Hardly a shop was open in the centre of Santa Cruz and the streets were strangely quiet even for a Tuesday morning. On the outskirts of the Tenerife capital I stepped off the tram at La Paz into a buzzing throng of people in Las Ramblas, Dia de la Cruz (Day of the Cross) was in full swing as music and laughter filled the air.

Every year is special so why not for the 522^nd aniversary of the official founding of Santa Cruz, to the left the wide walkway in the centre of the busy road was full of stalls selling traditional food, games, and crafts. A troupe of musicians wandered, spreading good cheer, and children made the most of this extra May 3 holiday. From the bridge over the barranco I looked down to my Heliodoro home in the knowledge that I would be back for another CD Tenerife game on Saturday – all was well with the world.

Retracing my steps past the dancing fountain I found myself among the first batch of crosses made specially for the day, these were put together by schools, youth groups, and clubs and showed plenty of fertile imagination. Cartoon characters, animals, fruit, sweets, and even a homage to Cervantes were woven around the crosses. It was very busy so I had to drift with the flow, again on this side of Las Ramblas the wide central area was a car free zone as traffic worked its way past on outside lanes. The old bull ring still looked unloved as posters curled and paint peeled, was it really ten years ago a competition produced plans to revamp the old arena. Henry Moore’s statue reclined under a shady tree as people took turns to snap pics of the youngsters creations.

Approaching Parque Garcia Sanabria the crosses changed to the larger, adult, flower versions, and what a beautiful sight they were. The clear blue sky fought for attention with the bursts of coloured petals, framed against the overhanging trees from the park. The air was sweet and scented, gardeners were swooning in admiration, and I was suitably impressed as this was my first trip to the celebrations. Beyond the end of the crosses, there was a childrens play area but in the park below more temptations awaited.

Several days of Fiestas de Mayo had been taking place in Parque Garcia Sanabria, it’s always a special place but had an increased vibrancy with the walkways lined with flower and plant stalls. The flower clock near the main entrance had been given another change of colours and positively pulsated with pride. I was a little upset to have missed the children’s puppet show but after a sulk and a stamp of my feet I recovered my composure. In the centre of the park by the fountain a stage was brimming with singers and musicians in traditional dress. The paths that radiate out from the fountain had plenty of food and drink stalls including a Dorada van selling exotic bocadillos (rolls) with black pig, salsa, and yoghurt.

You can never have enough flowers, Santa Cruz Ayuntamiento (council) have just had 55,000 flowers added to beds and borders around the city, I don’t know how much that cost but it’s worth every cent. It wasn’t just the park that looked lovelier than ever, the roadsides and junctions looked wonderful all across the city. Down by the port there are a lot of concreted areas but creative use of flowers took the hard edge off them, it helps to shout a huge welcome to visitors from elsewhere in Tenerife and on the many cruise ships. I wasn’t the only one snapping away at the councils range of choice that included kalanchoes, tagetes, begonias, geraniums, petunias, surfinas, and marguerita daisies.

Santa Cruz is always moving forward, if you pop back to this blog I will share the rest of that days activities – including meeting 60 of the world’s most famous people and being detained by the national police. Dia de la Cruz was an outstanding success and the regular weekend shopping promotions will ensure a steady flow of retail raiders. Concerts, sporting events, and fiestas will keep the pot boiling but it seems every time I pop up from Los Cristianos it’s for a very different reason – I feel another tick list coming on.

Back in the age of Stickle Bricks and jigsaws, Lego was king, kids could knock up an impressive house complete with a vaulted roof before you could say planning permission. My efforts would have been a source of amusement to the little pig that thought straw was a sturdy basis for a construction project. The First Lego League, now an annual fixture in Arona makes me feel like a dinosaur but the enthusiasm, imagination, and skill of the budding builders augers well for the future of the Canary Islands.

The event is basically a huge science project, this year 43 teams from across the Canary Islands converged on Los Cristianos cultural centre to battle against each other in an ecological robot wars. Lego these days is mobile, it comes with engines and wheels, inside the Auditorio Infanta Leonor, the stage held a series of big table arenas with different tasks, like Trash Trek, assigned for each team. It all looked rather complicated to an old brain like mine but judges armed with clipboards were marking the teams efforts. There were some very young contestants, if they could hold a small spanner they were deemed ready.

