Our second stop in the Canary Islands took us to the island of Tenerife, which is the largest and most populated (978,100) island in the Canary Island chain. It is also home of the third largest volcano in the world, but more about that later!

Fact of the day: most people think that the Canary Islands were named after the bird. Not so, in fact, it was the opposite, the bird received its name from the island. The Canary Islands really mean the islands of the dog, named from the Latin word for dog: “Carania”, as supposedly early European settlers were met by dogs when they landed here.

As long as we are talking about dogs here are pictures of the two endemic species of dogs here in Tenerife: dogo carnaria, a mastic type large guard dog and podenco carnaria, a slim hunting dog fond of chasing the many rabbits that inhabit the island.

I had signed up for the extended 7 hour tour of the island because it was going to see the major attraction of the island, the famous Teide volcano, and included a lunch at a local restaurant. The buses we have had so far are new, modern and offer great AC. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the roadways (and the markings), but was aghast at all the twists and turns of the roadways. I can imagine people with motion sickness issues really being bothered on these roads. We drove about an hour to the Teide National Park to view the volcano and its environment. I was blown away and never expected seeing what I saw. First of all the size of the volcano. It rises to 12,188 ft above sea level; however, what is mind blowing is that it rises 24,600 ft from the ocean floor making it the third tallest volcano in the world. The only ones taller are Mauna Kea (13,803 ft) and Main Loa (13,679 ft), both on the big island of Hawaii. Teide is classified as an active volcano but it’s last eruption was in 1909.

We stopped in multiple locations to experience the enormity of the crater area, the landscape produced by the lava flows and the vegetation that has emerged since the earlier eruptions. It was quite a sight and we wish we would have had further time to explore the many trails that are in the area. I was surprised at how busy the area was (it was a Wednesday); parking was at a premium but I learned that the national park is the most visited park in Spain (the Canary Islands belong to Spain).

Once we left the park we drove to a nearby town for a delightful lunch featuring a local favorite dish, chicken (of course) with a special sauce and small potatoes that are boiled in salt water until the water is gone, leaving a fine layer of salt on the skin. The chicken was tender, the sauce great and the potatoes were a hit with everyone at our table. And of course, there were bottles of wine to accompany the meal.

It was late in the day when we returned to the ship, glad we had committed to the 7 hour tour. Because our lunch lasted until 3 PM we simply went to the pool area where a light buffet is always set up in the evening for those who want less than a full, sit down meal.

The evening show featured Shimi Goodman, a tenor originally from Israel. I was afraid he was going to only sing operatic songs ; however he entertained us with a variety of popular songs and only a couple of operatic melodies (which were familiar to me so I could hum along). He was better than I expected.

---

Reflection on the day: I really liked Tenerife and what it offers to a visitor. I would return!

Tomorrow we begin two days at sea before reaching the first of the African countries.