Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

During the temple closedown in January 2013, Scott and Beverly flew to the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. There we took two excursions and enjoyed some rest and relaxation on and around the beaches of southern Tenerife.

Our first excursion was a guided bus tour that circled the entire island. We started near our hotel in the south. Our first stop was a view of the cliffs of Los Gigantes:

About half-way through the tour, we stopped at the town of Icod de los Vinos to view this 300-year-old Drago Milenio tree:

The tree is actually a bush, once thought to be a thousand years old, and hence the name Milenio. It has over 300 main branches.

Throughout the island, we saw these huge "greenhouses" where bananas, tomatoes, and other crops are grown. The tents keep out birds and hold in water:

Our second tour was a Jeep Safari into the mountains. At our first stop we could see the southern coast below, with its many small volcanoes and the Atlantic Ocean (covered with clouds):

Scott and Beverly at the Roques de García in the Teide National Park, with Mount Teide, the highest peak in Spain, in the background: 

Mount Teide, with Roques de García in the foreground:

The famous Roque Cinchado, a picture of which appeared on the 1000 peseta bill (Spanish currency before the euro) in Teide National Park, with the volcano Mount Teide in the background:

The winding road to the famous "Hidden Village of Mazca," which, according to legend, was a hiding place for pirates:

Masca, with the Atlantic Ocean appearing between the two mountains (the tip of the island La Gomera appears on the ocean horizon):

Playa de Torviscas in the city of Costa Adeje on the southern end of Tenerife, near our hotel:

Another beach in southern Tenerife, not far from our hotel. This and the previous picture show the black volcanic sand of the beaches:

We enjoyed attending church in Los Cristianos, about 20 minutes away from our hotel by taxi. Here we pose with the two missionaries, Elder Anderson of Springville, Utah, and Elder Miner of Cokeville, Wyoming (as reported in a previous blog post):

Tenerife and its warm temperatures were a welcome relief from the cold mainland Spain. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting Tenerife in the Canary Islands.