Three years after Iceland, we decided to visit another volcanic island, in the Atlantic Ocean too, but a lot more South. We spent ten days in Tenerife at the end of March, discovering an island that has far more to offer than just cheap package holidays in the sun.
We stayed in the town of Garachico for the five first days of our trip, exploring the Northwest of the island. Garachico is a small town that feels like a friendly village. This impression was perhaps enhanced by the warm welcome we received from Antonio, our Airbnb host, and the local shop keeper with his tasty black tomatoes and Canarian cheese. We stayed in a little flat on the last floor of a small traditional building. The highlight was definitely the balcony, with a beautiful view of the town, surrounding black cliffs and often agitated ocean. The town used to be the island’s main port, but was destroyed by the eruption of Montana Negra in 1706. A few buildings survived the catastrophe, and the town was quickly rebuilt on the cooled lava. During our stay, we ate delicious grilled fishes in various restaurants, in particular “vieja” (parrot fish) that is a local speciality. We also followed an Easter procession by chance on our first night there, an eerie experience with the incense smell and smoke, the walking orchestra, the huge wax work representing “The Last Supper” and the crowd of worshippers.
During our stay in Garachico, we did a few day trips. The island is surprisingly varied and it only takes an hour to drive to a totally different environment: lush pine forest near La Orotava, the arid black desert of the National Park around the Teide volcano, the miniature Machu Picchu of Masca and its deep and rocky gorge that led us to the ocean after a long and exhausting walk. I always found quite paradoxical how volcanos, which can cause destruction and death, can also bring about such fertility and variety of vegetation and landscapes. We left this part of the island with the hope that we will return one day to Garachico, just so that we can hear once again the sound of the breaking waves while falling into a deep sleep.