Life is good on the other side of the tracks – especially on a Sunday morning. In this case I was surveying the vast spread of the Sunday street market in Santa Cruz, as it spread its arts, crafts, and collectables up a few port waves upwards to the La Recova market in the main crossroads where the new meets the old. Filtering up to La Recova full time market, I soon found myself in the company of wine gods, and two floors of refreshing food and drink.

Outside La Recova, the sculpted fishermen pushed their boat out under the arc entrance from the two floor, sun kissed all week shopping experience. La Recova has been a popular focal point since 1943, and always has something new to offer, alongside its proud history of show casing local food and drink. Bachus, the Roman god of wine was represented by three spirits that floated around the centre like they had just stepped out of a history book.

I was tempted by liquid refreshment of a sweet nature, as sugarcane was being crushed in a shredder before the healthy juices were served in chilled glasses. A notice proclaimed that the squeezed juice could encourage eternal youth – it might need a few gallons to turn back my clock. For something a bit more main stream, there is a very nice bar downstairs on the lower level. Promotions change through the year but you will find the market open dailñy from 7am to 2 pm.

Flowing play, confidence on the ball, and always full of options,  CD Tenerife B team underlined their credentials with a 3-0 home win over Tamaraceite at the Geneto training complex near Tenerife North airport. Celebrations for promotion to Spain´s 4th tier will have to wait a few more days as rival sides also won on May Day morning.

It´s been a fabulous season for the largely under 23 squad, many have risen through the age levels together and there is an understanding bordering on telepathy in the squad. Under coach Mazinho and captain Felix Alonso they have only lost two matches all term, even when losing players to taste first team action. Ethyan is the creme of the crop. The 21 year made a meteoric rise through the youth system, with goals galore but a couple of annoying injuries stalled his progress.

Tamaraceite from neighbouring island, Gran Canaria, rode their luck a little early on before Ethyan burst into the box after the half hour and beat the goalie. Cacho on the left was causing problems and curled a shot just over the bar. Into the second half, the away goalie took a knock and looked uncertain when coming to claim the ball, it was like a guilt edged invitacion to Ethyan. Spotting an opening the marksman took his seasons tally to 14 goals.

Tenerife made several changes to give other players a chance to shine. Dawda, another player to have tasted a few minutes with the seniors, responded quickly to lash in a half volley for a 3-0 lead. The depth and quality of the home squad ensured that their visitors were not allowed any chances to spoil the clean sheet. Celebrations were on ice until the following Sunday at Union Sur Yaiza (Lanzarote). The biggest legacy of this season will hopefully be an increased prescence of locally developed talent to propel the club forward.

Like wading through treacle, everything seems hard going for CD Tenerife at the moment. Even with an improved performance and key players back on song, they were held 1-1 by mid table Real Zaragoza.

Home keeper Soriano again made a series of top quality saves, the first was a dive to divert the ball from entering the net. It bobbled and fell kindly to former Tenerife player Vada to poke it inside the roof of the net after 15 minutes. Sam Shashoua made a rare start and joined the dots along the forward line. Zaragoza couldn´t nail the former England under 18 play maker down. Andres Martin returned the ball to Sam after it had left a defender chasing shadows, Sam saw his chance and stroked the ball past the goalie to level after 22 minutes.

Alex Correrdera had looked tired in recent games, it was good to see the spring back in his step, full of creative scheming, and linking defence and attack.Sergio Gonzalez was also back in the groove at the heart of the home defence, another influential player and a perfect compliment for Jose Leon. Soriano opened the second half with another acrobatic denial as Zaragoza pressed forward.

Bermejo on for Elady at half time did little to sharpen the attack. Sam departed with Pomares after 68 minutes as Ruben Diez and Shaq Moore entered the fray. Shaq was fresh back from helping the USA to qualify for the Qatar World Cup. There was a scare when decisive goalie Soriano raced out to foul a Zaragoza forward who had left the home defence in his wake and had a clear sight of the target. A yellow card for the stopper and a wasted free kick for the visitors calmed the nerves. Another former Santa Cruz player, Nano, teed up his own chance but Soriano seemed rto double in size to smother the shot.

Eight regular games remain, Tenerife are in 5th place (3rd to 6th male the play offs) with a five point safety margin. Form is everything, Girona have crashed the play off party and Las Palmas are just six points adrift from joining the knock out stage. The 12,039 crowd could  feel the tension among the home players, Tenerife need to rekindle their best form for the big run in, they have the talent to suceed.

