Touching home base, stepping up to the plate and ball park figures are nothing new to me, not because I’m an expert on baseball, but I used to work in Oxford with an accountant who constantly used that awful management speak. If your wondering, yes he was, a complete and utter one. Despite that, a visit to see Tenerife Marlins baseball team has been on my to do list for a couple of seasons, so yesterday I set off to Puerto de la Cruz to see them training.

This week has been hot and sunny after the storms of the previous weeks, a 343 Titsa bus whisked me up to Puerto in just over an hour for 7.65 euros on my bono ticket. Coming in to Puerto on the motorway Mount Teide looked magnificent coated in glistening white snow well down it’s peak, as the temperature registered 29 degrees. Tenerife Marlins play at El Burgado, just past Loro Park, a 381 bus from the temporary central bus station got me there in 5 minutes, well before the morning training session was due to finish.

My very basic knowledge of baseball comes from films like Field Of Dreams and Major League but we are lucky to have the current 5 times Spanish champions here in Tenerife. Tenerife Marlins have quite a few South American players but they have an eager crop of local youngsters making quite a name for themselves. The team management were very helpful, filling me in with background info and making sure I didn’t get my head blasted off by a stray strike. You can read my full article on Tenerife Marlins at www.tenerifemagazine.com The Marlins new season starts this Saturday 27 February at Noon in El Burgado.

Taking a leisurely stroll back into Puerto de la Cruz along the coast road overlooking Playa Jardin, I could see the beach was busy despite some big waves crashing in. Back in town I was drawn to the walkway above Playa San Telmo where tourists posed with backs to the large rolling waves, go on smile for the life insurance payout photos. With time to spare I met up with Jack Montgomery, fellow Tenerife Magazine scribe and co writer of Real Tenerife Island Drives. A few shady drinks and a chance to put the world to rights was just what we needed in the heat of the afternoon.

I carried on my strolling, Puerto de la Cruz always looks pretty and well presented, yesterday it was in very regal form. I ended up back at the bus stops for my 5.15 pm return bus, with just enough time for a coffee in the street above the now deserted and delapidated wobbly bus station. After my slurp I asked the barman for the toilet key and he gave me a bottle opener, was this a make fun of the gormless looking tourist moment? maybe not, a nifty flick of the flat end of the opener slipped the toilet lock, very bizarre.

The journey back south was swift eneb though this late afternoon bus calls in at both the north and south airports. The day was still lovely and sunny but even in high summer Los Rodeos north airport seems to be shrouded in low cloud, and yesterday it was almost fog like. Hammering down back onto the TF1 motorway, the sun soon emerged again lulling me into a soft snooze as I headed home to Los Cristianos after another satisfying day up north.