Thursday, April 26, 2012

Las Canarias II: El Teide


Looming over the Tenerife at an altitude of 3,719 meters, El Teide needs no words to make an impression. This volcanic giant is one of Spain's most visited national parks--four of which are located on various Canary Islands. Rob and I decided to head straight to the top and made El Pico del Teide our first destination. As we wound our way up the precarious mountain roads I worried about the overcast skies and flecks of rain. (In my experience many of the world's famous mountains strangely resemble each other: Grey masses of clouds on the horizon...) At a café we were reassured, though, that the mountain had a climate of its own, that the weather down below had nothing to do with the weather up there. Sure enough, we broke through the clouds directly and found ourselves in another world altogether. 




The entire park is a dramatic volcanic desert. Rob and I both remarked that it felt like we had left Spain and were back in the Americas--perhaps since most of our family vacations centered around wide open spaces, or because European tourism tends to favor historical wonders over natural ones. Whatever the reason, we were enchanted. There were even times when the molten landscape made it seem like we had left planet earth! The deep reds of the oxidized pumice made a beautiful contrast to the high-altitude blues of the sky, speckled with white clouds and evergreen trees. It might even be worth visiting the park more than once, as we read that the picture is constantly changing with the seasons. In the winter the mountain is covered in snow and ice (while tourists sunbathe on the beaches below), and as it gets warmer the runoff creates a "disappearing lake," which gives way to an explosion of yellow flowers in the spring, and then to the harsh red Martian landscape in the summer. 





As a general rule, any national park is a worthy destination for me--There's usually a very good reason for the distinction! Also, a generally good travel tip is to look for an elevated spot where you can take in the view; it gives you a great perspective and makes for fabulous photos! (And if you can enjoy a coffee with a view, who can complain?) Rob and I took the laid-back approach and rode the cable car to the top of the monstrous Teide. Some adventurous people hiked their way up, and if you are really enthusiastic (and purchase a permit first) you can hike from the cable-car landing up the last stretch to the tippy top of the peak. Time allowing, I would probably do the hike, but what really impressed me were the people who biked their way up. No, not up the Pico del Teide: Into the park. All the way from the coast, through the midway mountain towns, and into the park. Rob and I made the trip more than once by car, and even with a motor the twists and turns on a steep incline make for an extreme journey! Every day we crossed paths with zealous cyclists powering their way up the hills, and on more than one occasion per day! I commend them. 




Though we didn't have Lance Armstrong's stamina, Rob and I enjoyed the experience on foot. While the British basked on the beaches, and the Germans charged up the highest peaks, we were American and settled on the intermediate trails. (And only got lost in the lava fields a couple of times!) The crunch of lava rocks underfoot is a great way to experience the austere landscapes of El Teide. We spent two days exploring, but you could easily spend longer. If you come to Tenerife--no matter how you end up there--you have to visit El Teide!

Have you seen a volcano before? What do you think of extreme cyclists? 





Monday, April 23, 2012

Las Canarias Part I: Paradise or tourist hell?


Rob, Pinus, and me in Vilaflor

The first night of our Canarian adventure was an emotional blow for me. Most people would be delighted to find themselves unexpectedly stranded in a resort-destination island paradise, but I had some doubts since my only previous notion of the islands was drawn from the rumors of pasty Brits and Germans who flock there in droves to escape their frigid wintery homelands--carefully avoiding any bother of having to part with the comfort of home. As an American I imagined something like Cancun part II--all the drink you can stomach with walls precisely calculated to a height that ensures you can enjoy the hot Mexican sun without accidentally glimpsing a little of Mexico. For some people it's paradise; for me it's called tourist hell. 

Unfortunately, our first impressions did very little to contrast this preconception. There are no walls, but they aren't necessary as the entire south shore of Tenerife comprises of a string of hotels and restaurants that exist solely to support the tourism industry. Nobody from the Canary Islands ever lived there because the environment is inhospitable to any activity other than boozing on the beach. Fortunately, just like there's more to Spain than matadors and flamenco dancing, there's more to the Canary Islands than La Playa de las Americas!