Half way between Los Cristianos and Santa Cruz, a blonde explorer fell to his knees and kissed the ground as Tenerife´s TF1 motorway trundled by. Nearly a year without live CD Tenerife football does that to a bloke. Appropriately, it was a Saturday and Los Roques has been the half way match day stop for the Armada Sur for many a season. It´s also a beautiful setting that deserved a deeper exploration below the Los Roques and Oasis bars.

The Playa del Abrigo with its sweep of black sand was being raked by foaming waves on a 26 degrees January afternoon. A few people were sand strolling but although it does attract adventurous swimmers, the currents must be wildly unpredictable beyond the craggy guards of this stretch of the east coast.

The municipality of Fasnia is one of the smallest in Tenerife and can appear to be trapped in a time bubble. The Bahia  Apartments showed no signs of life but up above new housing, wooden benches, and a well maintained road told a different tale. The big surprises came on the other side of the main bay, once linked by a beach track, for me though it was up and over at the top, and into a small traditional fishing community. Built around Playa del Roque, a church and some houses had been damaged by rock falls. Trying to resist the mood swings of Mother Nature must be a constant challenge to the local council. A recent large cliff collapse on neighbouring Canary Island, La Gomera, had led to wide spread protection measures on other vulnerable spots.

Despite that, there were plenty of encouraging signs. A new water treatment plant topped by a viewing platform sat alongside a huddle of old houses around the steps to the beach. They showed a great sense of pride in their fishing traditions and the people who toiled the sea. Most thirsty drivers wont dip any deeper than the two bars but the Saturday agricultural market had a queue, hopefully that will bring further good harvests.

If you do stop off, cast a glance down to the beaches, it´s a magnificent sight. If your not in a hurry, you can also pop under the motorway via a tunnel to see the ancient Fasnia water train that used to help bring water up from the deep pools to irrigate the fields. Inland and a little up hill Las Casas del Camino Real are a flag ship for rural tourism in the area. They are soon to be featured as the setting for a German reality TV show. There´s a strong beating heart at the centre of Fasnia, the municipality and its neighbour Arico, are pioneering the Titsa bus comany´s  pre booking local bus service called TUWAWA.

Standing at the top of a near 400 year old twin lava flow and looking down at a sinking skull. My toes were tingling as I left the church at San Juan del Reparo and followed the sign to shadow the path that wiped out most of Garachico in the 1706 eruption.

What a beautiful crime scene, contrasting destruction and rebirth at every step. Perspective changes views, the offshore volcanic spitbristled with bird life but from my lofty perch, its empty eye socket fixed a mocking stare at the source of its dark origin. Pine trees now sprout healthily out of the hill side and the descent is a smooth 90 minute zig zag towards the Garachico church plaza.

My curiosity did lead me astray before spotting the real route beyond a modern estate. Taking a rough but clearly used trail, I found an old sealed water gallery. The hills in and around Icod are peppered with them, many unmapped and forgotten. In 2007 heavy rain caused the water table to rise and gasses were forced into tunnels being explored by visitors near Los Silos. Six people died and a big clampdown was made on the old galleries.

Back on the main trek, there were warnings of possible rock slides but heat was my only irritant, a good supply of cold water was my solution. As the path lowered, the horizon broadened, Los Silos lighthouse was visible to the west and the San Marcos coast stretched out in the opposite direction. The natural rock pools of El Caleton looked welcoming below but restrictions on times and numbers make it an elusive treat during these Covid days.

Old above ground water pipes and pumping stations were testaments to peoples ingenuity and determination to tame their charred landscape. Not many other people passed me on the walk, the heat of the day had chased most sensible folk to seek shade and cold drinks. Apart from the odd bird cry and church bell, a calm mood hung in the air. Garachico was a fine reward for my wander, there is plenty to enjoy at the top end of the trail as well, the settlements on the way into Icod are worth exploring. The descent itself was like peeling back the years and gave me a whole new appreciation of this part of the Tenerife coast.

Out of despair, conflict, and uncertainty, CD Tenerife produced a remarkable display of solidarity and stubborn defiance to snatch a 0-2 win at Sporting Gijon. The sacking of coach Aritz Lopez Garai had exposed old wounds at the club and sown new doubts about the remainder of the season. Forget flowing football, the torrential rain scuppered that, caretaker coach Sesé Rivero made bold decisions that paid off, and the team huddle at the full whistle showed was brimming with pride in a job well done.
There were no drastic changes in the starting line up, Javi Alonso continued his progress from the B team with a starting midfield slot for the suspended Alberto, and he had a fine full game. Early play was always going to be tense, Ortola calmed nerves with a couple of solid stops in goal, and Javi cleaned up after the Tenerife defence got in a mix and nearly let the home side in. There was a scare when an aerial duel saw the ball canon at the away goal from the head of Munoz, Ortola was coolness itself as he snuffed out the ricochet.

