Like so many times before, CD Tenerife wilted on the big stage as 16,660 fans, responded to promotional tickets and upbeat plans by the new club management. The 0-0 draw wasn´t impressing anyone, another opportunity missed and another nudge towards a relegation battle.

Dreary football, like wading through treacle has alienated coach Ramis to the fans, even against lowly rivals, Ponferradina, the same lack of attacking ideas made the score almost a foregone conclusion. The mainland visitors had the best chances in the first half, Yuri, a thorn in Tenerife´s side on many past clashes, latched onto a good block by home goalie Soriano, but blasted his strike wide.

Sam Shashoua got a rare start as talks over a contract extension hung in the air for the English born play maker. As a link player he can open up opposition but Elady and Gallego were too slow to pick up on his hard work. Home grown striker Teto was missing with an injury and it left a creaking attack.

The disco show from the stadium lights brought the  best entertainment of the evening before the on field labours continued. Alex Corredera, on for Aitor Sainz after 63 minutes raised hopes but they came to nothing. Waldo Rubio on the left, another welcome sub also showed a glimmer of intent. Ramis remembered right winger Mo Dauda after 74 minutes and brought him on, although it was too late to make a difference. Mo must also be wondering if he has much future under Ramis.

With two away games coming up, the relegation trap door is looking menacing. The January transfer window offers the most obvious remedies to salvage a season of gloom, or maybe a bold change to the coach could inject new purpose. Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Grapes and a glass of cava as 2022 became 2023 whet the whistles in Santa Cruz, The Tenerife capital. Dorada Especial had already got the nod for Reyes Eve when the Three Kings (Reyes Magos) will hold court at the Heliodoro stadium home of CD Tenerife, after a parade around the city.

Just a short way down Avenida San Sebastian, live music and a bounty of food will accompany the beer at La Recova market, also known as Mercado Nuestra Señora de Africa. The stylish market looked delightful when I called in a few days before the big event. The clock tower looked down on the 1943 built trading hub, in recent years it has regained its hustle and bustle with the smells of fresh produce mixing with the aroma of coffee and snacks.

Outside, a liquid delivery is being made in the old manual style, a fitting addition to the iconic centre which now holds its own against the backdrop of the TEA arts building and other modern changes to the vibrant city.It´s just as well the kings have their hands full on the night before Reyes, the big day of presents and celebration, Especial slips down nicely and could lead to a few wobbly sleigh rides.

Papa Noel (Santa) rested his feet after world wide wish gathering. Meanwhile his reindeer made light work of trotting their boss up to Adeje town in Tenerife, above the southern resorts.

As always a colourful assortment of characters tucked into the folds and shadows cast by the  peaks above Barranco del Invierno. Plaza de España was wired for sound, ready for New Years Eve´s big orchestral bonanza, from 11.30 pm to 6 am.

Reyes (Kings Day) Eve was also on the horizon for 5 January when the Three Kings arrive by helicopter at the Municipal Football Stadium at 5pm, just in time for the big parade up Calle Grande for 7pm. Rocker Sting will be gracing the stadium on 3 June, adding his own synchronicity to the Adeje music scene.

Plaza de España started the pre Christmas displays with an interactive series of nativity scenes from 1 December. That show will run on to 9 January. In the meantime, magic and wonder will sparkle like the expectation in young childrens eyes.

If the cute ancient TITSA bus topped with a snow bubble wasn´t enough to awaken festive interest, opposite the Santa Cruz bus station, the Auditorio was heralding El Guardaespaldas (The Bodyguard) musical, from 17 euros upwards over two days.

Ho Ho Ho was bigging it up all the way up to and beyond Christmas and Kings Day (Reyes – 6 January – the main event) over at the port. The massive stage was reaching completion, adding tweaks to the sound system and seating. Some 5,000 school children will attend on the morning of 21st December, as one of the warm up gigs.

The big annual treat night is on Sunday 25 December from 7.30 pm with a full bill of classical music and festive favourites. Free and cheap tickets may well be sold out in advance but the music will wash over the dockside, hundreds of people will get the majesty of the event from the leisure areas on the town side of the port – its never known for its shyness.

Over the road, the Cabildo (Tenerife government) HQ was draped in a nativity scene with a further belen inside, open to the public for most of the festive season. Nearer to the plaza lake, a Gastro Fest market posted a long menu of music and food driven events for a couple of weeks.

