Postcard from Tenerife

Sand, Sun and (more) Sardines

Hiking the coastal path at the Rambla de Castro nature preserve.

A warm welcome to Tenerife, the Spanish Canary Island where John and I are spending February and March to escape the snow and winter back in Estonia. We’ve found Vitamin D can help on multiple fronts this time of year, both for the body and soul.

Although Tenerife and the rest of the Canary Islands are part of the European Union under Spain, right now we are physically closer to Africa, with Tenerife just 300km or 180 miles off the coast of Morocco.

John has all his camera gear and I’m taking notes on fun things to share, including more on the logistical and strategic mojo behind how we make all work financially and logistically (here’s a dip into that from last year’s winter trip to Madeira).

In addition to beaches, sun and sardines, another big reason we landed on Tenerife versus the other lovely Canary Islands is this spot is home to the largest Carnival in the world outside of Rio. Mardi Gras is for amateurs, according to what we see cooking up here . Carnival starts next week and runs through the traditional Ash Wednesday March 5— more to come (assuming it’s fit for print 😉).

But in the meantime, hopefully also to lighten the heavy load of our world right now for you, my friends, with some visual candy, here are three highlights from Tenerife:

1. Beaches

Playa nudista Diego Hernández (you don’t need to auto translate — nor squint! 😉)

Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands, both in terms of population and landmass. People come here as we did for the magical beaches. Many different beaches, whatever size and flavor you are looking for. Well-traveled tourist beaches with cafes and services to the ones we frequent, more remote and rustic (I’m developing a skill at peeing anywhere).

These magical remote beaches are mostly rocky and involving a steep hike down a cliff (note to self: Store up enough energy to climb out at the end of the day!). This ain’t no Disneyland-made and polished beach. Hallelujah.

Walking the 543 I lost count steps to Benji Beach

We do have a rental car as you really need that to maneuver like we do, especially with John’s photography involving a lot of sunrise and sunset shoots.

Bonus: We can offer rides to folks walking to these beaches via public transportation, including two guys from Boston on an epic tour heading further to Italy and Viet Nam and two Filipino guys sharing insights in working in the restaurant industry here.

I’m also, slowly but surely, embracing European beach culture. No suit? De nada. No problem. I’m mulling why we didn’t see nudity, be it topless women or full monty, at beaches as much last winter on the Portuguese island of Madeira. But the Spaniards apparently both appreciate the full body tan and, more importantly, embrace an inspiring body-positive approach to experiencing the elements of water, sun and sand.

Whatever you age or size or shape, you are most welcomed. Actually, it is more of a “no one really cares” message which is just as helpful for 58 year old permenopausal yours truly. And the more you see others happily basking in the sun like nothing else matters, the more it leads you too absorb that good energy.

And take off your suit.

2. Sunshine

Another viewscape from the Rambla de Castro

While most of Tenerife is quite arid (think Arizona with a dash of Mars . . . lots of rocks interspersed with cacti), the weather during this time of year is pretty consistently around 20 Celsius (around 70 Fahrenheit, but it feels warmer when you’re sitting in the straight sun. Especially with no clothes on).

It’s the consistency of the sun that makes Tenerife special, especially if you’re on a brief holiday with limited days. We had more rainy days on Madeira (but, bonus, rainbows!) but here it’s all about the sun.

Granted, a major piece of the sun navigation pie is photographer John, as he is always researching weather patterns way above my pay grade, which I gratefully benefit from. He’s looking at everything from island webcams to wind patterns and cloud cover to tides (can’t go to a beach if it isn’t there – learned that the hard way).

But with minimal navigation, you can’t beat the weather here, along with the fact that being at latitude of 28 versus 58 in Estonia gets us about two hours more of daylight right now. But that is changing quickly back home with the magical Estonian summer daylight around the corner. When we left Estonia, the sun was setting around 4:30 pm. When we get back end of March, that bounced to 8:00 pm already.

John’s sunset photo shoot spot at Benji Beach

3. Spanish Flavors

Our typical supper charcuterie board and a new Canary Island spicy potato recipe

While I first discovered my love for sardines last year in Portugal, I’ve now expanded my relationship to all forms of tinned fish including mackerel and tuna, with a strong preference for those that come in tomato sauce for the flavor.

John does not share my passion for canned fish. At all. Or Omega-3s apparently. Still, we can compromise as we’ve been eating outside on our deck for all meals and the apparently acquired scent of sardines is more tolerable. One of many light compromises after 30+ years together.

An unexpected, serendipitous bonus of our apartment rental in Candelaria is that we are right next door to a Mercadona, a family-owned supermarket chain in Spain. It’s a smaller Mercadona, so the store focuses more on Spanish staples (sardines!) and it has been fun having literally a “pantry” a five minute walk away.

The other night we were having our usual charcuterie for supper (kinda like Lunchables for grown-ups!) and John said “Oh some nuts would be nice next time” but – boom! – I could pop over to my “pantry” and ten minutes later we added in nuts. Life is good.

More postcards on the fabulous Spanish foods and flavors to come. 🇪🇸 This is all just a Tenerife appetizer. 😉

More to come from Tenerife ❤️

Check out more photos (and ordering options) from John D. Ivanko on Alamy