Not a sail billowed and not an oar paddled as I stood surrounded by the Cutty Sark, Victory, and The Golden Hind, well they were models and I was in Casa de Los Capitanes in La Laguna. It was a deliberate stop off and nothing to do with the drizzle outside. I had expected to drop five degrees as the tram linked me from Santa Cruz to La Laguna but the rain had little more than novelty value – after all worse things happen at sea.

The free exhibition is by former mayor of Guimar, Rigoberto Gonzalez (above) and he was happy to chat about his 16 models ranging from 40 cms to 2 metres long. “I have been making these for 35 years, my uncles taught me their carpentry skills and I made some earlier ones from moulds but had to apply to different countries naval departments to get historic plans for them as they got more involved.”

They were all very intricate with everything made from types of mahogany imported from Germany, and that includes the tiny anchors and canons. “ Most like the Endevour took 18 months but the Victory took two years.”

As someone who struggled to do a basic Airfix Spitfire without pasting myself to the ceiling, I was very impressed. The exhibition goes onto 14 July 10.30 to 2 and 5 to 8 Monday to Friday.

Back outside the rain was fading so I had a quick tour to check all was well in La Laguna, the cathedral is still making a slow recovery but the boards and a lady in tourist information assured me it will be complete by this December – we shall see. At the top end I had my usual peak at the wonderfully cheeky mural on a garage door, it always makes me chuckle. With plenty more to do I jumped on the tram and grooved on down to Santa Cruz and 40 minutes later I was back in 23 degree sunshine. I had a review to do at new American style rock and roll burger café Mary Ann’s, you will have to wait for that but the word yummy comes to mind.

Parque Garcia Sanabria was looking good with a new design on the flower clock but no summer film shows yet so I veered off to the port, a regular call which is now easier to get to across Avenida Anaga as the Via Litoral underpass is open and above ground the new expanse of pedestrian zone has allowed everyone to spread out and enjoy the space under the transplanted laurel trees. There was a shortage of surprise new ships but the Lagaren was moored up but seemed as deserted as the Marie Celeste. It’s a 34 metre long school ship from Sweden, we get a lot calling by as they educate young crews in the ways of the sea and team building.

A short stop at TEA – Tenerife Espacio de los Artes to see check out the library and gather some more forthcoming events – secrecy is still the usual form of publicity in Tenerife – and I was on the return Titsa bus to Los Cristianos. Both trips were quicker than usual, I put it down to the new snazzy uniforms, I hear Posh Spice is so impressed she wants to move here and become a bus bunny.

It’s extremely doubtful that referee Ramon Arias Madrid had to send a Fathers Day card on Sunday, well that was the popular opinion among CD Tenerife fans and players. The jolly joker gave Alaves the softest of penalties and then booked one of their players twice without sending him straight off. The away goal in the 2-1 home win meant that Alaves got the Segunda B trophy after their 2-0 home win last week. Tenerife huffed and puffed but couldn’t blow down the visitors door despite having a two man advantage for the last 30 minutes.

We needed a whirlwind start to get back into the tie and that’s just what we got, Aridane went close from a first minute Cristo cross and Guillem Marti came out second best from a duel with the Alaves keeper a minute later. The team showed changes again, Guillem had a rare start and looked keen to mark the coach’s card for next season, he was floored as he put a ball into the box but Aridane saw a gap and nipped in to rob a defender and put the ball in the net for a 1-0 lead after 6 minutes – the chase was on.

Sendoa tested Roberto in the home goal, he was equal to the weak shot and Sergio Rodriguez was in good defensive form, this week in the left back slot. Alaves got away with some theatrical dives and rolls and the refs inaction just encouraged them. Aridane was brought down on the edge of the penalty area without even a free kick as consolation. Loro added fuel to the cause by sending in a well floated corner that Aridane’s head powered into the net (top pic) from the edge of the box – that’s 27 goals for the season but strangely some fans still seem unconcerned with him possibly leaving in the summer.

