San Cristobal de La Laguna

First impression on Tenerife was a bit disappointing. Rather high and rather modern buildings and even a tower reminding of Stalin’s buildings in Moscow – that did not make a nice first impression. Later on wondering on the streets of Santa Cruz we were able to find a beautiful church and a couple of colorful facades but most landmarks (such as Plaza de España and Auditorio de Tenerife) looked rather modern.

The mystery was solved when one of the guests told us about his trip to the island’s former capital, UNESCO Heritage site – San Cristobal de La Laguna or simply La Laguna.

As the name might prompt it derives from the lake – Saint Christopher on the Lake. Nowadays the lake is long gone but the name survived.

It easy very easy to get to La Laguna: simply take a tram in the direction of Trinidad and go till the last stop. Round trip costs 2.50€, the tickets are sold right on the tram stops from a ticketing machine. Since there is no English make sure you choose ida y vuelta option for return tickets and of course validate them once on the tram.

Tenerife tram (Tranvía de Tenerife) was first opened in 1907 and was in operation until 1951, when, due to a series of problems and accidents, and increased competition with the car and bus (on Tenerife, buses are called guaguas), the service was discontinued. The tram was reopened in 2007. It is the only existing tramway or train in the Canary Islands.

The ride took us about 35 minutes. But when the mechanical female voice announced La Termina – the final station – we were in the middle of uninteresting buildings from circa 70’s. We even started thinking we had taken the wrong tram or the wrong direction. Do not get discouraged! Walk just a little bit forward and at the next crossroads the old city will start opening up in front of you.

To help you find main attractions the city has scattered boards with city plans all over the old city. All cathedrals and convents are marked on it.

Start your day with a coffee at El Jardin del Hada (Fairy’s Garden) on Calle Capitan Brotons, n2: they are open from 8am (except Sunday). They have a nice breakfast menu with crepes, fresh juices, sandwiches, salads and montaditos (another way to call tapas) for 1 euro each. But the reason we liked this place is its fairytale atmosphere with stylish wall paintings and cute little tables.

La Laguna was founded  between 1496 and 1497 by Alonso Fernández de Lugo and was the capital of the island after the conclusion of the conquest of the islands. As the capital it quickly attracted attention of adventures of all sorts and became a boom town.

Despite the fact that most buildings in the old part of city date back to Renaissance period La Laguna give somehow a modern feel. This is due to the fact that unlike most ancient cities La Laguna was planed: the houses are not crammed on top of each other but are stately aligned along the wide streets.

Renaissance was the time of pursuit of perfection: ideal man, ideal city. Not only architects but also artists and philosophers were creating their own projects of ideal city: circular, octagon, star shaped... Most of these projects remained on paper but since the La Laguna was build from scratch, its founders were able to apply the progressive ideas of the time. La Laguna is the first city in the world built on geometric grid. And since it was a departure point for many expeditions to the New World now wonder colonists applied it as a model to virtually every city in South and Central America.

Some even say that not only the city plan but even the accent was brought to the new world so some mainland Spaniards (or Peninsulares - folks from peninsula) take Isleños (the islanders) for Latin Americans.

However the city population and economy declined so in the 18th century (1723 to be exact) the capital was transferred to nearby Santa Cruz where it remained ever since. Both cities have since grown so nowadays they form one municipality and one cannot tell where the Santa Cruz ends and La Laguna starts. As opposed to modern looking capital La Laguna remains cultural and education center (University of La Laguna is an education center famous all over Spain with over 30,000 students), more slow-paced with many streets closed for traffic.

Streets of La Laguna with Dragon Tree

Dragon tree is not a tree but a relative of asparagus (belongs to family Asparagaceae)

Paradoxically, the fact that the capital was moved to Santa Cruz helped La Laguna to retain its historical core.

Had it remained in La Laguna we could have seen more modern buildings, cars, parkings...

Luckily now one can quietly stroll on the streets enjoying traditional colonial architecture: convents...

...churches...

...stone carving...

...wooden balconies...

Some monuments were never restored (apparently it was not that important since it was no longer the capital) but even in ruins they sure have their charm:

The most important religious building of La Laguna has traditionally long name: The Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna or Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (Santa Iglesia Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Laguna in Spanish).