Outside the cultural centre there were marquees for related interest games and displays. Despite being the day after heavy rain, snow, and hail, the usual hot Tenerife weather was back with the sun belting it out in a clear blue sky. I was able to get a clear look at the sun displayed on a paper surface, and then through a special telescope that filtered out the harmful rays. In both cases I could see a prominent sun spot and was suitably impressed. This was just one way that young minds were being opened up to the wonders of science, an impressive list of colleges and business sponsors showed how important the Lego League has become. When I was at school were lucky if we were let loose on a bunsen burner or a hair raising moment on a mini Van der Graph generator. Full marks to Arona Ayuntamiento (council) for putting itself at the centre of the learning universe.

It’s official, I’m still in love with Tenerife. I woke up this morning with a mild hangover (crap first line for a blues song) and decided to go hunting with my camera in Granadilla and San Miguel. It was one of those trips where the journey was as uplifting as the destination, and not just because the 45 minute ride was just 1.90 euros on my Bono bus ticket.

The sky was getting clearer and the sun brighter as the 416 Titsa bus rose up through Valle San Lorenzo, the view down to the coast from La Centinela made me smile. My mission was to snap photos of Christmas decorations and San Miguel screamed out with photo opportunities as the bus passed through, that would be a stop off on the way back. Arriving in Granadilla the sun was warm on my face as a crisp, cool breeze whistled up the legs of my shorts. My last few visits to Granadilla had been for football and I had neglected the town, it still looked lovely with the pine covered hills rising above it to Vilaflor and Mount Teide beyond. The vibrant flowers and the bold, imposing church further boosted my good mood and the views of El Medano were hardly stressful.

Sipping a coffee in a little bar by the bus station, even reading the newspaper report of CD Tenerife’s 4-1 defeat at Valladolid failed to put a ripple across my pond. Whilst capturing the charm of the bus station, I noticed an odd structure in an open area down the road and gave into curiosity. An old agricultural engine had pride of place and a closer inspection of the monument next to it gave its origin as Lincoln.

It took just 15 minutes for my bus to drop me in San Miguel. There were plenty of unusual Christmas decorations to photograph and they will appear in a separate Tenerife Holidays blog but it’s such a lovely town at any time. The church tower stands out on the skyline and the surrounding plaza offers more superb views of the coast. At the other end of town the Mirador de La Palmera is another place to survey the land below and it has the sculpture of Salto del Pastor, an ancient way of leaping between rural outcrops of the hillsides.

My final bus back to the south took me over the Barranco de La Orchilla, a high sided ravine where birds wheel away on the air currents. Coming back to La Centinela the patchwork of fields and tracks below made me resolve to hit the walking trails again early in the new year. There’s always something more to see and experience in Tenerife. This is probably my last post before the festive madness flows so I’d like to wish you all a smashing Christmas, New Year, and Reyes, thanks for your continued interest.

Like the giant pink balloons that scraped the Tenerife skyline, the Walk For Life gets bigger and better every year. Last years tenth anniversary walk was always going to be difficult to equal, so they didn’t, they surpassed it. A pink and white army of 3,200 walkers arrived from all corners of the island, united many different communities, and raised an amazing 15,100 euros.

There was an early morning party atmosphere at the Magma Arts & Congress centre in Costa Adeje as people gathered in ingenious mixtures of the cause colours. Live music and dancing from the big stage set the tone, many sad recollections are stirred each year as lost loved ones are remembered but the atmosphere is always upbeat, hope, resilience, and friendship are the fuels for this event. The drum bands were shaping up, a few finishing touches were added to costumes for humans and dogs, and Mayor Fraga of Adeje and Mayor Jose Mena Perez of Arona joined founder, organizer, and driving force Brigitte Gypen to set us on our way.

As the walkers poured down the ramp of the Magma Centre the stream seemed never ending, police and security made we sure we got funneled across the road as bewildered drivers waited. There are always a few tweaks to the route but are first big objective was to head for the seafront promenade of Playa de Las Americas. It was nice to see so many family groups spanning the generations, the swallows, our wintering pensioners, and the Armada Sur, the CD Tenerife fan club I’m so proud to belong to, were making their usual commitment, there was even a youth team from Nandu Rugby Club.