Alaves were quick on the break, they should have reduced the arrears quickly but skied a shot high over the bar. Never mind the ref was about to lend a hand, Juanma brushed past Sergio and went down and a booking and a joke penalty award followed, Viqueira slotted it past Roberto (above) and suddenly the task looked mammoth. Sergio made a good run at the other end and was floored trying to put in a goal line cross, then mayhem broke out as the ref booked Juanma a second time. He showed the yellow and just went on with the game, Tenerife tried to point out that the player should be off but he wouldn’t have it and the arguments raged as the teams went off for half time.

Someone must have shoved a rule book in the refs face as Alaves came back out for the second half without Junma. Tenerife had trouble settling but were handed a get out of jail card when Manu Garcia got his second booking – and the red after 59 minutes. Anything was possible now but Tenerife tried to be too subtle in front of goal instead of blasting from all angles. A triple substitution brought Carlos, Medina, and Ayoze on for Alberto, Bruno, and Sergio and although the pace of Carlos helped down the right flank, the finishing was still wayward. Urtzi in goal made some fine saves including one stunner from Ayoze but the game fizzled out with Alaves content to soak up the pressure.

It was a bit of an anti climax and with some younger fans running on to the pitch at the end the club cancelled a lap of honour from the players, a great shame as not all of them will return next season, they deserved the full praise of the 10,142 crowd for giving us back a higher level of football.

Only in Tenerife, we were nearly late for the promotion play off game in Granadilla as the car was stuck behind a house on wheels. Athletico Granadilla’s first leg was on the morning of the big Romeria fiesta and the traditional rural house style cart was loaded up with revelers in Canarian costume. The big game was a curtain raiser for the celebrations to come in the centre of town and many supporters were fully dressed and enjoying a few beers in the sunshine.

My only previous trips to the Estadio Francisco Suarez had been for evening pre season friendlies with CD Tenerife and didn’t do justice to the beautiful setting with the pine forests of Vilaflor rising in the distance. Granadilla took time to settle, their first decent chance came after 20 minutes when their keeper made a desperate punched clearance under pressure. Encouraged, the home side pushed forward, Amray was persistent on the right wing, veteran stiker Noah (I think he is the one from the bible) has lost some speed over the years around the southern clubs but is still good in the air and caused Jose in goal a few worries.

There wasn’t much to choose between the teams, maybe the visitors were a bit more direct but Marino (pink shirt) in thee home goal coped with them well. His rival stopper looked a weak link and had to scramble away a shot just before half time. Jony of Oviedo had a great opening early in the second half only to be denied by some smart work from Marino. Former CD Tenerife striker Ruben Rosquete arrived from the bench and could have opened the scoring within minutes if the ball had been passed to him in an unmarked position.

Oviedo were hoping to nick an away goal to give them a strong launch pad for the return leg and they started to apply more pressure on the Granadilla defence. Marino took a clout and had to go off with Alexis Oval taking over the gloves. The replacement did ok and Granadilla had the better of the later play, they thought they had scored but the ref ruled it as offside. The game drifted into injury time and Oviedo were under siege, it paid off as captain Ivan Martin floated the ball in from a corner and amid the jostling for position it ended up in the net the ball to the delight of the 1,100 crowd.

It’s a slender lead but the clean sheet could prove vital next week as Granadilla look to get through to the final home and away pair that can lead into the Segunda B. The late goal certainly helped the mood and as we left people were streaming down the hill into the town centre to mix football celebrations with the Romeria fun and games. There would be a few wobbly wagons later in the day.

Over in Alaves it was a much more low key game for CD Tenerife in the first leg of the championship decider for Segunda B. There were changes galore as fringe players were given a run out, Roberto in goal, Sergio Rodriguez at right back, Jesus Alvaro at left back and Ayoze as the main striker with Aridane putting his feet up.

It was a uninspired performance with Tenerife not troubling the home goalie until Sergio had a 58^th minute shot. Alberto, Roberto, and Sergio were the pick of the bunch but Alaves had the better forwards with Viquera opening the scoring on the hour. It should have ended as a 1-1 draw as Tenerife had a clear penalty denied for a foul on Chechu in injury time. From there Alaves broke and Viquera scored again as a very disgruntled Chechu got sent off for a second booking. It will be hard to turn it around in next Sundays home leg to lift the trophy but it will be more about thank yous and farewells at the end of a very special season.

