Dogs, not canaries

Finally, we have reached land. We docked for a short while on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands). This is the largest of the Canary Islands all of which were formed by volcanoes.  

Having never been on a cruise, but being in places where cruise ships docked, I was prone to making fun of the tourists who swarmed off the boats onto buses and were moved in mass to one tourist destination or another. However, given the time available to see things, not having transportation or knowledge of the local language or travel routes, and uncertain how to pay for things, the bus tour thing makes a lot of sense. Buy your ticket and cue up. 

We decided on the trip to Teide National Park the location of Mount Teide. I have no idea how high the mountain is, but we made it to 7000 feet. No hiking or steps for me at this altitude. We drove through the clouds and had a spectacular view. I generated several panoramic photos of the vistas, but these are not suited a blog post. 

The island itself is shaped much like a pyramid with Teide at the top. Moving from bottom to top, you drive through three vegetation/temperature zones. The base level is tropical, the middle level is a pine forest, and the top level is dry and cold. 

The island has no lakes or rivers. The agriculture depends on snowfall at the highest level that melts and flows through lava tubes toward the base. Water is collected for storage and eventual use. A long series of dry years has created problems resulting in the need for desalination - an expensive process resulting in a poor product (not sure what poor quality water means). This is one of the realities of global warming I guess. 

For you hunters, the big game animal is the rabbit and evidently when expertly prepared a great delicacy. 

There are no wild canaries on the Canary Islands. Evidently, the name for the place comes from the Latin word for dog (similar to the origin of canine) because there were once many dogs. No more - but, now many rabbits. 

On brisk days, tourists  are encouraged to try a local drink - lumumba. Hot chocolate and brandy. I am not a hot chocalate fan, but the brandy helped.