Exploring island with friends
Piece of moon land
Hola mis quieridos! The summer season has already begun (according to the Spanish view, the summer begins when the number of tourists increases and it is after with St. John’s night). The sun is hot, the beaches are becoming more and more full of tourists, and we enjoy the best summer gifts – strawberries, watermelons, cherries! If you sometimes want to escape from the hot black sandy beach, there is such a place on this island and I will definitely tell you about it.
If someone asks you what you know about Tenerife, perhaps the first thought would be – there’s a volcano! And yes, you would be absolutely right.
Facts. Teide is the third highest volcano in the world (two higher in Hawaii). This is the highest peak in the Canary Islands and in whole Spain. Its 3,718 meters and is the highest peak above the sea in the islands of the Atlantic. By the way, it is active volcano, the last eruption was in 1909. Teide National Park is a wonderful place to admire the changing landscape of Teide and the surrounding volcano. Teide National Park is the largest Canary Islands park, so if you are not sure whether it’s worth a visit – read more.
Routes. To enjoy this magnificent view of nature is free of charge, all the Teide National Park is free, the highest point you will reach is more than 2 km height and I would advise you to go and return on different routes as you will see not only a changeable view to the top of Teide but also the countryside. If you are on the south side, beautiful views and black lava fields opens along the Chio village, while visiting the forest and the panoramic ocean I advise you to drive through Vilaflor village. If you go to / from the northern part of the island, the spectacular natural scenery opens upward from the city of La Orotava, as well as winding forest roads from La Laguna or from the capital city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
How to get there. You can also arrive in several ways, the most convenient one – rent a car, but be smart, in the Teide National Park, there are endless plenty of thefts that keep their eyes of the tourists and the cars you hire, they usually break the glass and take everything you leave in the car (never leave anything). Also, there are shuttle buses to Teide, as I mentioned earlier, their timetable can be found at titsa.com . If you do not like buses and do not dare to drive, you can always find tours that take you to Teide National Park, but I do not think that you can enjoy wonderful views so long.
Pico del Teide. If you want to reach Pico del Teide a lift will help you. The lift rises to a height of 3,555 m, so you’re just around the corner, I can swear – the view you see will be really super. If, however, this height is not enough for you and you want to stand just around the crater – you can reach the top, but there are some limitations. During the day, there can be a limited number of people, so you need to arrange for permits to go up to the very peak of the volcano in advance. Also, another option is to top up by yourself, but I warn you to get ready for it.
Weather. You can visit Teide National Park all year round, except one case – if there is enough snow in the winter, but this situation can be only 1-2 times during the winter. In the cold season, be wise and take warm clothes even if you do not plan to get up to the peak of the volcano. During the summer, you may not need warm clothes, but keep in mind that you will be a little higher up the mountains, so there will be really windy.
Yes, here you will not see a lot of fauna, but the flora in the whole park is very diverse, and the special month of May – the flower of Teide is blossoming – Tajinaste rojo! I can look at the Teide volcano every time I visit, every time it is so different – in the winter, it is with snow cap on top, spring and summer it is surrounded by flowering flowers and shrubs. Only one thing never changes – I call i piece of the moon land – I’ve never been to the moon, but that’s what I imagine it looks like.
Ayyy que bonito vulcano Teide !
Spring in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
¡Hola! Primavera.
Every day, friends send me some photos and videos from Norway and Lithuania, on Facebook and Instagram the same situation – a lot of posts and images with unexpected snow, cold, windy weather, everybody complain, they say they miss spring, want the sun and heat! And I totally imagine it, because if I were in northern Europe probably I also could cry…. Just think abou the fact – after a month have to begin summer !!!!
But we have no complaints! We can smell the spring, which in the island is amazing! Stable temperatures, warmer pool and ocean water, warmer nights, less clouds, bushes and trees are greener, the flowers bloom!
The southern part of the island is dry, less rain and humidity, yesterday went to the capital of the island Santa Cruz de Tenerife which is in the north part, so we decided to search for a spring here! And we weren’t disappointed because in the capital we found beautiful parks, plenty of palm trees, banana trees, the strangest kinds of flowers and trees, whose names I do not know, but it allowed to feel the real spring!
After taking a walk in cozy Santa Cruz old town, where you can find not so much flora, but you can find a lot of small parks, where you can sit in the shade, we headed out to Parque García Sanabria. And there’s the singing birds, flowers and other flora, everything was just amazing! A real canarian spring! 🙂
So, if you miss the spring and want to spend a nice day walking around the city, definitely worth to visit Santa Cruz de Tenerife, especially in spring time ! 
Primavera. Easter holidays
¡Hola! Have a nice day friends!I know everyone preparing for the great celebration of spring – Easter! My family also sent some images how they decorate home and I know friends are back for weekend to the parents’ house! You may think that we can feel a little bit nostalgic, but in fact here in the Canaries, Easter is a BIG feast!