Well that gives you a pointer to how bad I was at athletics at school. In the summer months I longed for something easy like the sack race or egg and spoon, instead we got the Triple A tests. Thankfully there were only a few flashbacks to those trying times as I covered the Arona Combined Events for The Tenerife Weekly at the Estadio Olympico, a venue that has become a semi regular call for me when CD Marino are playing.

Jessica Taylor

Jo Rowland

It’s always good to see the experts doing sport properly and an international field included eight GB athletes ready to run, hurdle, vault, jump and much more in the heptathlon, octathlon, and decathlon. The run of cloudy weather had broken and hot sunshine bathed the stadium as I arrived and picked up my rather fetching dark green press bib and went mooching around among the competitors down at trackside.

Martin Brockman

I soon met the GB bunch, they were a nice friendly lot and the ladies 100 metres was just about to get under way so I hung around to check out the GB ladies, purely in a sporting way of course. The organization was good, plenty of back up volunteers, as the runners shed their layers ready for the racing small laundry baskets were filled with each runners gear, that seemed like good service, a free wash and spin. I never realized what a clunking bit of kit the starting blocks are, at school we just had the veiled threat of a sadistic PE teachers boot to inspire us.

100 metres.Grace Clements (2nd from right) Emma Buckett (4 from right).

As I squatted down to get some pics I became aware that the long jump was facing the other way and the first practice runner was thundering down towards the sand pit, I normally go to the beach if I want sand kicked in my face. Martin Brockman and Peter Glass both looked fired up but so did their rivals, Moving to the far end of the stadium for the high jump I noticed the local kids were also slotting their races in between the main events. There were medals galore for the young future stars, featuring local discus champion Mario Pestano’s imposing figure.

The stadium has a thriving athletics club and the facilities are first class, when I am lurking behind the goal to get photos at the CD Marino games I have to resist the urge to have a sneaky bounce on the large padded mattress that catches the high jumpers. There were two jumps going on at once with the ladies propelling themselves over the ever rising bar, again there was an interesting contrast between the short and long run ups and the GB ladies were up there with the leaders, Jessica Taylor, Emma Buckett, and Jo Rowland had great technique.

Emma Buckett

Jessica Taylor

Returning after the afternoon break I got the chance to watch the ladies shot putt, Grace Clement and Jo Rowland were on good form. There were several individual coaches in the crowd signaling useful tips to the ladies and it was noticeable that the GB party were very supportive of each other, those awaiting their next action made sure they gave plenty of encouragement to those competing. At the end of the day Grace Clements kindly made time for me to interview her, everyone thinks after the London Olympics that athletes are up there with other top sports but they have to work hard to get sponsors. Grace had been a teacher but is now doing part time work at her adopted Lee Valley track to support her quest for glory. At least the Arona tournament was able to offer all the competitors three nights free accommodation at the nearby Hotel Noelia Sur.

Grace Clements

Sunday was a busy day for me with the CD Tenerife away promotion decider on TV Canarias in the morning but I managed to sandwich a few more hours of athletics in between that and hitting the south airport to see CDT return. Mens javelin and discus were underway at the stadium, sat on the grass just in front of the launch area for the javelin seemed a good place to be. Harry Sutherland the youngest of the GB group was chasing the points as the competition hotted up. The distances some of these chaps were getting was quite staggering, I thought Roque del Conde might end up looking like a porcupine, the majestic rise of the metal spears was almost hypnotic as they leveled off and then plunged down to impale the grass beyond the centre circle – the groundsman was probably crying somewhere in a darkened room.