Unfortunately at the time of our visit it was closed for restoration so we were not able to see it from the inside and on the pictures there were always cranes and scaffolding:

Apparently the restoration includes some major work done:

The cathedral was constructed from concrete, one of the first buildings in Spain to use a material which is now used extensively in a wide range of buildings. Unfortunately, having been a pioneer in this field, the technology was not fully developed; as a result it developed numerous faults which required large amounts of repair and improvement work.  ©Wikipedia

So at the moment (and apparently for a long while) it is only possible to see the exterior.

A church that gives you more options is The Iglesia-Parroquia Matriz de Nuestra Señora de La Concepción (Church of the Immaculate Conception), almost a twin of the Church of the Conception of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Not only will you be able to visit its interior (for a fee) you can also climb the tower to view much of the city.  The visit to the tower only costs 1€ (the ticket to the church includes the bell tower) and the view are truly incredible:

It is easy to spend a day here as around every corner you might see another beautiful building...

Convent with characteristic wooden balconies

...an architectural detail...

...or an unusual plant.

Watch street performers at work...

...or hide from heat behind the thick walls of one of the cafes

Running around the city made us hungry so we started paying attention not only at cathedrals but also at the menus of nearby restaurants. Soon we spotted an unusual menu: it was big and colorful and featured 20 different pintxos. Near each photo there was a description in Spanish - but who cares? We will be able to see the photo of what we order!

But while description of some tapas made our mouths water right away - Carpaccio de Pulpo (Octopus Carpaccio), Brocheta de Langostinos y Bacon (Brochette with shrimp and bacon) - others made us scratch our heads. How about Croqueta de Morcilla consisting of Morcilla dulce and Pistacho - morcilla for all we knew was a black pudding but can it be sweet (dulce) and accompanied by pistachios?

Some were even more mysterious as we could not decipher even one ingredient: what could be Bogavante made of Codos de Bogavante and Crema de Cava? Yet everything looked so inviting that we enthusiastically embarked on this voyage to the unknown pointing at various tapas. Luckily you don't need to settle for one favorite as each pintxo costs between 2€ and 3€ so you can easily select several, share and then... order more! Everything we ordered (and we returned to this restaurant on one of the following visits and tried more!) was an absolute delight.  Each dish was presented differently: there was crepe, tartalette, brochette... Some were served on lava rock, some in a glass, some on a slice of bread, some on the stick and some  - on asparagus. Various ingredients were used: there was smoked salmon, iberico ham, shrimp, octopus, black pudding, goat cheese, foie, anchovies, mushrooms - all with creative reductions and sauces.

The  restaurant is called Sorgin Gorri and despite its unpretentious looks it definitely takes ancient Spanish tradition of tapas to a whole new level.

Sorgin Gorri interior with menus on each table

We definitely recommend to stop there for a couple of pitxos. But keep in mind, most probably it will be more than just a couple!



Read about another great culinary experience in La Laguna here.

Lanzarote Part 2: Los Volcanes National park, La Geria wine region, Salinas de Janubio

After we explored
 everything the island capital Arrecife has to offer we wanted to discover the unique volcanic landscapes and understand why the island name in the native language was Titerroygatra ("the red mountains") as we had not seen anything red there.

Even Pliny the Elder who was the first one to mention Canary Islands (then called Insulae Fortunatae – Fortunate Islands) called Lanzarote and Fuerteventura the archipelago of the "purple islands".

The modern name is believed to derive from the name of Genoese navigator Lancelotto Malocello. However every tour guide will be happy to give you his own version of the island’s name. For example, we heard a theory that celebrating the defeat of local tribes one of the islands conquerors broke his spear and shouted “Lanza Rota!” meaning “Spear is broken”. Or maybe Lancelotto himself exclaimed “Lanza Rota”?

Either way we will never find out the truth and isn’t it nice to be able to choose your own version?

So during one of our calls to Lanzarote we rented a car right at the terminal and headed north. There is not much traffic on the island as soon as you leave the capital and the navigation is relatively good. Our rental car company provided us with a detailed map containing not only the roads but also main attractions, all numbered, with little pictures and opening hours.