The female motorbikers were another returning favourite, they have big bikes but even bigger hearts. All forms of transport were showing their colours, some people had mobility scooters, and further on in the walk we noticed the Los Cristianos sailing school, Escuela de Vela, had hoisted their colours to the mast as a show of support. At three points along the 4.5 km route there were opt out points for those who couldn’t manage the full distance, free shuttle buses were on hand to ferry them to the finish point. As we passed busy bars and restaurants many people added money to the rattling collection buckets and many others rose from their sun beds to cheer and encourage.

It looked an amazing sight as the procession spread all along the promenade at Las Vistas beach, the tunnel between there and the old beach was a bit of a bottle neck and groups had to go through a few hundred at a time as the other walkers marked time. Our route this time took us up the back way from the beach to turn right at the church plaza for the final approach to the cultural centre and the stage that had been set up there. There was a mix of relief, pride, and exhilaration as walkers fanned out into the Plaza del Pescador and tucked into the bananas and cold drinks that had been supplied. A burst of pink and white balloons filled the sky and those tired feet managed some joyous dancing to the singers who were giving their time for the cause.

The counting and registering of the collected money, and the drawing of the many donated raffle prizes meant the show glowed on for several hours. Los Cristianos felt the windfall of the walk as bars and restaurants were peppered with pink customers. I was chuffed to hear the Armada Sur raised 1,187 euros, big thanks to those who made that possible and to everyone who got involved this year. The good work of the charity continues, both mayors pledged their support to helping form a Walk For Life Foundation in time for next year so they can offer even more help to breast cancer sufferers. Click here to see the full parade of my photos from the Walk For Life, and Swim For Life which took place earlier this year.

It reminded me of that bloke painting Red Dwarf in the opening titles as the camera pans back to reveal him as a minute spot against the massive spaceship. Well the only difference was this chap was hosing down the sheer side of Mein Schiff 4 in Santa Cruz harbour – oh and it wasn’t in space, wasn’t fictional, and involved water instead of paint. I hope the gentleman wasn’t employed just to gloss up cruise ships, he would have to forget about tea and sarnie breaks, this was another record breaking day for the Tenerife capital with even better to come.

As I looked up from the quayside four cruise ships, AIDAblu, Thomson Dream, Norwegian Epic, and Mein Schiff 4 towered over me, and the Minerva was moored separately on the other side of the port. The combined influx of visitors was 9,900 passengers and 3,580 crew, the shops and bars of Santa Cruz were poised in anticipation for the sweet sound of ringing tills. Other towns would also feel the benefit as an endless stream of coaches whisked eager tourists away to varied destinations, Mein Schiff 4 even had an army of bicycles and segways ready for some closer roving. That ship was built in Turkey just a year ago, and the Minerva has a tale or two to tell. Originally built to be a Soviet research ship the Minerva now sails for Swan Hellenic who are based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire. It’s one of the smaller cruise liners and specializes in cultural tours with intellectual guest speakers rather than cabaret acts.

My focus for the day was the Norwegian Epic and from the bridge I had a grand view of the port as it went about its business. Real Club Nautica looked neat and busy as a stream of  single mast sailboats set out as part of the two day Laser 4.7 race. It was quite a contrast to see them sail by one of the large oil platforms that come in for a makeover, a bit like Beast and the Beauties. Further along the road from Santa Cruz to San Andres the old steam ship La Palma stood proud, built in Middlesborough in 1912 it shuttled between the islands before falling into disrepair but a trust has been lovingly restoring it to be a floating museum. I was fortunate to cover a Peroni calendar shoot on the ship with some very able bodied sea ladies.

The port is always on my tick list for places to visit when in Santa Cruz so after my tour of Norwegian Epic I had a wander to see what was new. The Punta Salina rescue vessel was getting a few running repairs before going out to help those in peril on the sea. This is the time of year for the training ships to call in before heading out on their adventure trips with eager young recruits. It’s not really something I fancy, you have to pay for the voyage and also pitch in doing the work, scrubbing the deck, climbing the mast, and steering the ship. It teaches team work and builds character but I’d rather be enjoying the luxury of a cruise ship. Wylde Swan (above) had just come into the marina after being moored off Los Cristianos, billed as the worlds biggest two mast topsail schooner it had been making its way from Holland before embarking on a trip to Barbados. There was another tall ship nearby, this time from Sweden, Alva (below).