Martin Brockman

Harry Sutherland

GB – Emma Buckett, Jo Rowland, Harry Sutherland,Peter Glass, Martin Brockman, Jessica Taylor, Grace Clements

The discus was also going on from inside the netted circle and Mario Pestano was attracting a lot of interest, he is very big in Arona, or anywhere else come to that, but some of the other throwers were truly mammoth power houses. The longer running events were the climax of the day, alas I only got to see the qualifying runs, Harry Sutherland and Roger Skedd had a fair bit of ground to make up, at the final reckoning Martin Brockman was the highest GB male in the decathlon in third but the ladies excelled with Jo Rowland winning the heptathlon closely followed by Grace Clements in second and Jessica Taylor in third. Full marks to all of them and the organizers for such a cracking competition, I now have a renewed admiration for athletics.

The linesman was on a loser, even at 1-0 down on the day and five minutes to go his pleas to the CD Tenerife bench to sit down were wasted – they were ready to taste promotion. The late away goal for Hospitalet in the 3-1 first leg win in Santa Cruz should have reminded us that it’s never that easy and a defensive lapse to give Cirio a 55^th minute goal had strained the nerves. The wide open defence will be forgiven as they had an otherwise outstanding game and Aridane’s two missed sitters also pale away compared to his 25 goals this season, but it did all make for a nail biting, gut grabbing finish.

Tenerife’s tactic of containment in the first half had worked well all season and at a goal less half time it looked spot on again. Both sides had chances, Sergio Aragoneses was on top of his game to deny a header from Angel and reacted well to snuff out a Hospitalet shot after Bruno had missed a tackle. Bacari was the home sides most dangerous player as he had been in Santa Cruz, he wasn’t just a scoring threat, his high studs in Ros’s chest were like something from a martial arts movie and team mate Viale was lucky to avoid a red card after a childish slap to Cristo Martin’s face.

Bruno showed his better qualities to shield the ball back to Sergio as Bacari threatened at the opening of the second half. The defence was all over the place though for the goal after 55 minutes, Bacari worked his way past three static defenders and set up Cirio to score. Another unanswered home goal would have won the promotion place, thankfully Tenerife decided to chase the game rather than sit back. Suso came on for Cristo and Ayoze for Chechu. Aridane had another good chance, this time he hit it straight at the keeper and Suso hesitated when he should have shot, allowing a defender to get a foot in the way.

The last 20 minutes were agony to watch at home, the 1,300 CDT fans in the stadium did us proud and kept the vocals going as Tenerife forced a couple of late corners and Hospitalet launched one last assault in injury time that Sergio cleared with calm nerves. The ref blew the whistle and the Tenerife bench emptied onto the pitch but it was for a free kick so they had to withdraw for a few more excruciating seconds. The next whistle really was it and all the emotions spilled out as the celebrations began. Good bye Segunda B, it’s been interesting but we hope not to see you again or your early morning kick offs and agricultural pitches.

In the evening I headed for the airport and in the company of almost 2,000 delirious fans we welcomed the team back from their charter flight. The reception was amazing and left a lot of visitors impressed at what a show the tourist board had put on just for their benefit. The joy on the fans and players faces made all the set backs in Segunda B worthwhile, even President Concepcion managed a smile – or was that wind. The home game against the other promoted side Alaves for the Segunda B overall title should be another party and then the planning begins to ensure we are competitive back at the higher level. It’s going to be a good summer.

It’s not just DVD’s that have added content, retracing a previous walk down from Santiago del Teide to Puerto Santiago I discovered extra leg straining, muscle sapping kilometers. Camino Real is one of the ancient tracks used to link the west coast town to the coast, and very lovely it is too.

Santiago del Teide was sunny and a crisp 17 degrees as I arrived on the 460 Titsa bus to Icod. The entrance to the walk wrongly signposts it as 6.7 kms but the other distance posts along the way have it as 8 kms but what’s a few more metres between friends. Stone wall building was highly skilled in this corner of Tenerife and the sturdy guardians channeled me slowly down the uneven rock track as it slowly veered away from the main road. The flowers and plants were perky and colourful in the nearby fields and even the cactus were flowering.

