Tag Archives: rabbit

El Teide, Tenerife

Tenerife, Travel, , , , , , ,

Feb 10 – this morning we got up early and prepared for our journey to visit the highest mountain in Spain and the third largest volcano in the world: El Teide!

Here in Vilaflor we are at an altitude of 3400 feet, but El Teide is 12,100 feet. Here it is chilly, but up there it will be cold! We dressed appropriately, meaning I put on a tee shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, a fleece jacket, a scarf, a floppy hat, and two pairs of pants. That’s all the clothes I’ve got, so it will have to do!

We caught the only bus of the day without any problems, and rode for an hour – up, up, and up some more! Our ears were popping away. Lots of excited chatter in many languages as we ascended.

Wall art at the bus stop – the image of the hand with the bell is the same as the statue we saw on the first day. We’ll have to find out what it means.
Unusual rock formations seen through the bus window. They do look like what you might see on the moon.
Our first view of El Teide – the original inhabitants believed that El Teide was the god that held up the sky. It last erupted in 1909 – please behave today!
The bus stopped at the park’s visitor center, so we got out and looked around
See the cable car stanchions running up the right side of the peak? That’s where we’re headed!
Back on the bus we continued to climb…
…until we reached the cable cars. There are two cars, running every 10 minutes throughout the day. We were told that the maximum time to stay on the summit was one hour.
A view from the cable car as we ascend
Looking down into the crater. The air is thin up here, and we pant as we walk.
As we climb, my personal soundtrack cues up, “Giant steps are what we take, walking on the moon. I hope my legs don’t break, walking on the moon.” Thanks, Sting!
There is a rocky path across the ridge to an eventual view of the ocean. See the people heading up and over?
I’m proceeding v e r y slowly, slipping and sliding as we climb. This country doesn’t know that safety rails and non-slippery footpaths have been invented…
Are we almost there?
We’ve arrived! The ocean below, the sky above.
We are not at the tippy-top, which can only be climbed with a special permit, but we are high enough!
As we started our descent, we watched the clouds roll toward us.
Beautiful!
Then it was time to get back on the cable cars. We’d spent over two hours at the top.
Down we go
More strange formations seen on the bus ride home
For our celebration supper, we had local specialties.
I had Rancho Canario, a wonderful hearty soup with, chickpeas, pasta, pork and chicken broth
Jim had the stewed rabbit – served with all the bones and some of the organs. Very tasty, once you figure out where the bones are!
All restaurants here are very proud of their papas arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes), which are locally grown small potatoes boiled in seawater. They have a salty crust on the outside and are creamy inside. They are served with mojo rojo and mojo verde for dipping. What a day!

Another Day in Salamanca 

Camino Via de la Plata, Flashpacking, Spain, Travel, , , , , , ,

May 14 – Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom and to all mothers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, stepmoms, godmoms, aunts, teachers, nurses, and anyone who has ever loved a child.❤️❤️❤️

Here’s another Salamanca story.  This city hosts the largest number of University students in Spain.  When a newbie comes to Salamanca for their first year, they are told that they must find the frog on the skull, or they will not pass their exams.  Like any freshman challenge, upperclassmen will not help them find the frog.  It took us a while, but we found it – the crowd of gaping, pointing tourists may have helped.  Can you see it above the door of the university?

How about now?

See it?  Good!  You will pass your exams!

We walked south this morning to see the old Roman Bridge.  It’s very quiet on Sunday morning, but we see policemen and military vehicles lining the roadway.  What’s up?  I’m wondering if there’s some sort of news event about to happen, when a policeman on a bicycle rides by, shouting the Spanish equivalent of, “Move over!  Out of the way!”  And then came:

Marathon runners!  Hundreds of them! After a few dozen came a man on a bike with a sign that read 1st Mujer (Woman).  Soon came the 2nd:

Do they announce the women in US races too?  The 3rd Mujer also got a sign, but the rest just ran with the pack. It was a beautiful morning for the race – dry and cool.  We walked against the tide to admire the Roman Bridge, which held up well under a thousand pounding feet.

After the race passed by, we admired the reflection of the Cathedrals in the Rio Duero.

…and admired the river itself.

We strolled down to the Convento de San Esteban:

…where St. Stephen is eternally stoned:

…and stoned again:

Interesting stone mosaic floors:

The cloisters around the courtyard:

The worship space is huge:

…with 118 seats for the choir:

…and my favorite part, the misericordia, or mercy seats, that give the choir members a place to rest their butts while appearing to be standing:

Back at the Plaza Mayor, the book sale was still going on:

…while the tourists drank coffee

…and an orchestra entertained the crowds:

There is one more thing you have to look for in the stonework of Salamanca.  A little rabbit – rub it for good luck!

Tomorrow we are back on the road.  308 miles to go.