I tend to cram as much festive eye treats in as possible, Plaza del Weyler and Plaza de La Candelaria both pressed their claims for attention. Lots of public buildings throw open the doors as soon as the smell of chestnuts is in the air, I was pleasantly surprised to find the old Gobierno building between Weyler and Parque Garcia Sanabria showing off their belen. This had a strong feel of local history wound in among the more traditional themes, even the wounded Admiral Nelson reclined in injured mode after his failed attempt to lead a British invasion of Santa Cruz.

All this was just scratching the surface and peeking through the red and yellow poinsetia plants lining the green spaces. Santa Cruz is well worth a visit at any time, just an hour by bus or car from the southern resorts, and a further 40 minute tram ride opens up more festive distractions in La Laguna.

With a decent tailor, a leopard might stride out with a passable spots makeover. Sadly for CD Tenerife fans, coach Ramis seems unshakeable from his defence based style of play. Right from the kick off FC Andorra found plenty of space and encouragment to attack as the home side back peddalled.

Fleet footed left winger Mo Dauda was used deep to back up defender Mellot, leaving an inviting wide launch pad for Jacobo to test the Tenerife defence. After 13 minutes, the move fed Carlos for the opening goal. The equality was restored after 31 minutes by an individual goal from Elady, cutting in and beating two defenders before unloading his shot just past the goalie. That should have been the green light for a home assault but caution was still the coach´s mantra.

Gallego lumbered and laboured to little effect as the main home striker but it was predictable and not enough to upset the composed away team. Ramis seemed content at all square, flair players are not his preferred option. Sam Shasoua got a miserly 23 minutes as a late sub for the inventive Dauda. Winger Arvin Appiah got a run out for the last five minutes but looked way off the pace. Worst of all, fit again Alex Corredera never got a look in, he is the entertaining player that the fans love to see. For the final 20 minutes, Tenerife rarely visited their opponents half, it was very hard to watch.

The coach´s line ups show no ambition and drain the enthusiasm from the fans. Lurking in 15th place, Tenerife need to make a vast improvement in the new year, but attracting transfer window signings to such a dour ship will be a tough sell. Somethng´s gotta give.

Breaking records. Offering hope and help. Walk For Life (Carerra Por La Vida) made a triumphant return with over 5,500 walkers collecting 33,000 euros to further raise awareness about the fight against breast cancer. The recent unpredictable weather could´t keep the throngs of people away from the Siam Mall starting point on Sunday morning, and the skies responded with sunshine.

Some favourite costumes were dusted off after the two years when Covid prevented the big gathering, and many new outfits took a bow. This year the local based pioneers were joined by 21 countries via the combined charities of Think Pink Europe. There are always new questions and new developments to discuss. Walk For Life has always been approachable and supportive through its Pink Room in Adeje and its website, early diagnosis is still the most potent protection in the fight.

Positivity burst forth from the walkers as they started the 3.5 km stroll down to the sea front at Playa de Las Americas, and then on through close to Los Cristianos and its beaches. Carnaval drums and dancers kept up a lively tempo as participants proudly honoured the names of family and friends lost to cancer. For nearly two hours the wave meandered at a pace to suit all ages and even a few pets that joined in.

As the heat increased, free water and bananas fuelled the pink line, and this year there were also free buses to return people to the starting point after they crossed the finish line. Everyone was treated as a winner as the pink and white cascade of paper welcomed walkers to the big stage for the keenest to dance and celebrate.

What a great day, a big thanks to those who make the event so slick and well organised. Thoughts will already be turning to next year, its a hard act to follow but they will rise to the challenge as always.

Weakened at the knees by football´s current femme fatal, the penalty spot. Enric Gallego made amends with a 2-0 strike that withstood a Alaves rally. Expecting to retake top spot in Spain´s Second Division, Alaves found hosts CD Tenerife in defiant and creative mood as they outplayed the visitors for most of the game.

Ivan Romero was always ready to strike from the shadow of the target man, Gallego, and Waldo gave good support on the left. The big centre forward should have learned from the World Cup follies when he was brought down and rose to take the penalty on the half hour. It was a straight soft shot that barely tickled  keeper Silvera.

Team mate Teto took some attention of the big man a few minutes later as he reacted well to a loose ball, turned well and buried it in the corner of the net to take the lead. There was even redemption for the man himself five minutes into the second half, determination carried him through and this time he showed no mercy. A 2-0 lead still left Alaves with some hope, Aitor Sanz and Sipcic in particular worked hard to squeeze them down, and it seemed to be working.