Last time I did the full route without diversions but just 30 minutes in I found my first temptation. As the track rose and turned a corner there were two smaller feeds, one down to El Molledo, and soaring upward the one I picked, a 2.1 km trek (each way) to Risco Blanco. It was tight and twisting and a bit overgrown in places and at one point a large finely balanced rock overhung my path. Was it the work of nature, it looked like a dastardly plot from Willie E Coyote, I took my chances and was thankful I hadn’t worn my Road Runner costume. Sometimes these paths can fizzle out to nothing but this one held a fine reward, as I crested the last hill I found myself staring straight at the knarled white cone of Risco Blanco, stunning in itself but doubly so as La Gomera shone clear and bright in the distant sea beyond.

Tenerife must be a geologists dream, stacks, intrusions and many more rock formations spread out below me as I headed back down to the Camino Real. Back at the junction I realized I was still not far from my Santiago starting point. Pushing on I went down into the bowl surrounding the Barranco del Valle with water gurgling through the large pipes that now carry the water that used to run through stone channels. An excitable cockerel nearly blasted my eardrums off as I passed a small isolated farm yard and across the valley goats were bleating and clanging the bells around their necks – damm noisy place the countryside.

Oh lucky me, there was another signpost waiting to test me, this one pointed up to Cruz de Los Misioneros, at a mere 1.1 kms, I couldn’t resist and started plodding up the side of the mountain path partially covered in bushes and grass. There were big boulder based steps to cope with and as I rose higher I could see the village of Tamaimo spreading out below me across the barranco. The meandering track didn’t seem to have any obvious end but I stuck with it, big respect to those people clutching a paint pot and brush who add the yellow and blue marks on the rocks to show the correct route. Eventually I hauled myself up on the last ledge and looked over to see a sheer drop to another valley and the other side of my old friend the 942 metre high Risco Blanco, a bit scary but very rewarding.

Back down at the bottom my track was dipping down close to the almost dry river bed of the barranco which became a small section of the way ahead. After a long narrow corridor of steep sided rocks I emerged with a welcome view of the coast in the near distance. The barranco now fell away to my side and reservoirs had tapped the dribbles of water coming down to feed some fertile farm areas. I ignored another side track, this one for Circular Guanma, another 3.5 km that I could manage without but it would get a chance another day.

The final stretch was in some ways the hardest as firm but uneven rock gave way to shifting small shingle but my trainers were up to the task. The trail comes out by a large farm area and strangely the posts point to the high cliff face on the right, I tried that last time and it nearly stranded me up the side of the mountain. Sticking to the left hand side of the netted growing areas I threaded my way though some narrow paths, with those paint marks encouraging me, and emerged just above Puerto Santiago on the main road leading down to the Los Gigantes mirador. My apologies to any passing motorists subjected to me sat on the grass verge removing my socks and massaging my feet – you can probably seek counseling for the trauma. It had been a good walk, five hours and just over 14 kms and plenty of glimpses of nature at its finest.

What a great party but the guests piddled in the punch just before leaving and CD Tenerife have a tricky task as they take a 3-1 home lead to Hospitalet next Sunday. Fans and players can be proud of the spectacle they produced as the Group One champions picked off their visitors only to be pegged back by a late away goal that gives Hospitalet hope.

The greeting for Tenerife was inspiring with the 16,546 crowd producing a wall of sound from the warm up and as the tifo flowed and flares billowed smoke, Hospitalet and their meagre support must have felt overwhelmed. Coach Alvaro showed loyalty to central defenders Rigo and Bruno despite a shaky game last week and they rewarded him with a sturdy display against a side with some genuine pace up front. Rigo made a strong decisive clearance in the first ten minutes and with Sergio Aragoneses back in goal the confidence spread. Loro was at his best after 11 minutes to open the scoring with a superbly flighted free kick over the wall and past the diving keeper.

Bacari was nippy up front for the visitors but Rigo and Bruno wouldn’t let him pass and 21 goal Cirio was hounded by Moyano when he broke down the left. Hospitalet got their chance when the Tenerife marking was a bit slack but Sergio charged out of his goal to mop up the potential shot. It was all good stuff and every home charge brought an even louder roar from the crowd.

