We’ve spent the last couple days sleeping late, visiting the shops, and enjoying the beach here in Puerto de la Cruz. Monday we went to Playa Martianez, which is the nearest beach to our hotel. It seems that most of the beaches in Puerto de la Cruz are black sand beaches, and the sand was incredibly hot! We borrowed beach towels from the hotel and hung out in the sun for a few hours before Joe got a slight sunburn. Joe waded into the ocean but said the beach was so rocky that it was hard to enjoy being in the water. Later we ate lunch at restaurant on the boardwalk. Joe had a seafood dish cooked in tomato sauce, and the seafood was still all in the shells. Shrimp, prawns, oysters, muscles, and what appeared to be baby lobsters… all still with heads and shells intact! Kat had a “hamburger” that was actually some sort of sausage patty with cheese on top – no bun. It was a nice location to eat lunch, but perhaps not the best food. We walked further down the boardwalk before turning back toward the hotel. It was a very pretty area with the mountains and the ocean. Playa Martianez was busy, as well as beautiful.
Other than visiting the beach, we honestly haven’t done much of anything – and it’s been wonderful! Kat has read a few books, we’ve spent time surfing the internet, and Joe has been watching TV episodes on the computer.
On Tuesday we woke late and decided to rent a car to finish all the trips we wanted to do during our stay in Tenerife. However, we decided that we’d rather have the car for a full 2 days instead of 1.5 days, so we discussed our plans and did some serious shopping. That night, we did laundry for 3euros per wash and 3 euros per dry. We managed to do all our laundry in 2 loads, so it was only 12 euros. While waiting for our laundry we planned our day trips for Wed and Thurs, rented a car, and had dinner at the hotel restaurant. Kat had lasagna and Joe had a breaded chicken patty with fries. We both had a small order of croquetas that were okay, but not as good as the ones from BarRaval in Barcelona. The hotel also had a singing/keyboard/saxophone duo who sang during dinner – such hits as Elvis, Billy Ray Cyrus (Achy Breaky Heart – in Spanish!), and more. It was pretty funny.
Tomorrow we’re renting a car and driving to Parque Nacional Las Canadas del Teide, which contains the highest peak in all of Spain and an active volcano. We’re also going to ride camels in the afternoon! Hopefully driving in Tenerife won’t be too difficult – they drive on the same side of the road as the US, so it can’t be too bad… Wish us luck!