Medina was the play maker for Gijon and Aitor the buzzing forward waiting to snap up any openings. Luis Perez was at his sharpest to poke away a shot after Aitor has burst past three defenders. The Tenerife team were struggling at times to adjust from the old coaches tactics to the new boss´s input, but they worked at it. Aitor threatened again after cutting the ball back from the byline but Ortola was on the case. Borja Lasso was playing a more advanced role with Malbasic offering very little in a deep position, Nahuel and Shaq Moore gradually found an understanding as they interchanged on the left.
Medina beat Carlos Ruiz to post a header at the visitors goal, Ortola had it covered. The Tenerife keeper did even better just before the break to stand tall to a Djuka break and a fierce shot that winded him but didn´t beat him. A storm had been weathered and it was a sunnier Tenerife that emerged for the second half, especially with Dani Gomez taking over from the invisible Malbasic. Passes were getting crisper, and pressure was growing on the Gijon goal. When Valiente fouled Nahuel on the edge of the home box after 54 minutes, VAR was awoken and awarded a Tenerife penalty. Captain Suso took a few deep breaths to calm the nerves and placed the ball in the roof of the net to take the lead. It could have been short lived, Djuka beat a clutch of Tenerife defenders before unloading his shot, Ortola dived and turned it aside with ease.

The pitch was breaking up in the downpour but Dani Gomez was the lawn master as he side stepped his marker and picked his shot to perfection to double the lead. If anyone though that Rivero would play safe, that was soon dispelled when he took off Nahuel and brought on defender Dos Santos, discarded for so long he was covered in cobwebs. Gomez is a real prospect, the 20 year old loanee from Real Madrid held up the ball well and passed to Borja who shot wide. Rivero has poured years into the youth coaching set up at Tenerife and drew on his knowledge to give a sub debut to Elliot Gomez as Suso departed. The 20 year old player made an immediate impact with an impressive cross into the path of Dani Gomez who was clattered by a home defender. Ortola capped a great evenings work with a late save from a strong header, and Elliot powered down the right to force a corner just before the teams played out the added time. What a tonic this was for Tenerife´s ills, but there are still many things to be resolved.

What a contrast, from the majestic pine trees, vibrant flowers, and bird song, to the cool, dark, silent world of Cueva del Viento below Icod in the north west of Tenerife. I had visited the volcanic lava tubes before but it was nice to share the experience with Andy and Jim from the Armada Sur as well as the others on the full mini bus from the visitors centre where the tour started.

The first hint of the contrast came when we peered through the metal grid of a 17 metre chasm. Surrounded by greenery and vegetation it has swallowed up a curious local lady many years ago, luckily she survived and it led to the full exploration of the 17 kilometers of tunnels on four levels. Our trip was in a 180 metre downward plunging section with a guide and plenty of informative information. We learnt at the visitors centre about the different types of lava, this Tenerife natural wonder is of the layered type where lava has cooled and solidified to sculpt bizarre shapes and textures. Cueva del Viento (cave of the wind) is the biggest set of volcanic tubes in Europe and the fifth longest in the world.

The day started at Playa de Las Americas bus station, originally there were to be 8 of us on the outing but only myself and Andy Van Man boarded the 460 bus for Icod. Jim phoned to say he was at the wrong bus station but a frantic car catch up saw him hop on at Tejina. As we drove up through Chio and Santiago del Teide the cloud was hovering low to mask the scorching sun. We arrived in Icod a couple of hours ahead of our booked tour time so after a stroll through the historic back streets we settled outside Bar Hesperides for a few Dorada’s as we watched the world go by. For our delight and entertainment we were treated to a Mrs Merton look alike, a female Jabba the Hut impersonator – who turned out to be English, and a scattering of pretty young ladies also caught our roaming eyes.

A taxi whizzed us up the steep winding roads to the tiny village of Cueva del Viento and the visitors centre. We paid our 10 euros and collected our helmets with mounted spot lights and listened to the introduction talk and video. Suitably clued up, we piled into the minibus for another steep climb to a clearing were we set off across natures garden. Several expanses of lava rock gave us a better understanding of how the lava had poured down from Pico Viejo, next to Mount Teide, and created a 300 metre wide lava field. Part of the ancient Camino Real track, that linked remote parts of Tenerife, became our path as we neared the entrance to the tubes. Before putting the helmets on we had to pull a cloth protector over our heads, some of us got yellow ones, not a good colour for CD Tenerife fans. With the helmets tightened and the lights turned on we descended one by one down the entrance stairs.