Chechu was struggling to make an impact and skied a decent chance early in the second half but he was about to be given a lesson in forward play from an unlikely source, left back Llorente. The pony tailed defender weaved inside two defenders with ease and let loose a screaming shot that was just a blur to Craviotto in goal. It was one way traffic but Hospitalet made a double substitution and it briefly revived them. Osado fresh off the bench set off on a run, Moyano closed him down well and snuffed out the danger. Suso had been struggling for fitness in the week but replacing Chechu he set about testing the opposition down the right wing.

Medina and Ayoze soon followed onto the park in place of Alberto and Loro but it was the defensive Medina who grabbed the third goal. As Tenerife appealed for a blatant hand ball and penalty the ball broke out to Medina just outside the box and he picked his spot like an expert to leave the keeper floundering. Ayoze had an overhead kick that just cleared the bar and we were dreaming of a routine second leg but with a couple of minutes left Osado latched onto a half chance and belted the ball past Sergio to stop the runaway Tenerife train. It was a performance worthy of promotion but the away goal means a 2-0 win would shade it for Hospitalet. One more challenge, hopefully even the plastic pitch in Barcelona wont stop Tenerife in this form.

Job done after 20 minutes for CD Marino, 2-0 up against a weakened Guijuelo side the game fizzled out into a second half stroll but Marino looked comfortable and will spend all summer regretting a disastrous first half of the season.

I was looking forward to seeing CD Tenerife loanees German and Abel (below) but only the midfield half of that pair played and he had a quiet game. Balduino has had a good season for Marino and when goalie Carmona tried to clear his raid with his head in the second minute the ball fell to Sandro who sliced it straight into the net. Then Balduino showed some good close control before powering a low cross close to the goal that needed a strong defensive block.

Raul Barcos pushed up on the right and forced a low save from Carmona, and Rafa Hernandez should have done better with his shot from the right that whizzed past the post. Guijuelo had eight regular squad members missing and it showed, Marino were all over them and the second goal was sure to come. Raul Barcos ventured forward again and put in a perfect cross to Balduino, he controlled the ball well and in one smooth move lashed it past the keeper.

I was expecting Abel to exert some control on the visitors midfield but he played deep and was slow to link up with his team mates. Chema was giving full back Valverde torrid time, he was glad to see the keeper cover when he was easily beaten again by Chema. Abel had a sticky moment when he lost the ball with Marino bearing down, thankfully for him a nifty back pass closed that threat down. Winger Manu looked to have some pace but Raul Barcos shadowed him well and limited him to one decent chance when he got to a free header but his direction let him down.

Guijuelo made an effort at the start of the second half, Matias in the home goal finally had some work to do and made a good save. Marino replaced Balduino with Ramses but his initial burst soon susbsided as both teams seemed to remember that it was a game with no bearing on league placings. Jaime opened up the left side for Marino but couldn’t find a blue shirt with a clear chance at goal. Brit Sean Wilkins came on for the last 25 minutes but the game was winding down. Guijuelo were so laid back they swapped their keeper for young sub Rubi. Guijuelo could have made a late sting, Manu broke free on the left but Matias took the ball at the second attempt.

At the final whistle the Marino players clapped their fans before departing the pitch, life back in the Tercera division will begin soon enough but it seems certain the squad will undergo a lot of changes before then.

Over in Salamanca the final league game for CD Tenerife was merely an obligation to get out of the way before the play offs. After last weeks stormy baptism back up goalie Roberto could have done without a sloppy defensive error by Bruno after four minutes that gave him no chance of saving a Borja free shot into the net. After that Roberto looked solid especially denying Igor a header early in the second half. Soon after the group champions clawed their way back to level terms after Cristo squared the ball to Aridane for his 24^th goal of the season.

A few minutes later a well measured pass from Moyano found Aridane who was only too happy to notch another on his seasons goal spree. Bruno had another rush of blood, out of position he threw himself to the floor to block a shot and it hit his hand, the penalty was a harsh call but the defender shouldn’t have been in that vulnerable position. Lazaro sent Roberto the wrong way and it ended as a draw. The play offs await.