We did not have any specific plan so we just headed north to San Bartolome. As we left the capital we could see how dry and arid the island is and what great effort is required from local people to irrigate this otherwise fertile soils:

Despite these hardships it was evident how proud the people are of their home place and how much time and effort they put in decorating it:

We kept driving past San Bartolome towards Tiagua. There we stopped at Museo Agricola El Patio but it was still closed (the museum opens at 10:30am). If you decide to visit the museum it is easy to find as there are signs pointing at it from the main road. There is a parking lot next to the museum but we preferred to leave the car at a larger parking where tourist buses stop. It was a mere 5 minutes walk and on the way we saw some interesting agricultural techniques applied by local farmers. Agriculture in Lanzarote is a triumph of hard work over the hostile environment: the volcanic black ash is fertile but there is not enough water. So how does Lanzarote manage to survive as agricultural island? A unique method of dry cultivation called enarenado is utilized here. Porous volcanic particles are used as topsoil and are piled on top of the crops. Useless in themselves, they act as a sponge for the moisture in the night air obtaining water for the plants and eliminating need for rain. The topsoil needs replacing about every 20 years. 


3 elements are typical of Lanzarote rural landscape: cactus plants, windmills & stone walls made without cement with rocks holding together by their own weight. These walls are used to protect the plants from the heavy winds.

Winds are also the reason why you will often see windmills without canvas on their sails: strong winds would simply rip it off! So the millers monitor the wind and only put the canvas back on when the wind is manageable.

Agricultural museum

Agricultural museum

Agricultural museum

We walked around a little, saw a typical local church: white-washed and sturdily built, with no bell tower as if it constantly tries to resist the winds.

After Tiagua we had a choice to either go to Timanfaya National park – the most famous attraction on the island – or to turn towards Mancha Blanca to La Geria vine region. We made choice in favor of La Geria – partly because we wanted to see their unusual vineyards but also because of the restrictions at Timanfaya. In order not to leave human footprint in the park territory both tourist groups and independent travelers have to leave their vehicles at the parking lot and board the Park bus (it will also cost you 8€). The bus takes tourists on so called ‘

Lunar Route

’. During the drive the narration about the park is provided including excerpts from the diary of a local Priest who was an eyewitness to the devastating Eruptions. But it is not allowed to leave the bus. Knowing how frustrating it could be not to be able to photograph all these stunning landscapes (well, it is still possible to make snaps through the window but…) we turned towards Mancha Blanca.

We figured that the volcanoes on the island will look pretty much the same and did not feel like paying 8€ for the chance to see (and NOT photograph) one specific volcano (plus we are not too fond of tourist traps),

However Timanfaya National park is one of the main attractions and by no means do we want to discourage you from visiting it. Just keep in mind if you decide to visit Timanfaya you are better off doing either very early into the day or on your way back to ship. It has been reported that during the peak hours (10:30am to 3pm approximately) there will be a long line of cars trying to get into the park.

The trip starts from Islote de Hilario visitor’s center where you will be given a demonstration on how active the volcanoes still are. They will throw a piece of dry grass on the ground and it will ignite within seconds and demonstrate a sort of artificial geyser. Local restaurant 'El Diablo' will cook some traditional foods using geothermal heat (A cast-iron grill placed over a large hole in the ground). But this is not all. From the visitor's center there are 3 ways to explore the park: hiking (is only done in small groups and has to be booked 48 hours in advance), by camel or by coach on 'Lunar Route'. The coach trip is included in the admission fee. So if you already paid admission fee make sure you hop on the bus!

As to us - we headed towards Le Geria. On the way we saw a sign for a Mirador – viewpoint – and stopped to have a look. This Mirador is next to Mancha Blanca and from there we could see Ermita de Los Dolores but it is not marked on the map. Yet it offers a beautiful view over the terraced valley vividly demonstrating what it takes to make anything grow on this island. We will try to return in spring hoping the terraces will be full of greenery…

Soon after Mancha Blanca we saw a sign informing us we were entering Los Volcanes National Park. On both sides of the road we could see dormant volcanoes in the background and fields of petrified lava, the result of major eruptions of 18^th century when lava covered a quarter of the island's surface, including the most fertile soil and eleven villages.

