Fifty-Eight

It was 6th December and I'd have been happy just to be in Tenerife for my birthday but Jon surprised me with presents, two beautiful pieces of vintage Egyptian Revival jewellery, which I'm sure you'll see very soon. 

We always sleep really well at the Florida Plaza which I'm sure is helped by those €5 mojitos! Nevertheless we're always out and about bright & early, with only five days, we don't want to waste time sitting around or missing out on previous warmth and sunshine.

  

I mentioned in an earlier Tenerife travelogue how Agatha Christie had visited the island in 1927, the year after her infamous 1926 disappearance and subsequent discovery in a hotel with no apparent memory of how she got there. Following successful psychiatric treatment, Christie travelled to Puerto de la Cruz with her daughter Rosamund and her secretary Carlo and was inspired to write several books set in the town during her stay including The Mysterious Mr Quin, published in 1930.

Mr. Satterthwaite went on, past the palm trees and the straggling white houses, past the black lava beach where the surf thundered and where once, long ago, a well-known English swimmer had been carried out to sea and drowned, past the rock pools where children and elderly ladies bobbed up and down and called it bathing, along the steep road that winds upwards to the top of the cliff. For there on the edge of the cliff was a house, appropriately named La Paz. A white house with faded green shutters tightly closed, a tangled beautiful garden, and a walk between cypress trees that led to a plateau on the edge of the cliff where you looked down--down--down--to the deep blue sea below.’’  The Mysterious Mr Quin, 1930

Puerto de la Cruz is crazy about Christie, there's an annual Agatha Christie festival, a street named after her and these fabulous steps, forty seven of which bear the name of her books.

When we'd climbed them last year it had been quite busy and we'd not noticed that Agatha can be seen making her way up the steps. 

 

Jon's poor arthritic knees needed a break after climbing those steps so we stopped at the viewpoint in the residential area of La Paz and admired the view whilst being serenaded by a elderly cowboy clad in black playing Spanish love songs on his guitar.

After a steady descent we enjoyed a coffee at the harbour before wandering around the old town, admiring the street art.

Being the little weirdo that I am, one of my birthday wishes was to revisit the Cementerio Ingles (The English Cemetery). Long before the mass tourism of the twentieth century, there was already a substantial British population on Tenerife, mostly involved with exporting Canarian wine and the island's sugar, since the early part of the 18th Century. Back then the Catholic church was opposed to the Protestant religion but exempted foreign residents, granting permission for a small cemetery for deceased ex-pats to be established. This opened in 1757. 

From the closing years of the nineteenth century, North Tenerife became increasingly popular as a destination for the wealthier members of British society to spend the winter months.  The island was known for its mild climate and pure air and, as such, routinely recommended by doctors as a place for those suffering from illness - particularly tuberculosis - to convalesce although, by the number of graves occupied by the young, many must have succumbed. 

By now we were ravenous so headed back to a restaurant we'd passed earlier, El Patio which had what looked like a very interesting Canarian menu.

 We shared a beautifully presented platter of queso a la plancha (grilled local cheese) served with gofio (the Canarian superfood made with toasted grains), green & red mojo sauce and palm syrup. It was absolutely delicious and a lot bigger than the photo suggests.

We'd been wanting to try a barraquito for ages, a coffee cocktail unique to the Canary Islands and served after a meal. It consists of a layer of condensed milk, Licor 43 (a liqueur containing citrus, vanilla and various herbs and spices), espresso, milk (preferably frothy) and a garnish of cinnamon and lemon peel.  It was amazing!

As you know, I'm a part-time mermaid and despite the skies clouding over after lunch, I really wanted to swim on my birthday so we headed to Lago Martiánez. 

SOURCE

Although there had been two sea water swimming pools on Puerto de la Cruz's San Telmo beach since the 1950s, the authorities, conscious of the growth of tourism in the town, decided to incorporate the pools into a open air lido. Three additional swimming pools, Los Alisos (trade winds), were created and the Canarian artist, César Manrique commissioned to design Lago Martiánez, with the first stage completed in 1971.

The second stage, which was completed in 1977, led to the construction of an artificial lake, the iconic El Lago which was shaped like a huge, green emerald, filled with sea water and measuring approximately 15,000 m2. El Lago had five islands, four designated sunbathing areas and the largest, the central island, hosts gardens, a restaurant, and a casino, the Andrómeda, located below sea level (very James Bond!)

Manrique combined his architectural spirit with the traditional architecture of the Canary Islands, incorporating flora and fauna elements, alongside authentic and innovative sculptures. The red sculpture, La Jibia (The Cuttlefish) doubles up as a children's playground.

Last year El Lago was closed for restoration so we swam in the largest of the Los Alisos pools.

The huge El Homenaje Al Mar (tribute to the sea) measures 30 m x 24 m x 12 m and is located in the children’s pool. It is made of shredded lava, wood and covered with concrete. 

This year my birthday swim was in El Lago and, as the skies had become ominously overcast, I almost had it to myself. A circuit of the pool, swimming around the islands and under the bridges took me just over half an hour according to Jon, at home it usually takes me around 22 minutes to swim half a mile so it's a pretty big pool. 

Barlovento (windward), created in 1977, is a wind activated sculpture. 

Lago Martiánez is open from 10am daily. Adult admission (which includes the use of a sunbed) is €5.50.

 After showers and a quick change we headed out for the night. 

We popped into our favourite little bar for a beer where the locals far outnumber the tourists and we're always make to feel very welcome.

On Wednesday we'd spotted a gorgeously decorated Moroccan restaurant and decided that it would be the place to have a birthday dinner.

 

Gorgeous décor, friendly and professional staff, local wine and an exciting menu with lots of good veggie options plus free olives, what more could a girl want?

Salut! 

Vegetable tagine for me and beef kafta for Lord Jon.

  

Sunshine, swimming, sightseeing, great food and drink along with the best company, if this is what 58 feels like it's going to be a fantastic year!