In the first large cave we perched on the ledges as our guide explained more about our surroundings, a mummified body of a Guanche king had been found on a high ledge, and a small metal door in the distant rocks was a crawl space into the main tunnels where most of the tiny species of creatures live. Our journey led the other way through a tight, twisting, plunging tunnel with an uneven rocky floor. Our lights cast flickering shadows on the walls and ceiling to show the many small offshoots and the tree and plant roots that poked through. The air was chilled and drops of moisture plopped now and then as we explored some of the collapsed rocks. At the end of our stretch of tunnel we were just under the grid covering the chasm the old lady dropped down, and just to the side was a tight lava pipe leading down to the lower level, there are plans to offer that as an extra option for braver explorers.

Retracing our steps we stopped to look at some spiders on the ceiling of the passage and also to have our brief exposure to total darkness. The warmth of the late emerging sun caressed us as we climbed back to ground level, on the walk back to the minibus we were able to check out some obsidian rock and learn how it was used by the Guanches to make rough tools. By the time we got back to the visitors centre the whole experience had taken two hours so feeling educated and thirsty we rewarded ourselves with Dorada’s at the nearby bar and ordered our taxi back to Icod. As luck would have it we had well over an hour until our bus back south so we put the time to good use with more beer outside a large bar near the bus station. There was still time to pack more into the day, breaking the journey in Tejina we were able to meet the General in Bar Achimaye and enjoy some food and drink while watching the first half of the Europa League final before the last leg into Playa de Las Americas.

I jumped out in Torviscas to meet a couple of friends over from Bournemouth at The Wigan Pier, the second half of the football, extra time, and penalties allowed me to force a few more beers down and we even won their quiz. That was it for me – oh apart from a few nightcaps at The Merry Monk in Los Cristianos. It was a great day in good company, our next lads trip out is shark wrestling or hang gliding – as long as it includes beer I’m up for it.

Wednesday is a good day in Oxford as the outdoor market is on at Gloucester Green. It has evolved out of the old cattle market further out at Oxpens but the sheep, pigs, and hens of my youth are long gone and it’s more of a food, bric a brac, and general tat market but always produces some interesting sights, sounds, and smells.

In between meeting a few old work friends I had a wander around the stalls  and noticed how international the flavour is these days. I could have feasted on Japanese Gyoza dumplings or Hungarian Chimney Cakes and there are still plenty of old school traders with their cries and banter. Back in Cornmarket Street the entertainers were serving up a range of diversions from the ever popular cycling white rabbit churning out bubbles to a pretty good rock guitarist doing a cracking version of Gary Moore’s Still Got The Blues For You. I also met a traveling gentleman with his bundle of possessions and his white and ginger traveling cat Mr Pinky. This guy gets around the country and showed me an album of photos of Mr Pinky at various stops – there was a nice one taken in The Mall with the Queen playing a distant supporting role to the Michael Palin of the feline world.

I was good and kept off the beer until the evenings, otherwise I wouldn’t have got any of my ongoing paper chase done. Wednesday I popped down to the Rose and Crown in North Parade to see landlord and owner Andrew Hall, a good friend from the ice hockey days. Mine host was in good form and the beer and memories flowed. Thursday evening I met some former work friends at The Evenlode in Eynsham, a posh food place, we weren’t eating, the food prices were quite high but the drinks were amazingly low and they had a couple of decent ales. Friday was my last night and brought the richest harvest of strolling players. Starting at the Far From The Madding Crowd, the side alley pub was invaded by Morris dancers complete with face make up and woodland outfits – they looked like they might even have a badger or two hidden about their persons.  This group of around 15 dancers were the Armaleggan Border mob, lured out by the previous days arrival of spring or the vernal equinox as it’s called. Sadly there wasn’t room for them to do their full routine but they downed a few pints before moving on to their next pub stop.

It was a difficult night weather wise to parade the streets, some pubs were doing Sport Relief fund raisers, and then there are always the weekend nutters milling around, bouncers were on the doors and shouting up a beer was a long process at the main bars. I adjourned to Headington, as the bus passed Bonn Square the morris dancers were performing in the teaming rain to a small crowd of half interested tourists. The Britannia Inn in London Road was re-opening after a weeks intense makeover and as they were boasting 8 cask ales I had to give it a go. The slightly intimidating attitude of town was missing, instead it was a warm bright pub with some great ales, the food menu looked good too, I will test that on another visit. At some stage a free round was bought for most of the people in the main bar, I never did find out who the benefactor was but it was a nice bonus.

