy bar along the main road and savoured the last sun of the day as we had a few drinks. Guia were playing CD Marino at the football ground, just as well as the floodlights were the only illumination for the bus station next door, we were joined by a young pretty Eastern European lady who didn’t seem to know where she was heading and was gonna wait on her own in the near dark for an hour. Thankfully we persuaded the lost lass to get on our bus and head back to Las Americas, she only had a 50 euro note that the driver couldn’t change, Karen rescued her by paying with her Bono ticket, not nice to imagine the lady left on her own with just broken English and a 50 euro note to help her.

Our trip was brief, just a few stops down to Tejina to meet up with The General from the Armada Sur, by now it was getting a bit chilly but the pizza bar was welcoming and served up some nice local food to warm us up as we spilled our story of the day. TITSA buses give a good service and our 10 pm bus was spot on time to whisk us back to Las Americas and Los Cristianos. Another rewarding day exploring Tenerife in good company, with a few Doradas thrown in for good measure.

All my fault, nothing to do with the weather, alien forces or Guy Fawkes bonfires. I looked at my broom and thought I really must sweep my balcony and of course that brought on a calima , hot dry sand and dust from the Sahara, hanging in the air adding a subtle filter to the blue sky to give a greenhouse effect. I strolled down to my 8.30 am swim to be met by a hair dryer blast and Guaza Mountain partly hiding in the increasing haze. The wind was gusting in little spurts so I decided to catch the bus just along the coast to the fishing village of Las Galletas as the small beach there is embraced by the marina and normally immune to large waves.

How remiss of me, seems like 8 months or so since I nipped over to this lovely village, and of course I noticed some changes. The beach had a yellow flag, almost unheard of in that back water, but there was little more than a ripple moving over the sea on the beach side. I took a stroll along the promenade of Avenida Simon Bolivar and that side was much livelier, no young surf dudes trying the small waves today but there was definately some power to them. Walking on into the back street area it was sad to see the gap on the front where several old houses were recently bulldozed, it just makes the ones left behind look even more unloved. Thankfully there is some new input, the low mosaic walls at key points add a nice touch and the tourist information office has had a makeover.

Heading into the Calle Central pedestrianised shoping area it was quiet and sedate as always so I found a nice shady spot to enjoy a coffee and a snack. There’s a lovely charm to Las Galletas and i felt guilty that I have neglected it lately. Moving back through the tight old streets the sun streamed through the gaps and I was suddenly wanting a P… or any other letter, the hezagonal pavement blocks always remind me of Blockbusters. La Rambla, runing adjacent to the sea front walk, is another lovely restful area strewn with benches along the palm lined avenue, a good afternoon snoozing spot.

After hitting the shingle beach for some vigourous swimming I ventured onto the Marina del Sur to see how it was faring. It was opened 2 years ago but is still not in full use, the Policia Local office is empty and the fishermans bright modern workspace is also untouched as they continue to trade from the old shacks at the front of the beach. At least a couple of the units are open as restaurants and bars overlooking the busy marina where the pontoons groan under a full load of pleasure boats and fishing craft. I walked around to the end where it justs out into the open sea and noticed that another new bar has opened complete with a small plaza to sit and enjoy the crescent shaped harbour.

Time to head back for Los Cristianos as the mountains were gradually rubbed out by the thickening calima. By the time i got home, my swimming towel needed just 30 minutes to become dry and crispy. Tomorrow looks like another dusty day, maybe my balcony will have to wait for its pending brush up.

Give me a Spirograph or some Paint Wheels and eventually I might churn out something vaquely resembling art, but it’s highly unlikely. Best leave it to the experts, with that in mind I hopped on a Titsa 111 bus to Santa Cruz, eager to see the Prado exhibition at the Espacio Cultural Caja Canarias. Under the title El Retrato Español En El Prado they are showing 73 classic portraits featuring Spanish born or based artists like Goya and El Greco. I intended to browse some of the Prado museum on 2 football visits to Madrid last season but the lure of the beer won over and I explored some very artistic bars instead.