Apparently Mexican food comes with fries!

Rob and I spent the first night in a classy hotel (a tourist hell has its perks!), then rented a(n automatic!) car so that we could scour the rest of the island for adventures not to be found at home--and we weren't disappointed! Although it's true that the majority of the tourism in las Canarias is centered around beach resorts, there is also a lot of diversity to explore in both natural and cultural heritage. We made our way up to Los Gigantes, which could be described as a bit of a mini tourist hell, complete with beaches, resorts, and restaurants of every imaginable ethnicity (except, perhaps, Canarian), but the atmosphere is more mellow than in the towns farther south. And they have one advantage that no one can complain about: The view! The "giants" are aptly named after the huge volcanic cliffs that tower over the town.


Los Gigantes

Once you make it past the high-rise hotels, Tenerife's natural and cultural beauty really shines. You can imagine the island as the shape of a triangle, having three principal coastlines where, as would be expected, the majority of the population is centered. The south-west coast is what I described as tourist hell, and the south-east shore, with a similar climate, is more or less a (beautiful) desert, but the north shore is an altogether different picture. The climate is wetter and the towns there are vibrant with everyday activity--and breathtaking scenery! If you're ever in Tenerife I recommend that you stay on the north shore in Garachico. The town itself is charming with an unassuming atmosphere, and it is well situated to visit many of the notable places on the island, especially the northern approach to Los Gigantes. To the south of the cliffs is their namesake town and all of its tourist attractions, but the north side is even more scenic (especially the winding drive) and there are some trails, a lighthouse, and a beautiful beach! 

El Teide hovers over Icod de los Vinos

Rob in the colorful streets of Garachico

It doesn't get any quainter than this

"El drogo" The iconic Canarian dragon tree in Icod de los Vinos

The interior of Tenerife is the least populated area, but I instantly fell in love with the pueblos scattered throughout the mountains. Most of them can only be reached by incredibly windy roads--and by incredible I mean tedious and terrifying in some cases. As a flatlander, hairpin curves on a 45º incline with no guardrail--and not to mention five cars stacked up behind you--is an experience! It was definitely a smart move to part with the extra cash for an automatic transmission. Rob can tell you all about my white knuckles and  backseat driving, but all fears aside, the drives were enchanting, and the sleepy towns along the way appealed to my small-town side. The streets were quiet and cafés seemed to be the local spot to congregate. Some of my favorites were Tamaimo, which we passed through frequently going to and from Los Gigantes, and Vilaflor in the south. Vilafor is notable because it is the home of "El Gordo," a special Canarian pine tree that dominates the sky at 4,512 meters tall! 

Lovely Tamaimo

A view of the empty streets from the bustling café

My favorite Tamaimo hangout

In summary, there's more to the Canary Islands than beach resorts and pasty tourists! There are beautiful towns, breathtaking landscapes, and mouth-watering meals (more on the food later)! The beaches are lovely, but the islands have a lot more to offer! 

What do you think of resort vacations? Has a tourist attraction ever surprised you with its local charm?


A true Canarian!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Morocco, erm--the Canary Islands!

How do you buy a plane ticket to the wrong country and not realize until you're about to board the plane?
To start, you'd have to be me!

Sigh. One item on my bucket list is to visit all seven continents, so when I found out that I was going to be living in Spain this year I was really excited: Morocco's right next door! All I had to do was arrange the details. Read every Lonely Planet article--Check. Contact some veterans--Check. Convince burly man to accompany me so that I don't get trafficked--Check! It seemed like everything was going to be great. I even found a direct flight on the cheap!

Rob and I spent the night before our big trip scrutinizing our itinerary and tying up lose ends. After all of Mom's worrying, we absolutely had to make sure that we did not get kidnapped in Morocco! 

As it turned out, we didn't even make it into the country.

Rob and I at the cathedral in Santiago, completely ignorant of our fate...