Saturday morning arrived too quickly, my train to Birmingham airport wasn’t as full as I feared, Reading away to the Blues but either their fans went up early or not at all. Fairwell Oxford, hello Tenerife, back just in time for a CD Tenerife Sunday game. 

The walnut on my whip, the cream on my pudding, fair to say I was rather happy at CD Tenerife’s brilliant sign off goal in the 1-3 win at Lugo. It capped a wonderful day that started with a fourth straight win for CD Marino, this time 1-0 at home to Vecindario.

There was a surprise with top scorer Murci dropped to the bench for CD Marino but Balduino was leading the line and the home side soon tested the keeper. The Gran Canaria side struggled to put any good moves together but when the ball broke for them, captain Ruiman managed to show a little desire and Ruben even gave Alberto’s hands a little tickle with his shot.

It was all Marino, Balduino looped an effort over the bar, Airam and Yosimar tormented the Vecindario defence and their goalie looked ill at ease. The best chances came at the end of the first half, Balduino found himself in front of goal with Airam off to his right but he tried his luck and the keeper just about managed to get a hand to stop the shot. Darias took the ball to the byline and passed it back across the goalmouth but it eluded both sets of players.

The second half was frustrating for Marino as they tried to turn their superiority into a goal, Josito hit the ball over the bar on the turn and Airam had the visitors panicking, it nearly resulted in an own goal. Richard fired wide of the target but with seven minutes left Pablo saw his shot rebound off a defender and Balduino was on hand to get the vital strike.

Other results at the top went well for Marino with Granadilla losing and CD Tenerife B drawing, the Las Americas team are now a solid third just two points behind leaders Granadilla.

CD Tenerife had a dream start in Lugo, Moyano’s ball in from the right after six minutes was ripe for Aridane, he nipped in between two defenders and delivered a fine header for the lead. Lugo came back into the game as Alvaro picked up on a chance made by Renella and found a gap in the Tenerife defence to level. The home keeper had already got a knock and had to go off after a robust challenge from Ayoze and his replacement didn’t have a clue.

Just after the restart a defensive mix up released the ball, Ayoze was on it, he didn’t need a couple of brooms to speed him on his way, his pace took him to just outside the box where the sub keeper loitered and he popped the ball between his legs and into the open net.A tight offside call on Carlos Ruiz denied a further goal, and Roberto was back on top form and snapped up any high balls that came in.

Five minutes of injury time was a cruel test but Tenerife were ready with a blaze of glory. A free kick to Lugo was curled around the wall by Pitta but Roberto, partially unsighted, made an instinctive dive and pushed the ball away at the bottom of the post, the ball broke upfield and Ayoze was in sprint mode again easily outstripping his markers, his final move was to round Manu and tuck the ball in the net. Class, pure class.

Brollies and raincoats were on most peoples christmas wish list here in Tenerife, the Canary Islands were lashed by storms with heavy rain and strong winds. I had the lovely Pam over for the week and felt very bad that the sun only made fleeting appearances. At the worst, on December 30, La Palma was cut off with ferries and flights cancelled, here in Tenerife, we had between 40 and 60 litres of rain per square metre with falling rocks blocking the main motorway and many places losing electricity. I felt very sorry for the families that had brought the kids over for christmas, and the local business’s hoping for a bumper cash boost over the festive season, many people will return to the UK with stories of rain and gloom-not good for tempting future tourists. It wasn’t all bad, even after a downpour at dinner time on christmas day, it cleared enough for a couple of hours on the beach in the sun, and since yesterday it has been sunny and hot again.

A new year is now upon us, crowds flocked to the beach area and the main church plaza (see pic) in Los Cristianos to welcome in 2009 with the usual impressive firework displays, I took it easy and spared my head from a hazy start to the year. The La Noria bar area in Santa Cruz made an ominous move, introducing a 20 euro ticket to get into this popular zone, hope it is not the start of the ticket only do’s that ruined much of the New Years Eve fun for revellers in the UK years ago.

Only Reyes (kings Day) to go now on Jan 6, and we can get back to a bit of routine and start to eat into the year. CD Tenerife resume their football season on sunday with a home game, hopefully the players wont have over indulged and can start the big push for promotion. Happy New Year.