The portraits were top notch, they knew how to throw the paint around in those days, and well worth the 5 euro entrance fee, it would have been just 2 euros if I had got my new residencia, or free if I banked with Caja Canarias. You have until 8th January 2011 to have a nose around but can read a full review at www.tenerifemagazine.com . A trip to Santa Cruz often leads me on to La Laguna, any excuse to use the tram, so off I headed with no particular plan in mind. Arriving there I had a tour around the main streets before nipping into one of my favourite art stops. The Instituto Canarias in Calle San Agustin stages some small but free and interesting exhibitions, the latest Horizontes Insulares features works by island based artists. a chequer pattern based display by Gregorio Gonzalez (above) was pretty eye catching but I was hooked by some video art from Cuba’s Sandra Ramos. Slipping on the earphones and watching the large screen I watched 5 quirky and clever videos of 2 to 3 minutes each that tickled the eyes and ears with animated stories with an island theme. a seperate room at the end of the gallery featured video projections of scenery on la Reunion Island. This display runs until 17 November, Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm and 10am to 3pm on Saturday.

After grabbing some food in the Plaza del Adelantado I was soon back on the tram and heading down into Santa Cruz. Plaza Weyler is always a good place to get off and wander down Calle Castillo towards Plaza de España. part way down I spotted an old friend, Icarus, in large metallic sculpture form. Mythology says he built wings from feathers and wax and soared into the sky but getting carried away he flew too high and the sun melted the wax leading to a fatal crash to earth. Sculptor Julio Nieto made Icaro Salvado as part of a touring street exhibition last year and I talked to him about his works, you can read that at Tenerife Magazine. This time Icarus is stationed outside Casa Elder where 70 assorted art works are on display until 22 October, sadly it was closed for my visit but is open Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm. The busy shopping street was spellbound and many shoppers stoppedto pose in the shadow of the metal man. Time for me to go but thank you Santa Cruz and La Laguna, it was a pleasure as always.

Waking up in an arty farty frame of mind, I put on my cravat, adjusted my blazer, and headed up north to Santa Cruz. I’m no expert but I do love to dip into the wide and varied art scene that flourishes in Santa Cruz and La Laguna in particular. First port of call was a new venue for me, Centro de Arte la Recova just past La Noria as you head into the heart of the capital. New York bio artist Marlene Tseng Yu has an exhibition called Forces of Nature on until 27 August and like so many places in Tenerife, it is FREE.

Marlene’s work, acrylic on canvas is on a grand scale and centres on the environment and the beauty of our planet. La Recova is a large shell of a building and well suited to host such a display. The 16 works were all bright, vibrant and bursting with natural energy. Too often the art galleries are poorly supported but there was a steady trickle of visitors as I wandered around. the exhibition opens 11am to 1pm and 6pm to 9pm every day except Sunday, when it is closed, and it runs until 27 August.

I didn’t get very far after leaving the building, next door is the Teatro Guimera, a beautiful old theatre built in 1848 and currently undergoing a major facelift. It would have been all finished by now but the heavy rain and floods at the turn of the year did a lot of damage, hopefully it will now open in September, I will defnately have to take in a show there to see it in all its glory. It is named after poet and playwright Angel Guimera y Yorge who lived from 1845 to 1924. Most passing tourists snap a photo of the distinctive theatrical mask sculpture outside but I thought it was time that the inspiration for the building got his mug shot taken.