Thursday was a big general strike in Spain, but luckily our flight wasn't canceled and my friend Teresa was kind enough to drive us to the airport in Santiago. She dropped us off and went to park the car. She didn't need to come in, we told her, we'd be fine, but she is very nice and insisted on seeing us off, just in case there was a problem because of the strike. Everything went smoothly, though. We checked in for our flight with no problems and plenty of time to spare. Then it happened. Teresa found us and said, "I didn't see any flights to Morocco listed, only one to Tenerife--Is there a problem with your flight?" Nope, no problem--except that our tickets were to Tenerife! OOPS.

This was a pretty low moment in my life. Teresa says that our faces were priceless, which I might appreciate if thinking about it didn't evoke the same painful feeling of shame that caused the expression in the first place! The revelation posed a slew of questions. How could this have happened? Should we stay or should we go? What was our next move?

And perhaps the most significant, and potentially horrifying, hypothetical: When would we have realized our mistake if Teresa hadn't pointed it out?

After the initial shock some equally embarrassing scrambling took place--Conversations that began like, "Are there any flights to Morocco, right now? How about boats?", or, "Hi Mom...", but in the end we decided the best thing to do was roll with it and have a fantastic time in Tenerife! The tanneries in Fes, the souks in Marrakech, Rick's Café in Casablanca, and checking Africa off my list of continents, will have to wait for another day, because Rob and I had a fantastic time in the Canary Islands!

Living the good life in Tenerife!

I'm still not sure which is worse: Having to come back to Spain and tell all of my friends and colleagues that, no, I didn't go to Morocco, and, no, it wasn't because of the strike. . . Or to return to the States this summer and live with my family's opprobrium for the rest of my life! Only time will tell, but, just like our extemporaneous trip, the best option is to embrace it!

What is your biggest travel "oops!"? Have you ever been on an impromptu trip?

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Ourense

Rob and Me in Ourense

With Rob here, I seized the opportunity to take a Galician field trip to the city of Ourense, the capital of the provence by the same name. Ourense is about an hour and a half inland from Vigo. On Saturday Rob and I got up, nice and early, of course, and headed to Vigo to catch the train. Rail is a good way to travel, because the track follows the scenic, winding Miño river through wine country and into the city. Rob and I agree that the train ride was one of our favorite parts of the trip!


Rob takes in the scenery

Ourense, following the European model, has a scenic historical district, but Rob and I didn't quite make it there! We set off looking for two landmarks of the city: The old bridge and the new bridge. The old bridge, although it has been reconstructed several times, is a picturesque example of Roman arches, and the new bridge would best be described in reluctant modern art vocabulary as "interactive." It seemed like a great plan as we set off from the train station, but then proceded to walk in exactly the wrong direction!


Instead, we stumbled onto a fantastic walking path that led us to another Ourense landmark:las termas, or the thermal hot springs. If you visit the city there are a number of venues you can choose from to experience the healing effects of the natural warm waters, but I would highly recommend the spot we stumbled upon. The park is outside, it's beautiful, and it's free! Unfortunately, as Rob found out while he patiently waited for me to take a dip, it's forbidden to take photos and to snack! He still managed to snap this one for me though, and the park is surrounded by pretty picnic sites.



Since we started out heading exactly opposite of our destination, the trip back towards town led us straight to both of the beautiful bridges. The new bridge, it turns out, is actually called the millenium bridge, and it's not only interactive--it's a workout! If you've got somewhere to be you can cross the bridge on the normal, flat, plane, or you can opt to take a scenic walk around what I'll call the loop. This is a little more physically taxing, and a lot more mentally exhausting if you happen to be afraid of heights! But any pain you may suffer is definitely worth the rewarding views.

Rob conquering his fear of heights on the Millenium Bridge

Rob really conquering his fear of heights!

The Old Bridge

Ourense!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Rob in Spain!

Rob at Cabo Home!