Since this is Catholic celebration and more than 70% Spanish are Catholics – Easter is very important day. All week (Semana Santa – Saint week) is a big celebration which begins on Domingo de Ramos and ends with Lunes de Pascua. Let us not forget that here all siestas and fiestas is very serious thing. If the holiday starts – nobody work, everybody have vacation and celebration time! Easter traditions are very different in all regions, but somehow there are some traditions that are simillar of the whole country.
- Everyone brings the palm or olive branch to the church, and the priest bless it.
- Procesiones – procession, during which thousands of people going to the streets. The procession participants wearing special clothing (capirotes), everybody sing Easter songs (las Saetas).
- On el Jueves Santo – (Holy Thursday), all church bells are tied and does not ring till Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday).
Unfortunately there is no church in our town, we can not participate in all processions, but definitely we won’t forget Lithuanian Easter traditions – Easter eggs and a large table full of food! To be honest .. after I wrote this… maybe I would like to teleport for Easter day to grandmother’s house and get ready to eat delicious mother’s food!
I wish warm and sunny spring will come fast to your house, spring is already here in Canary islands, we can enjoy flower blossoms and birds songs!
Feliz Semana Santa y Pascua!
Tips: looking for a living place !
First of all, I want to say – this island is divided into two parts and we live in the southern part of the island so the post will be based on experience only on the southern part of the island. In the north everything is different…! 🙂
Tenerife is paradise for real estate agents ! Especially now, a lot of people from Europe come here – they are looking not only for apartments, flats, houses, villas to spend the winter, but also there are those who want to buy their own places for investment. 🙂 But this post is not about these agents! 🙂
Our story
When we arrived to the island with the idea to stay here a little longer, we rented a room for one week (which we didn’t like) on Airbnb.com website. Website is fun, we often used Airbnb.com when we were traveling in Europe and this time wasn’t exception. So we had only a week to find a roof over our head for a longer period of time – the task wasn’t so easy!
Almost few days we were just browsing various Facebook groups, where sometimes agents or homeowners display some post about renting flats, as well as we were looking for all Web sites, which Mr. Google showed us where only words were “Alquilar, Pisa, casa” (esp. To rent, apartments, houses). And it has helped – after 3 days (!!!) we already had the opportunity to see the apartment! And the second night we already had a key of our new apartament with huge pool and amazing terrace !
The difficulties will be….
If you plan to come here, for sure you will have a lot of questions, be prepared – you need to know something before you rent a place to live here. So yes… there will be some difficulties…
- Expensive ! Yes – because probably you want to live in a tourist area on the ocean shore. Places like these are for tourists, there will not be able to walk on the terrace with your pyjamas, through the windows will see hundreds of tourists, will hear loud music (and not the best music) from bars and all beaches will be full of people from morning till evening! Options would be two – look for an apartament a little far away from the ocean – the price will be lower, and perhaps will be a great panorama for the sunsets? We did not meet the option to live far away from the ocean, so we had to chose another option – villages around the main resort, close to the ocean, fewer tourists, more calm, wild beaches, only have to use public transport. 😦
- You can’t speak spanish? Sometimes it can be a problem especially if you are looking for apartments not at the agency! Canarian people probably will not speak english, but in this case discommunication can be big trouble. (If this happens – just look for countrymen who speak Spanish well and ask him to help you) 🙂
- Prices. Prices are different depending on the location, the number of rooms, equipment and furniture. In touristic areas you should always be ready to pay 200-400eu more than in non-tourist areas for a similar option. The most common prices for non-tourist areas of the studio can be 400€ per month and for 1 bedroom from the 500€ per month (always it is with bills 50€ included).
- Rental Formula. When you sign the rent contract you must have – NIE – without this number you have so little chances to rent something. Even better if you had already work contract! If you don’t have work contract usually you have to pay a deposit for 2-6 months, in this way, the owners ensures that you can afford to pay for living. Also, if you use real estate agencies you will have to pay a fee – it is so, what the amount of 1 month rent. So, if the apartment rent is 500e / month, the formula is:
1 month rent per month (500€) + 2minimum months deposit (from 1000€) + agency fee (500€) = about 2000eu and you have where to live in the Canaries.
Sometimes it sounds crazy, but I said at first that it is not easy to rent something, of course if you want your pool and terrace, good kitchen and big bed it is worth to pay it in one time and enjoy it for longer ! 🙂
Masca valley. Advices and photos
¡Hola !
It is the beginning of a new week, and one more monday in my little paradise! Today the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the ocean is calm, and I will tell you about one of the most popular destinations in Tenerife. If you are thinking what to visit, where to go – do not hesitate, one of the most beautiful places on the island is Masca village.
About Masca village
Masca – a secret place, which you can reach only driving in serpentine mountains. Not everyone dare to go there, not everyone dare drive these mountain roads. You experience extreme sensations, but you will not regret it! 🙂
Masca is an old village in the mountains called secret, lost or forgotten village, a place where the mountains, roads, small houses, flora takes away the promises, and your photos will be spectacular! Once upon a time this village was separated from the whole of the island, people could reach it except by foot.
