Like its much more active counterparts of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii, the volcanic massif of Mount Teide bestrides the island of Tenerife like a colossus and its effects on island life, from ancient myth and legend, to the weather and the economy are equally striking. The mountain, which the indigenous inhabitants of the island believed held up the sky, creates a ‘rain shadow’ so sun starved tourists from Northern climes are conveniently corralled, basking in year round sunshine in the south and west of the island while in the north and east the sun bed and English language menu count diminishes dramatically and almost anything is possible. In one day circumnavigating the island, we left and returned to Playa de Las Americas cloudless skies and 27 degree temperatures, bought fleeces to stave off the cold in the old capital city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in the north east and had to wait for flash floods to subside on the east coast, before we could continue our journey back to the untroubled south. So while “Four seasons in one day” refers to Crowded House’s home country of New Zealand, surprisingly it could equally apply to this enchanting island which is less than 400 miles from the Western edge of the Sahara desert.
Work brought me here and my client has situated our meetings in the sunbelt, so for the first few days we find ourselves in unaccustomed luxury at the Vincci Plantación del Sur on the Costa Adeje. Sabrina and I haven’t stayed in a resort hotel, let alone one of this calibre for the longest time and my suspicion that she might just be enjoying it a little too much appears well founded, as morning dance classes with a lithe Argentine instructor give way to sunbathing and afternoon siestas on one of the two decks that grace our room. For my part, I freely admit that the sheer ease after eight hours of toil of rolling into one of the hotel’s three justly well regarded restaurants after a sundowner cocktail has much to recommend it and where (remarkably for an island where fish and seafood are king), we enjoyed one of the best T bone steaks I can remember, served in characteristic style with mojo verde (made with cilantro), spicy red mojo picón and tiny wrinkled Canarian potatoes (papas arrugadas) cooked in their skins.
Beyond the sun kissed bubble of the southern resorts, Tinerfeño culture, cuisine (an eclectic melange due to it being a port of call for centuries) and the island’s pre-Columbian Guancho heritage are happily much in evidence. To our mind there’s also a sweet spot climatically on the central North coast between the atmospheric towns of Garachico and Icod de Los Vinos in the North West and Puerto de La Cruz further East, a place where banana plantations cascade down the hill to Playa del Socorro, a black volcanic sand surf beach and the beautiful Hacienda de Los Cuatro Ventanas, where we stayed, is perfectly perched.
The nearest restaurant Mirador San Pedro, is a short hike along a cliff top path from here, and in a commitment to freshness rarely seen these days, it was not serving fish (as the local boats did not go out that day), so we happily lunched (I would not want to tackle that trail after dark) on Conejo (rabbit in mustard sauce) and skirt steak a la plancha. That evening, somehow finding an appetite, we drove east to lively Puerto de La Cruz which replaced Garachico as the maritime hub after the latter was destroyed by volcanic eruption in 1706. Lina, the hacienda’s excellent concierge had recommended La Cofradia, whose upstairs terrace overlooks the small port and their gambas al ajillo (garlic prawns), grilled razor clams and chipirones (baby squid) were amongst the sweetest we have ever eaten.
Further west, Icod de Los Vinos is most famous not for its wines (though they are superb) but for its lovely Parque del Drago with its massive ancient dragon tree which is the centrepiece of a bountiful botanic garden. Estimated to be 1000 years old, this living fossil has a vast canopy and a trunk which measures 20 metres at its base. These natural wonders which are indigenous to the Canaries and Madeira, are steeped in myth and legend and the Guanches, the indigenous people of Tenerife who travelled to the archipelago from North Africa as far back as 6000 BC after the desertification of the Sahara, worshipped them as former dragons.
A few kilometres west of here is Garachico, where you can still see the remains of the former port amongst the petrified black lava flow which destroyed the town over three centuries ago. We fell in love with this charming, ramshackle place and came back more than once for Miramar’s huge (costing a barely believable 28 Euros) seafood platter, which we enjoyed above the boiling breakers of the Atlantic Ocean before waddling contentedly through bougainvillea be-decked byways to a characterful café fashioned from an old bandstand in the Plaza de La Libertad, for tea.
Miramar’s grilled seafood platter (mackerel, mussels, langoustines, baby squid and razor clams) served with mojo verde and mojo picón: Serves Two
Mojo Verde
2 large green peppers, seeds and membranes removed and roughly chopped
1 bunch of coriander
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp red vine vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp ground cumin
Put all the ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth.
Mojo Picón
2 red peppers, seeds and membranes removed and roughly chopped
Whole head of garlic peeled and roughly chopped
2-3 jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped seeds and all
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp red vine vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp ground cumin
All ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth.
More myths and legends await on the East coast where the mysterious Pyramids of Güimar have baffled historians and archaeologists since their discovery in the 1990s. I love Thor Heyerdahl’s romantic notion that these pyramids formed a temporal and geographic stopping point on pre-Columbian voyages between ancient Egypt and the Mayan kingdoms of the Yucatán peninsular, where similar structures were built, though they have also been linked to Masonic symbology, as the solstice is equally important in that belief system. Indeed, if you stand on the largest pyramid during the summer solstice it is possible to experience a double sunset, as first the sun sets behind a mountain top, then it emerges again from behind the mountain and sets a second time behind a neighbouring peak.
Reason enough for sure, for us to return one day.
Thanks for the mojo recipes!
I'd like to try to approximate the papas arrugadas I enjoyed in Santa Cruz. But my understanding is that the traditional Tenerfeño technique involves boiling them in seawater. Probably not a good idea to try that here -- the two closest bodies of water are at Coney Island and the East River (actually a tidal estuary) 😂🤢🤣
Idyllic, historic, mythical, luxurious; always a treat to read your writing.