Santa Cruz port is undergoing a facelift, I noticed last trip that saplings were being planted along the inner edge of the marina and a raised ramp is taking shape for direct foot access to Plaza de España. This time I noticed the new tarmac walkway alongside the marina, special plaques have been mounted at discreet intervals to commemorate some of the great sea faring pioneers. That’s a nice touch, the port has already shown its respect for history by renovating the old French mini lighthouse, La Farola del Mar, down near the ferry terminal. The sea plays a huge part in the history of Tenerife and Santa Cruz in particular, visiting cruise ship captains often get presented with a bottle of malvasia wine, a popular old export to the UK and one of the peace presents bestowed upon Admiral Nelson after his failed conquest in 1797. Santa Cruz looks set fair for a new golden age of sea visitors, I hope they will be as impressed as I am.

Even on a day when five mighty cruise ships jostled for attention in Santa Cruz, Norwegian Epic had a bit too much class for her rivals and shone like a true star. Although five years old, this was the first visit for the pride of the Norwegian Cruise Line, 3,200 British and Spanish passengers plus many of the 1,300 crew joined in the party spirit in the Tenerife capital as they were greeted by traditional Canarian musicians and dancers. It’s a beautiful looking ship crammed full of every indulgence you could imagine, I was eager to get on board and see all the goodies. Our first stop was the bridge deck, a large open area with wide expanses of glass for all embracing views of the port. Former Tenerife Cabildo (government) President Ricardo Melchior, now President of  Puertos de Tenerife, exchanged momentos with Captain Idar Hoydal as waiters plied us with drinks and nibbles. The control panels, labeled in English, looked daunting and a couple of times when shrill whistles sounded I hoped I hadn’t brushed against an important lever by mistake. The Captain told me he had started with the company in 1980 as an able bodied seaman but had only been at this helm for two years. My feet and camera finger were itching to explore and our guide led us through the ship. There are 11 restaurants on the Norwegian Epic but most were empty as a fleet of coaches had whisked passengers off to many varied destinations. Le Bistro French restaurant looked very stylish and intimate while Taste restaurant hit the spot with stunning décor fanning out from a centrally placed piano. There were clear notices about the ships dress code, even without my football shirt I felt like I could be breaking several taboos. The Manhattan Room was also impressive with its more subdued colour scheme and black and white prints of old America. I stuck my head inside a few of the other entertainment rooms, The Cavern was a tribute to The Beatles, some of my scouse friends would love that – yeah, yeah,yeah. The Headliners Comedy Club looked like it could be a giggle, and the Fat Cats Jazz and Blues Club would have them swinging from the roof. There was a big parade of art on one landing, they have seminars and auctions. A squatting dog was passing his own artistic judgement, very appropriate for the start and end point of the trip, Barcelona, home of the Caganer. The social events caught my eye, a solo passengers gathering, Friends of Dorothy, and even cup cake decorating. A giant Wii wall dominated one area with an interactive game of ping pong that drew a few people in. There’s no shortage of things to do with a bowling alley, the circus themed Spiegel Tent, and the Epic Theatre where Priscilla of the Desert was the live show. Gamblers would be constantly challenged with the Epic Casino and a poolside casino, the lights were flashing as I strolled down a lengthy corridor of fruit machines and a passenger I spoke to later in Santa Cruz told me bingo was 39 dollars a game with the prize of an upgrade to the ultra swish Haven suite at the very top of the ship. Our next group stop was deck 15 and the Aqua Park water slides and kids pool, I took the steps to the launch point for the water tubes, it looked great fun. For those just wanting to chill out there were plenty of tables to sit at after raiding the Garden Café buffet and Waves pool bar. Looking around these floating cities I can see why some people don’t even venture out to the ports of call, Norwegian Epic pops into Tangier, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Funchal, and Malaga between leaving and arriving back at Barcelona. Norwegian Epic will be back in Santa Cruz on Christmas eve and makes another 66 Tenerife calls up to 2 April 2016.