One of the greatest things about my wanderlust is that I'm lucky enough to have a family that goes along with my crazy schemes and follows me to the different corners of the globe! My brother Rob is pretty happy with his life in Ohio, but he's cool enough to stick out the more-than-24-hour plane flights to visit me--wherever I end up! This year he came to Galicia for Semana Santa, and it was definitely an adventure!

In my not-so-unbiased opinion, Galicia is a special place with some of the most beautiful sights, delicious food, and friendly people that you can find anywhere, and I was really excited to share all of my experiences with Rob. With just a week to see everything, we managed to hit some of the basics.

Just after he arrived, I took Rob to the Areeiro, the bar I live above, to try one of the Galician staples: Pulpo a la gallega--Galician octopus! The day I came to Galicia, exhausted and jet-lagged just like Rob, I went on a quick tour of the Instituto and then some colleagues took me to the same place to sample the local flavor. I love pulpo, and I was really excited for Rob to try it, but he had a slightly different reaction. . .

Rob's reaction to his first bite of octopus...

a contrast to my love of Galician octopus!

The best part, as a big sister, was when Mucha came by to check if Rob liked the food... and then made him eat another bite! His face of horror, only even more disgusted, was quite satisfying! (Revenge for all the ways he tortured me as a child!) So the octopus wasn't a win, but even if you don't like squiggly tentacles Galicia has some great food options! We had some fun with the savory tetilla cheese, and Mucha made us a Spanish classic: Churros! People say that Mucha is like a mother to everyone at the Instituto, because the Areeiro is right across the street, and whenever they have a chance teachers are always running over for a quick café. I don't think I could have been any luckier when looking for a place to stay in Spain! As soon as Rob arrived Mucha welcomed him and immediately started searching for a jacket (It's hard for anyone to understand Rob's temperature preferences!), and one night when I stopped by to ask if they had any churros, she said that didn't, but then showed up at my door with a huge plate! Octopus isn't for everyone, but I doubt that anyone would say no to churros!

Can you can guess what "tetilla" means?

Drinks in Spain come with a snack!

This was the most attractive photo we were able to manage, but the churros were amazing!

Mucha and her delicious churros are just one example of the incredible hospitality here in Spain. When people found out that Rob was coming, they immediately started making plans for what to cook and where to take him! With our new friends, Rob and I visited some of the most typical places on the Morazzo peninsula: The Masso factory, la Fraga, and Cabo Home.

The Masso factory is one of my favorite places to visit near Cangas. It is an old cannery that closed about 30 years ago, and now the building is in a slow but surprisingly beautiful state of decay. There is another abandoned factory nearby, this one for whaling, and a few of the buildings have been converted into a kind of commune for hippies. The area is one of my favorite places to walk to, and Rob and I spent a relaxing Friday afternoon checking out the cool graffiti and resting at the beaches.

Creepy but cool graffiti!

Rob being majestic.

La Fraga is the Galician word for a typical forrest found here, mostly populated with Chestnut and Oak trees. In the neighboring town of Moaña, there is an excellent trail that starts on the beach and follows the river all the way up into the hills through the fraga. Along the way there are many scenic molinos, or traditional Galician mills. My friend Salva is a local authority on Galician history, and knows a lot about the mills in particular, so on Sunday morning we joined up with a group he was taking to the fraga to earn that plate of churros with a hike up the mountain!

Rob starting the ascent.

Almost there...

Perhaps the most typical sightseeing spot on the Morrazo peninsula is Cabo Home, or Cape Man in English, and with good reason! From the cape you have a beautiful view of the Islas Cies and the rías. There are a number of trails you can walk, either to the lighthouses, the overlook, the beaches, or to the castros--ruins that date to pre-Roman times. Some of my coolest students took Rob and I on an adventure to see the Cabo and some nearby sights.

David, Susana, and David--our friendly guides!

Rob peeking through a pre-Roman rock!

Rob and I at the cruceiro in O Hío
(If you're from Ohio, and you've been to the Morazzo, someone has probably cracked a joke about O Hío!)

Golfo came with us to Cabo Home, and his cuteness combined with an insufficient respiratory system became the motif for the rest of our trip!