On a personal note ...

I have just returned from two wonderful weeks in Tenerife. Most days it was probably cooler than it has been here in the UK, but I had a wonderful time and have come back well rested 💤💤

During the two weeks I enjoyed time by the pool, enjoyed some good food, read six books, explored much of Puerto de la Cruz, and conquered the local buses to explore further afield.

Puerto de la Cruz is situated in the north of the island, an area that is lush and green in comparison to the barrenness of the south.

My hotel ... Parque San Antonio. Just 15 minutes walk to the town centre (though almost everywhere is either up hill or down dale).

There was a lot of stopping for refreshments. I have several images of coffee & cake from different cafes, but the one above was my very favourite which I visited several times. No, the topping is not ketchup & mustard 😠 it's mango and papaya 😀

I met a lady called Karen, and we enjoyed an evening exploration of the town. For some strange reason the backdrop of this photo looks false, but I can re-assure you that it isn't!!

Spain is known for some of its street art and that is true also of Tenerife. Most places I visited, if you bother to look upwards, has some great art work.

One of the highlights of my week was due to be a trip to Mount Teide, one of Tenerife's volcanoes and the highest point in all of Spain.

Sadly, on the day, the cable car that takes you almost to the top wasn't running because of high winds 😞😞  As a result, we got a partial refund and also got to see other parts of the National Park that wouldn't normally be included.  It was still a real disappointment though.

 

Other days took the local bus to various other towns, including Santa Cruz ...

San Cristobal de la Laguna ...

And my favourite place, La Orotava ...

My apologies if you're bored, this is already proving to be a rather long blog entry, even though I still have many photos I've not included.  Here are my final thoughts ... relating to the beauty and the nature of the island.  

I visited many parks and two botanical gardens and loved all the flowers and trees. Some of these may be very familiar to some of my international friends, but many were new to me.

Such beauty, such creativity, speaks directly to me of the presence of a Creator God, a grand designer of our world.