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Tenerife

Winter in Tenerife February 2005

A view of mount Teide More Photos
  • by midnightpigeon
  • A February 2005 travel journal
  • Last Updated: April 20, 2005
Journal Usefulness Rating 3 out of 5
Journal Usefulness
2
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7
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Tenerife - An Island with guaranteed all year round glorious sunshine........except when we were there !! "We have never known a winter as bad as this for 50 years" they exclaimed. It didn't dampen our spirits though and we had a wonderful time (dodging the showers !!)

A view of mount Teide
The Aquapark is a must if the weather is good (and it usually is). There are loads of slides, and the dolphin show is worth the admission.

Mount Teide is a sight worth seeing. The half-day trip includes a cable car ride, but they only go on this if the queue is not too long, as they need to get to a restaurant in time. The cable car was not working anyway, as it was frozen!!

We were advised to go on the full-day tour (the Island tour); this starts in Candelaria, where you visit the basillica and see Guanche Kings statues and the famous Black Virgin Madonna statue, Patron Saint of the Canary Island. You continue to Santa Cruz, the capital, and then up to Puerto de la Cruz, pausing for a couple of hours in each. And finally, there's the highlight of the trip, Mount Teide, the highest dormant volcano in Europe (12,200 feet). You pass through the spectacular lunar landscape inside the Caldera de Las CaÑadas, where Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, and The Ten Commandments were filmed.

El Molino Blanco is one of the best restaurants in the area. Make sure you book, though, as it is very popular with the locals: http://www.canary-guide.com/tf/el-molino-blanco/.

Quick Tips:

Book transport from the airport before you arrive to avoid standing in a long taxi queue.

I would recommend the restaurant El Molino Blanco, but you must book in advance: http://www.canary-guide.com/tf/el-molino-blanco/.

Best Way To Get Around:

We walked most of the time, but taxis are relatively cheap.

Our resort 'The Regency at Paradise Court' offered a shuttle bus to various local drop-off points, which was very good - ask at reception for times/locations.

Molino Blanco

Restaurant

Molino Blanco at night

El Molino Blanco

This unique restaurant, located next to a white windmill in a beautiful garden in San Eugenio Alto, is the ideal place to enjoy a good meal served by a friendly, attentive staff in a magical atmosphere. Enjoy the delicious dishes from the menu, which includes traditional Canary Island cuisine and an extensive international selection, including fresh fish, roast sucking pig, fresh garden chicken, lamb, and ostrich. There is also a large choice of Spanish tapas. Experience an unforgettable romantic evening with dinner accompanied by live piano and violin music.

Molino Blanca must be one of the finest restaurants in the Playa De Las Americas area, if not the whole of Tenerife. The moment you walk into the place, you get the feeling you are in a very special place. You can’t miss it on the road from the aqua park, as you are confronted with a great white windmill. As you descend the steps to enter the bar area, you progress through an oasis of tropical plants and shrubs, and the patio area farther down another set of steps is like a glorious botanical garden. Apparently you can eat outside, but because of the inclement weather at that time, they had closed this area off. It was a good thing really, as you would miss most of the evening’s entertainment. This consists of a pianist accompanied by the marvellous singing chef. A violinist performed about an hour or so in and did various duets with the piano player. The service was first-class, as the waiters/waitresses are extremely attentive. The food was simply divine and we sampled some lovely wine of the islands, which was recommended to us, called Vina Norte. We enjoyed it so much, we brought back four bottles.

My wife had garlic mushrooms to start, and I had stuffed, blackened sweet red peppers with a red pepper sauce - magnificent (see pic)! For the main course, I had wild boar, which I had never tried before. I was probably expecting something out of Asterix the Gaul on a big spit, so when this small piece of meat turned up, I was a tad disappointed! It was cooked to perfection, though, and very juicy, and I enjoyed it. For sweets, we couldn’t decide what to have, and there’s an option to have a little bit of everything, so we did. A giant platter turned up very well presented, with mini dishes of each of the sweet choices - very impressive. Needless to say, we struggled! We finished off with brandy for me and Baileys for Joanne.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable night, and although it was a little more expensive than the norm in Tenerife, it still only cost less than £40 each. That’s including two bottles of wine (not house wine) and after-dinner drinks. Not bad at all.

If you are thinking of going, it is recommended that you do book. We popped in on the Saturday, and the next available free night, for just the two of us, was Wednesday

  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by midnightpigeon on April 19, 2005

Molino Blanco
Avenida Austria, Nº 5 Adeje, Tenerife 38660
+(34) 922-796-282

Torviscas Market

Activity

Map Showing Location of Market (In between Playa Torviscas and Playa San Eugenio

Torviscas Market

The market is on 2 days a week at Torviscas (Thursdays and Saturday) starting at 9am until about 1pm (or whenever you have stopped buying !). A bit crowded and very hot, but good fun bartering with the stall holders. I bought a fake Rolex for £6. My wife bought some shoes and a jacket. Watch your valuables though, as it's extremely tight. (See attached map for location.)
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by midnightpigeon on April 5, 2005

About the Writer

midnightpigeon
midnightpigeon
Middlesbrough, United Kingdom

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