This is one of the five villages that are located near Teno rocks, the legend says that the coast of the Masca liked to sail a pirate ship, but they were never attacked village. Masca village has about 100 permanent residents, narrow streets, courtyards growing flowers, palms, trees, pets and stone base paths – the image we see come and stroll around the old village of Masca. And the fact that with the good connections to the main road system Masca village has become a very popular tourist spot and it shows that in a small mountain village can discover and souvenir shops, cafes specifically for tourists.
About hiking :
What you should know before you trip?
If it was raining at night in Masca rocks can be slippery, the most important thing is to be cautious! There are a few ways to descend Masca valley:
- Come to Los Gigantes city, leave the car near the port and take the taxi (cost about 25eu) to Masca village
- Go by bus – check Titsa.com (you should be aware that busses love to be late!)
- Drive by your car.
If you want to hike JUST down the valley…
A trip down (it depends on the preparation of course) takes about 4 hours, with stops for taking photos, eating some snacks, enjoying the nature. Question – how to get back to Los Gigantes pick up the car? From coast of Masca valley to Los Gigantes town swims very fun boat (price per person for 10euro, sometimes there are discounts). Boat tickets can be purchased online, in various excursion shops in Los Gigantes port or coastal Masca after hiking all the way.
What do I need to bring?
- Loaded phone
- Camera
- Water
- Snacks
- Comfortable shoes
- Jumpers
My personal recommendation to a question what to wear – shorts and T-shirts, sunglasses. The most important thing is comfortable shoes so it can be a mountain shoes, but we went with a simple trainer shoes, because the journey is not short, so the most important thing to feel comfortable! 
Legends vs. reality
And the new week begins in paradise! Good Monday everyone! I want to send you a bit of the sunset, which I have captured last week that this Monday would not be so sad 🙂
Today, I will write some of the things I realized in my head for a few months, legends and reality of Tenerife.
- People – Canarians are quite different than spanish people living in the mainland – not only their appearance they are quite different, but the main thing is – if you ever thought that spanish people are very friendly and warm – just come here ! They are always friendly and polite – although I never know what’s going on in their minds, but they can say ¡Hola! everywhere – in the yard, pool, shops, bus, street, beach… everywhere and everyone ! If on arrival day you don’t know how to say “Hi, bye or good morning” You will learn it in the first few hours, believe in me.
- Food – If you think that here in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean everyone eat only fish, shrimps and octopus, then, my dear friend, you are wrong! Yes, of course, they eat, and you can find almost in every restaurant in the main touristic places, but a real Canarian food is not paella and not churros with chocolate ! Real canarian food you can find at not touristic places – in the mountain villages or near banana plantations, some of that type of cafes can be called “guachinches. This is a place where you can try really homemade wine, Canarian chicken and potatoes! Finally – Canarian banana liqueur or coffee!
- All the time is “mañana”. Not quite true. Yes, people here are more relaxed, they are not in a hurry, more sun – less stress. They are often late (especially public transport – you have just guess when the bus will arrive, because schedules are not necessarily exist here 🙂 ) But not everything is “mañana”! In the island are nations mix-up, British, Russians, Italians, French, Eastern Europeans and the Lithuanian – a lot of Lithuanians ! And we are know well that Lithuanians are always hard-working, can make a hundred things and make them the highest quality and not mañana – now and here ! And not only Lithuanians, those people who earn from the tourist, work and work a lot now, not Mañana. 🙂
- Near Africa ! It is always hot and sunny ! ☀️ Yes, here in Tenerife we have a lot of sunny, hot days … But, there is also a winter and summer season. From Tenerife to the African coast a distance is only about 300km, but that does not mean that there can not be bad weather! It happens – it rains, could be storms with lightning, floods, “Calima” and could be even cold! Sometimes at the nights can be only +13 degrees! Teide peak often are snowy at winter time, and there can be even colder! But do not be afraid, only for locals it is cold and if you want to come here for your winter holidays – enjoy beach and sun, it will not be so cold for you as it is for locals!
4 months babies immigrants.
We are so small and so inexperienced in this amazing World. We are like 4 months babies who learns every new thing in this island.
More recently, the four-month anniversary – so long we are in a beautiful island, which has protected us from the cold Lithuanian winter! So far, we enjoy the morning sun in Tenerife, which brings a lot of positive energy! ☀️
Meanwhile, there is not only time we have to sunbath, to travel, to swim in the ocean, but also learn a lot of local crazy things, which anyone who wants to live and work here (legally of course) must know. ☺️
In a great opportunity, I want to welcome the fact that we quite easily managed to get all the necessary documents and the famous Spanish / Canarian bureaucracy came out only a few times. 😀
Because now it’s a new wave of immigrants, which occupies the Canary Islands, in the other parts of my blog I will try to describe the entire process of necessary document, which you might need if you are planning come to this beautiful island in the middle of the ocean.
Hasta luego,
Sandy fingers
Sandy Fingers and adventures 