My nose was being tickled and teased by the warm waft of chestnuts roasting in tall metal braziers, and similar smells were drifting out of bars and restaurants as we walked up the main street of San Lorenzo. While rampant commercialism was whipping shoppers into a frenzy elsewhere, there was a traditional Canarian feel to the small town just above Los Cristianos.

It was the Night of Chestnuts, Sweets, and Wine, and Arona council had put on free buses from Playa de Las Americas and Los Cristianos to encourage more people to get involved. I went with friends Dave and Annie, we had to wait for a second half size coach to ferry us up there as demand was high.The evenings were beginning to get a bit chilly and it was a few degrees cooler as we got off in the busy Carretera General. Armed with the official leaflet we set about trying the chestnut themed tapas that several bars and restaurants were selling.

First stop was the Queseria Tasca Medianito for their cheese and chestnut tapas, it was lovely, bread and rolls of cheese with a little honey inside, and a spoon of chestnut puree. I’m not a big wine drinker but had a sip of my friends white to look willing, on the way out I noticed some bottles of 6% Danza Diablo (Devil Dance) black ale from La Palma, I will be back to try that in the near future. Next up was the Bar Fumero where we tried the chestnut croquetes, these had a very strong and pleasing flavour of the castañas. There was an alternative on offer, chestnuts with onion and tuna but we had more stops to cram in.

There was plenty of entertainment going on in the street and at key points there were stalls selling hot chestnuts, wine, and sweet pastries. We were a couple of days short of the big celebration of San Andres (St Andrew) and a few of those traditions were being honoured, children dragged strings of old cans along and opposite our food stop a mini version of las tables was taking place. San Andres is a celebration of wine and the breaking open of the wooden barrels, the wood is made into rough karts to ride down the steep streets, most notably in Icod. For us it was time to sample the full glory of chestnuts, the braziers were stoked up and burning with salted water boiling just below a pan of our delicious round friends. A two euro bag was plenty for me and they tasted so good, I’m sure they must have some very healthy properties as well. The 50 cent glasses of wine were going well too and a mountain of 50 cent pastries was being steadily reduced.

Another bar was calling, this time the Gipsy King, the walls were adorned with Real Betis posters and for once I didn’t have my CD Tenerife shirt on. I fancied the lasagne with chestnuts and was duly rewarded with the best tapas of the night. It was getting very busy and the poor barman was struggling to keep up with the till, hopefully all the local business’s will have made some good income from the night. As Dave left us for football, San Lorenzo v San Isidro in the Preferente League, we made our way to the free bus pick up point. A large group of traditionally clad musicians were tuning up, I noticed one had a small flashing electronic device attached to the neck of his timple guitar. I had to ask what it was for, it’s a tuning device for the strings, what a nice blend of tradition and technology. It was a good night and as always a pleasure to share in the rituals and celebrations of Tenerife.

The fight against breast cancer never rests and Tenerife has some of the fiercest battlers of all. The Walk For Life team are now in their 11^th year of raising funds and awareness and have diversified by adding the Swim For Life, held again this year at T3 – Tenerife Top Training in La Caleta.

Pink skull caps sliced through the water in the two pools as well over a hundred swimmers of all ages worked through a challenging schedule of races in a range of strokes. It was very much the taking part that was most important although some of the experienced club swimmers were keenly competitive. I’m always impressed by the organization of the Walk For Life and the swimming version was just as smooth with Tenerife Rotary Club and the T3 staff pitching in with the charity regulars.

Olympic swimmers from around the globe regularly train at T3 but even they would have struggled to match the enthusiasm and commitment of these Sunday morning speedsters. Many competitors had traveled down from Santa Cruz and swimmers were from several communities with a mix of languages, cancer is a common enemy to all. Shining through all the flurry of activity was a sense of fun that bubbled up in a fast, frothy, and frantic mass water aerobic session. Instructor Teresa “Maquina” Guarino whipped them up into a frenzy and pulled the tide of swimmers from one side of the pool and back again with a control that King Canute would have envied.

The end result of the three hours was a pot of 2,200 euros to be shared between Spain’s AECC charity and the Tenerife based AMATE, and the Walk For Life funds. The latest project to near completion is the Pink Room, an Adeje help center for breast cancer sufferers and their helpers. Advice will be available in a range of languages and they will also be able to organize events and practical support. The center is due to open in October 2015, they are still looking for items to help furnish the building, have a look on the multi lingual website in the Pink Room section, you may have just what they need.

