Puerto de la Cruz

You gotta love organized and efficient public transportation!  

The public bus system on Tenerife, known as ”titsa”, operates over the complete island and uses different types of buses depending on the route.  They have a good website that shows the routes and stops, etc.  You can buy a bus card, called Ten+, for 2 euros and add additional amounts to the card to pay the fare. More than one person can use the card, so you only need one per family.

We loaded 10 euros on the card when we bought it at the bus station.  When you use the card you simply get on the bus at any available stop and tell the driver your destination and number in your group. The driver enters the info and you tap the card.  When you get off the bus you tap the card on a terminal by the door and it tell you the balance remaining on the card.  You can top up the card at corner stores or the bus stations.

We traveled about 30 kilometres on the bus between La Laguna and Puerto De la Cruz. The fare was 2.6 euros each. About $4. Can. 

Arriving in Puerto De la Cruz, it was an easy 10 min walk to our apartment.   A nice little apartment overlooking a plaza, one block from the water front. 

Puerto de la Cruz is fairy large community along the northern shore of Tenerife. The inactive volcano, El Teide, is easy visible from town.  There are a plenty of coves along the hilly coast line with rocky or black sand beaches.  

These photos are of the main beach in La Cruz.  Volcanic sand.  I was thinking that is lucky that the temperature never gets really hot here. 

This El Teide.   The highest peak in Spain
   

Puerto De la Cruz is most definitely a retirement community! We’re  feeling younger and much happier than most of the couples we see walking along the beach promenade.  Seriously, you don’t see many smiles??

The most prominent language here is German.  The locals speak Spanish but many signs, menus, etc. are printed in German.  Even some of the architecture looks like it belongs in Bavaria.

The weather when we arrived was overcast with some drizzle but yesterday and to day it is nice and sunny. The temperature today is in the low to mid 20s

There are lots of hiking trails on the island.  Many are inland in the volcano national park but there is a nice scenic trail starting on the west side of town.  This trail called:  sendero Casona del Castro - Los Roques. It winds it’s way along the rocky shoreline for about 8 kilometres through the Rambla De Castro.    The trail is fairly well maintained with handrails along parts of it. The surface is either gravel or rather uneven volcanic rock but easy enough to navigate with care.  Some hills on the trail are quite steep. 

At the west end of the trail it meets a highway and a lookout with a couple of nice restaurants.   We stopped for a drink and some lunch before returning to town on the trail. 

Looking west from our lunch spot. In the foreground is a banana plantation. One of many on Tenerife. 

Terraces like these are common.  Most of the ones we saw seemed abandoned. Apparently they were used to grow grape vines and bananas in earlier days.   The terraces are created with rock walls. 

These little lizards are plentiful.   They live in the volcanic rock walls.  This one is about 30 to 40 cm in length.

So far we have mixed feelings about Tenerife.  The climate is nice 👍 but it is too touristy.  

Tomorrow we are back in the bus and heading to the west end of the island.... Puerto De Santiago. It is supposed to be less touristy.... we’ll see.