Sub Sylla came on hungry and sniffed out a half chance, looping a shot past home keeper Soriano after 81 minutes. It made for a nervous end but Tenerife held firm. Alaves never gave up, Duarte shaved a post, but it was a happy ending to the 100th game in charge for coach Ramis.

The league is a harsh judge of resurgent form and reborn hope, the final two pre christmas league games will need to pull in some more points. The Santa Cruz crowd also need their confidence rebuilding, another drop to  a 6,794 attendance came after weeks of under achieving. As a stand alone game this was good to watch and a tonic for bruised pride after recent cave ins. Now in 14th place, Tenerife can at least hope to reach higher with a new President and a few tweaks to the squad in the January window.

With an almost hypnotic pull, the coast of Tenerife attracts a diverse range of visitors. Any of them popping into Amarilla Golf Marina will be pleased with the facelift that combines rest areas, childrens play zones, cycle lanes, and a clean, modern look.

Just a year since my last call, the transformation made a big difference. It was surely no conincidnce that the floating pontoons had more pleasure crafts and yachts in the water, plus more business units on the quay side offering a wider range of hire options with plenty of thrill rides.

The shoring up of the banking wall that shadows the golf course, added to the neat look with its white stone, it reflects well on the golf course as well, and presents a prettier wider picture. This first upgrade stage cost nearly one million euros, there´s more to come, extending the good work in a western direction. That should promote the walking options around the coast from Las Galletas and then onward to El Medano.

Looking down toward the airport and Montaña Roja (red mountain) improvements to the shingle and rock beach of Playa San Salvador has another six months to go. At present, a looping uphill detour to the promenade must put a few people off from visiting the cafes and bars along the strip. The marina has set a shining example of how to improve the area. I look forward to seeing the full stretch soon.

Grapes of all sizes, colours, and varieties formed a maze around me in the heart of Tegueste, one of the smallest municipalities in Tenerife. A series of walks shadowed the water channels that made this such a fertile spot for its founders in 1813.

Having just hopped off a Titsa bus from La Laguna to Bajamar and Punta del Hidalgo, I had already been distracted by the hills that shelter the original village and have fed its growth. Even the football ground of UD Tegueste has its claim to fame as the starting point for Barcelona and Spain star Pedri. There was further proof of the local sporting pedigree in the form of a statue of two grappling wrestlers, a homage to Lucha Canarias, a popular sport in the seven Canary Islands.

The finca Los Zamorano spread out beyond me with its promise of free strolling around the vineyards, and their well documented range of grapes made me feel quite thirsty. Opposite the Mercadillo provided an outlet for many local wines and products but I was a few days adrift of its opening times of 8am to 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. It was early in the growing season but the vast layout and photos of the spread gave me a good idea of the rich bounty of the region.

The heart of Tegueste was visible beyond with the white tower of the church providing a focal point to lead me to Plaza San Marcos. History is preserved in the nearby cultural centre, the Ayuntamiento (town hall) and will be added to soon with a new centre of archaeology. Among the tranquility there was a pride and desire to share the history and culture of the area. Walking is encouraged over several short routes, the main one covering 2 kms up to the Barranco Aqua de Dios (ravine of the water of the gods) and back through the village as a teaser for other longer walks leading down to the rugged La Laguna coast.

One visit always sows seeds for a follow up, I will be trying a few of the trails, and just down below on the main bus route is Tejina, but that´s for another day.

While last seasons loan player Mollejo had a lively return on the right for Real Zaragoza, it was another ex loanee Valentin Vada who destroyed hosts CD Tenerife with the only two goals of the game. Tenerife couldn´t complain, they were poor all over the pitch. The home defence was creaky, particularly left back Nacho who was continually exposed by the smart thinking yellow and blacks with their neat passing and cool finishing. Zaragoza had some luck on their side, after their goalie Alvarez had two bad cases of poor juggling from Tenerife shots in the first half.

Vada did little to impress last season in Santa Cruz, on loan from Almeria and got a free transfer to Zaragoza this summer and was buzzing in this Friday night game. Ivan Romero missed a sitter for the home cause, hitting the side of the netting, and Mo Dauda showed flashes of skill down the left flank but Tenerife seemed to run out of ideas as the game wore on.

Vada anticipated wonderfully for the opener after 23 minutes, latching onto a deep cross, and when he doubled the agony after 67 minutes there were streams of home fans deserting the stadium. At least another youth prospect, Alassan, got a run out with 18 minutes left but it was painful to watch and by the final whistle those remaining from the 11,443 crowd vented their frustration at the players and the negative tactics of coach Ramis. Now in 14th position, pressure is growing on the coach after this horror show.