The landscape is so arid with not a tree in sign that it seems we are on Mars. But what amazed us that even here people were trying to cultivate plants: just look at the hill in the background.

Soon the lava landscape changed to something very different as we were in La Geria.

But first shall we play trivia? Can you tell what this is?

I bet the correct answer – vineyard – is not very obvious. Yet it is true, these are vineyards. La Geria is a sub-zone of the Lanzarote Denominación de Origen wine region using very unusual horticultural methods. Local vineyards unlike their French or mainland Spain “colleagues” are not planted in rows. Instead on Lanzarote each single vine is planted in its own pit 2-3 m deep surrounded by walls made of lava rocks.

Of course enarenado is used here as well. Thanks to this technique every little drop of water – be it rain or overnight dew – is collected in the pits while stone walls protect the plant from the harsh winds. This method is so unique that the vineyards are part of the World Heritage Site.

But of course how could we not taste some of the Lanzarote wines?

Our first stop was in Bodega Stratvs.

We both love dry wines and were afraid that local wines would be too sweet for us as there is enough sunlight to make the grapes sweet but not enough water to make them bigger. To our pleasant surprise we saw the bodega offered Malvasia seco (and our knowledge of Spanish was sufficient to figure out that seco means dry). The wine was very good and very unusual: it smelled and tasted like volcano (well, the driver could only appreciate the aroma :(). It has a sort of ashy taste but it is a pleasant addition to the bouquet.

Unfortunately from Bodega Stratvs you cannot get a good view of the vineyards as a certain elevation is needed to capture the vine pits:

For a better angle stop by Bodega La Geria: it is on a slightly higher hill and allows you to have a view from the top.

Bodega La Geria is a more tourist spot, though (as we were there 2 tourists buses from the ship arrived) and Malvasia was better in Stratvs. So you want to both taste good wine and take good pictures you need to stop at both.

Our last stop for the day was at Salinas de Janubio desalination plant. The coarse salt extracted here was once used to preserve fish. Nowadays the demand is less but local artists dye the salt a variety of colors and pour onto the streets of Arrecife creating religious pictures for Corpus Christi festivities every June.

Next to Salinas there is a restaurant Mirador de Salinas – and how you can guess it offers a beautiful view point (mirador) over the desalination plant. However if you are looking for a good view point do not miss this mark on the road side:

At the time we were there (around 1pm) this point offers a better view as from the restaurant the basins look brown.

From the roadside the light reflects under a different angle and the basins are all shades of turquoise depending on the salinity of water in each of them.

However the restaurant is sure worth a visit. We ordered muraena fish and fried squid from appetizers section and look what (and how much!) we got.

The food was simple yet fresh and thus delicious. These 2 huge plates that we barely finished and two glasses of wine (and again the driver did not get anything) costed us 22 euro.

Keep in mind the restaurant opens at 11:30am and is closed on Thursdays.

As we were already pretty tired we chose to drive back to the port but made note of this restaurant as we are planning to visit two more island attractions located in the area: Los Hervideros (“boiling”) – the cliffs with water constantly “boling” under them, and El Golfo – a natural green pool of unusual shape.

For the drive back we chose one of the main island roads so it took as about 20 minutes to get back to port.

Overall the trip took us around 5 hours (from 9:00am till slightly after 2:00pm).

To our disappointment the car rental office was closed. Typical of Spain, there was no sign with opening times. We tried to call the number given to us by the company but it was central dispatcher for all the Canary Islands. So by the time we explained which island we were on and which location we rented the car from we ran out of coins. After half hour wait we returned on ship, set alarm for 4pm and went out again just to give the key back. When we asked why there was nobody at the office the clerks seemed genuinely surprised: how could we expect anyone to be in the office during siesta? They close the office at 12:30 and only return at 4pm to collect the keys.

Learn from our experience: knowing how religiously Spaniards observe siesta always inquire about the opening times!

We enjoyed this drive around the island and cannot wait to do it again!

In the next part: our impressions on Cueva de Los Verdes and Jameos Del Agua, Mirador del Rio, Haria, Teguise and Playa Famara