Playa de Torviscas, South Tenerife
Teide National Park, Central Tenerife
San Cristobal de La Laguna, North Tenerife
Three colors of Tenerife
Canary islands is a Spanish archipelago, which is actually closer to West Sahara than continental Spain. Among other things, my general fondness for warm islands and the low-fare airline ticket helped me make the impulsive decision to visit there. In fact, the history of Korean immigration from the 1960s to 80s to La Palma, one of the seven main islands, had also intrigued me for many years.
I stayed for 5 nights in Tenerife, the biggest island of the archipelago, and I learned something new about the island every day.
My travels started with the South, which seemed to be the tourists’ main destination for water activities. The beaches were not the best ones I knew, but other factors such as the mildly sunny weather, general cleanliness, safe neighborhoods seemed convincing enough for beach-goers.
Then I explored the middle of the island, Teide National Park, where you can see the results of the past volcanic activities, which essentially created the island and the mountains. The whole island is quite dry, except for some areas in the North, and this means that the National Park doesn’t support much vegetation. And it resulted in the moon-like landscapes in the Park, and I heard that Back to the Future was shot there. During the 4-hour-long hike, I did not see any animals except for one small bird, but I was told that there were grey rabbits hiding under rocks.
A day before leaving the island, I had the opportunity to explore a town finally in the North of the island, San Cristobal de La Laguna. Other than the colonial-style architecture, it was a small town without any breathtaking attractions, but there I could take a peek into the ‘normal’ lives of the locals without any tourists in sight.
Looking back, these three different “colors” of Tenerife seem to be a rough summary of the options I had had during the past year of traveling: typical attractions for vacation tourists, nature, and where the local lives happen. In fact, these three kinds of places are often tightly intertwined so the division might be artificial. However, if someone asks me, my favorite would be nature, especially in a place like Tenerife island where the landscapes are nothing usual. And I greatly enjoyed being surrounded by total quietness except for the sound of my own footsteps. The next time I visit a similar place, I will camp and experience the night there.
@ Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, October 23, 2018