Where to next on this voyage of discovery? How about Plaza de España and a chance to catch up on the newly re-opened remains of the Castillo San Cristobal, one of the original defensive strongholds that helped to repel us horrible Brits and several other nationalities. the castle was built in 1575 but it was demolished in 1928 to make way for the Plaza de España, the centre piece of Santa Cruz. There was a nice surprise for the people of Santa Cruz when in 2006 Plaza de España was dug up for the new lake project, and underground part of the original castle wall was found standing firm. It was restored along with the main plaza and opened to the public but those heavy storms earlier this year flooded it out and more work was needed. I saw the first version and it was a bit plain, and the old section of wall with little explanation didn’t really do the history proud. This new version is loads better, much more information in Spanish and English, a big focus on the attack by Nelson, commentary with drum sound affects for the wall, and a seperate room for the famous Tiger canon. The Tigre has been credited with blowing Nelsons arm clean off, but as the guide notes explain,that is not proven, it did hole one of the British ships and played a big part in defeating the British earning it’s place in local folklore. The Castillo is open to the public Mon, Weds, Thurs and Fri from 10am to 6pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 7pm, closed Tuesdays.

Having neglected La Laguna lately, and always up for a ride on the tram, I took the 30 minute glide up to the university city. One of my regular stops there is the Instituto de Canarias Cabrera Pinto in Calle San Agustin, they always have an interesting exhibition running. The latest is called 25ft_10 Orientaciones and features new views of everyday scenes from around Tenerife in drawings, paintings and photos. There is even a wedding area complete with a long reception table with scattered flowers and remains of a feast. I liked the photos of Sergio Real, revealing some hidden corners of daily life in small villages. The exhibitions here are always FREE and it’s nice to check up on the slow restoration process being carried out on the old Convent of San Agustin. The latest display is open Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm. There are a lot of roadworks going on at the moment around the historic back waters of but its fairly easy to pick your way through and always rewarding.

Tramming back to Santa Cruz I got off and Plaza Weyler and walked down into the heart of the city and rounded my trip off with my usual papas bravas and churros de pescado at the kiosk on Plaza del Principe. it’s a lovely shady spot to watch the world bustle by and follow the green parakeets flitting from tree to tree. Not a bad old way to spend the day.

Like David Banner at the end of The Hulk or Cain at the end of Kung Fu, I feel compelled to walk into the distance and try new destinations, thankfully in my case without green fits or flattening the locals after announcing that I Come In Peace. Tenerife is perfect for my wandering spirit and the north has proved rich ground for some wonderful trips. For readers of Tenerife Magazine it could all be slightly easier and a whole lot more comfortable with a weeks free half board holiday for two people at Hotel Las Aguilas in Puerto de la Cruz.

That’s the latest prize on offer for simply being a Facebook fan of Tenerife Magazine and getting pulled out of the draw on 2nd August. Then it’s up to you what you do, I’m not going to nag and tell you about all those wonderous places you ned to visit like the Drago tree at Icod de Los Vinos, the Garachico rock pools and volcanic mound of rock spat into the sea by a major eruption of Mount Teide, and the wine trail at La Orotava that will leave you struggling to walk in a straight line. Wild horses and even countless repeats of Friends couldn’t force me to divulge the location of all those lovely coffee and cake cafes and bizarre bars that I have encountered on my travels. It’s up to you to go and explore.

Mind you I can understand if you just want to relax by the two large swimming pools at Las Aquilas, or enjoy the four star luxury service and views. Maybe try out the tennis and padel courts or the three restaurants and show bar. The 10.000 square metres of gardens may well distract your interest and the modern spacious layout will give you time to chill. For some history and culture the easy way just hop on the regular free shuttle bus into Puerto de la Cruz and explore the rugged sea front and a myriad of back street shops and restaurants. Basically there is plenty to do during your stay.

You still have time to win a week’s half board holiday for two people. All you need to do is be a Facebook fan of Tenerife Magazine by the closing date of 31^st July. The draw will be made on 2^nd August, is not transferable and must be claimed within 2 weeks of the draw or it will be re-drawn. The prize voucher can be used until the end of 2010, not open to staff or relatives of Tochdocun or Grupo Gomasper.

If you want to know more about Hotel Las Aguilas try the website www.hotellasaguilas.com or give them a ring on (0034) 922372806 or drop them an email reserves@hotellasaguilas.com