In Tenerife we don’t need to wait for an overblown camp festival of poor music to appreciate other cultures, there’s such a rich mix here. After catching small glimpses of Norway’s National Day celebrations in recent years I was determined to see more this year when some Norwegian friends invited me along to their parade in Los Cristianos on Friday 17 May.

My first speedway hero Dag Lovaas of Oxford Rebels was from Norway but that’s about as far as my knowledge of the country goes. There is a big Scandinavian influence in Los Cristianos as the modern tourist growth was sparked over 50 years ago when the Swedish began to bring infirm patients here for the beneficial qualities of the weather. Arriving at the Scandinavian church near the old beach there was already a good gathering of Norway flags and colours and hints of national costume. My friends introduced me to Toril Merete Wulff the Santa Cruz based vice consul of Norway for the Canary Islands and she topped up the minimal information I had researched on the net.

Norway was originally under Danish rule but in 1814 they were given over to Sweden but formed their own constitution and that is what the national day celebrates, it wasn’t until 1905 that Norway gained full independence. Back in Norway bigger parades took place in all major cities with slight regional variations in customs, Oslo started it off with children leading King Harold and the army at 11am. Just over 100 Norwegians, there are 800 registered in Santa Cruz province, were raring to set off on the Los Cristianos version and a local Canarian youth orchestra came along to provide the musical backing. Arona council always do their bit to make sure the parade runs smoothly, police made sure they had a clear route especially when they spread out near the Plaza del Pescadora to sing their national song and make speeches.

Turning and heading up to the church plaza they all funneled back down the side of the Hotel Reveron and back to the Scandinavian church for a celebration meal. It was a relatively short but delightful insight into another countries special day and as I walked further along the front towards Las Vistas I noticed small stages set up for the Day of Africa celebrations with bands from Ghana, Sierra Leone, the Saharra, and Senegal. All this and we still have the Dia de Canarias to come on 30 May.

How nice to have a 5pm kick off again. A leisurely Sunday lunch, a few cheeky beers with friends and a few hours soaking up the sun before some more Dorada. Only one thing spoilt it, a dreadful game that saw CD Tenerife slump 0-1 at home to Alcala.

Changes were always going to be made for this game as the group championship was in the bag and it is a good idea to give the less used players a game to sharpen them up in case needed in the play offs. Coach Alvaro Cervera went a bit too far and the team lacked shape, motivation, and hunger.

President Concepcion’s decision to charge season ticket holders for the play offs soured the mood and banners at both ends spelt out the anger while the opening 15 minutes was played out with no singing or chanting from the crowd. When the voices were unleashed it was to call for the President’s head but by then we could see this was not going to be a good day for football. It’s a good job Alcala needed the win to fight relegation, otherwise both sets of players could have set up camp in the middle of the park.

Tarantino at left back was a strange call, Alberto back in the centre of defence next to Rigo wasn’t convincing, and Fran Ochoa and Nico in midfield were hopeless and were hooked off at half time. Ayoze tried to lead the attacking line with valiant support from Cristo Martin but the service was woeful. The big spotlight was on back up goalie Roberto, he didn’t have too much to do in the first half but just before the break he was found wanting when a corner was headed in by Ivan Garcia. Roberto was at fault but his more experienced defenders have to take some blame as well.

Bruno and Loro came on for the second half, that was a bit better, only a bit, it was still painful to watch. Loro had the best chance of the game after Cristo fed the ball to him but Juancho did well in the visitors goal to deny him. Aridane had his sun bathing session on the bench interrupted as he replaced Rigo and Medina dropped back into the defence. Most of us had already written the game off when Ayoze broke through but couldn’t find any help. The final whistle was something of a relief, we won’t be seeing this game on the season highlights DVD.

Alberto got a late booking to earn his suspension next Sunday at Salamanca, let’s get that out of the way and then down to the real business of the play off games. The dream is still very much alive.