Celebration

After four weeks of living in relatively basic circumstances, it’s nice to check into a hotel. And our first priority in Hotel Taburiente in Santa Cruz de Tenerife was to have a good, hot, powerful shower. We then headed out for a Canarian meal and to sample a little of the Carnaval. We had drinks in a couple of bars and danced for a while amongst the crowd in front of the stage, but headed back at about 11.30pm. Well, we had been up VERY early that morning and wanted to conserve some energy for the next day, even though it seemed to be just at the point when the party was starting!

After breakfast on Tuesday, we took to the streets for a stroll to get a feel for Santa Cruz and try to find out where to watch the afternoon’s procession which started at 4pm. It travels a long way along the coastal road and must have left its starting point a lot earlier than the scheduled time! After 3 hours we felt that there was only so much procession you can watch so we headed back to the hotel to change for the evening and watch the rest on television. Our plan was to head out for the firework display at 9pm, but at 8.30pm we heard a few bangs – this carnival obviously doesn’t run very precisely to schedule! Still we headed out for some food and to have another boogie in the street. It seemed a lot quieter than the night before though, and we got a sense that we’d missed the main party.
On Wednesday we took the tram to the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos. It had lots of interactive experiments, and was much like the interactive section of London’s Science Museum but with far fewer kids running around! We then took the tram back into Santa Cruz to have a look at the magnificent Auditorio. Clearly influenced by Sydney Opera House, it gleams in the sun looking like a wave from the Atlantic Ocean. After our evening meal we joined the crowds lining the street for the Burial of the Sardine. Another key event in Santa Cruz’s Carnaval celebrations, it was a short but rowdy group of many men (and even a few women) dressed as widows (although how many people would attend a funeral in this get up I’ve no idea!) The procession hadn’t got far although it was already 11pm, and we decided to head back to the hotel instead of follow it. At about 3am we were woken by some huge bangs – the “mourners” had clearly reached the sardine and the fireworks sounded much more impressive than the previous evening.
I’ve had a nice relaxing birthday today. We first took the tram to La Laguna, the old town of the north of Tenerife. There we visited the Museo de Historia de Tenerife which is based in one of the many beautiful old buildings in the town. We then had a nice wander around – you can see very clearly where the old town starts – and headed back to Santa Cruz. Our hotel sits opposite the Parque Garcia Sanabria which we’ve walked through a few times but I wanted to walk the full spiral of the footpath that runs to the centre. There are many sculptures and exotic plants, including the banyul trees that were so inspirational to Gaudi when he designed La Sagrada Familia. Most importantly we could sit out in the sunshine in t-shirts, something I’ve never done on my birthday before!
Tonight we’re having a meal in the hotel restaurant – the menu has been taunting us every time we use the lift! Tomorrow we leave early for our flight to Barcelona before flying to Marrakesh on Sunday. Finally, thank you all for the birthday messages. It’s been strange not having any presents or cards to open, but I knowing that people remembered is much more important!