There will barely be time to dry towels and rinse out swim gear as work goes on to prepare for the Walk For Life 2015 on Sunday 13 December. Ink that in your diary and keep an eye on the website for news of the route through Arona and Adeje. Big respect to all the swimmers and organizers who made the Swim For Life a success – see you for more next year.

When Los Cristianos celebrates there are parties within parties and fiestas within fiestas. The annual celebrations for the Virgen del Carmen are a great example, just turn a corner and your caught up in a whirl of music and colour.

The fishermen were busy at the port decorating their boats ready for their big parade at sea but just inland of the old beach Saturday lunchtime saw the start of the Fiesta del Sombrero, a mad hatters tea party that took over the small plaza by the square fountain. Trestle tables groaned under the weight of snack and nibbles and of course the wine and beer was flowing. This year a stage ensured live music got people up and bopping, a good way to test the sturdiness of their headgear.

The order of the day wasn’t the over the top, year in the planning, crowning glories of Carnaval, it was more about sprucing up a tired topper with some fun and imagination. Flowers and small animals cropped up and some people incorporated the fishing theme that drives the Virgen del Carmen celebrations. Even Los Cristianos couldn’t escape the influence of those yellow cartoon superstars the minions, their film success had gone to several revelers heads.

There was no prize for the best hat but for me the Dame Edna of the afternoon was the large shallow basket draped in Tenerife produce and greenery. It looked good from front and back and was brimming with pride, take a bow that young lady. This was only the second time the hat fiesta had appeared on the fiesta programme, it seems to be evolving nicely, I’m looking forward to some more jauntily angled offerings next year.

If you guessed the big metal arch in Torviscas was part of a giant McBurger drive in you would be wrong. The large abandoned area just behind San Eugenio was Sky Park, an ambitious bungee jumping theme park that had a short and patchy history over 10 years ago. There was I flying back to the UK a few weeks ago when I saw a large advert in a Canarian newspaper offering the forgotten leisure area for sale or rent – that untapped quite a few memories.

It was in my early days (2002) with The Western Sun as a cub reporter (I think cub was the word people yelled at me) when I joined a pre opening tour of the park. It was all very high tech and impressive although there is no way you would ever get me to dangle on a length of knicker elastic, even if it was over a vat of beer. Bureaucracy was even worse in those days and there were delays galore in getting the park doors open, then the police closed it just a few days later and so the game went on.

Finally up and running and sometimes using the alternative name of Water World, they hosted a joint live broadcast afternoon in August featuring Power FM with their recently aquired subsidiary Waves FM, and Oasis FM. This was the second part of the inter radio challenges, the first was a paintball face off at a site just south of Playa San Juan. It was a fun event around the many pools and on a range of bungee rides. The daddy of them all was the mega tall jump from a crane platform, it could be adjusted so you dipped gently into the pool or stopped just short.

One remarkable wheelchair bound ex soldier did the jump in his chair ending up just above the pool. I was snapping away at the amazing feat thinking what good pics it would make, unfortunately while it was going on I missed four young female Waves FM presenters flashing their ample charms as they whizzed back and forth on the bungee swing ride. The climax of the afternoon was a head first leap off challenge between Chris Elkington boss of Oasis FM and Gavin Watson his opposite number at Power Fm and Waves FM. What can I say, Chris hurled himself down but Gavin was not available and Charlie Thornley of Waves FM had to uphold the west coast honour with a dive that Ronaldo would have been proud of. Sadly the report of that afternoon is the only Sky Park article I have in my small archive.

There were other visits, FAILTE held their St Patricks Day party there and at one time the lounge bar on the complex was a mini night club that held music and comedy nights with shuttle buses from around the south. Those good times were all too few and the next enforced closure was final leaving the prime site to the elements, there was a newspaper report a few months ago of a small fire in a shed on the site, maybe people living rough?

I believe the area can only be used for leisure rather than building apartments and the advert stressed for sale or rent, quite a lot of the infrastructure is still standing. It’s return would make an interesting addition to the Tenerife leisure scene so if you have a big wad of cash contact skiparktenerife@gmail.com (yes that spelling). I promise that given another chance I wont miss any sky high female flashing.