This week I am in the Canary Islands on the island of Tenerife in the city of Puerto de la Cruz. I was a little reluctant to put this on the itinerary because I hadn’t heard much about it. I was thinking, the Canary Islands sounds like a nice place, but how come I haven’t heard about it? I got here on Saturday and it has been nice so far. I rejoined my travel buddies Ana and Kate after a week alone, and was joined by another friend, J.Forde. It took a little getting used to, but I am glad we came after all. I had to go through Madrid withdrawal, but I enjoyed myself after that. Its very different than the other cities I’ve been to in Spain and does not feel like Spain. It’s quite tropical and touristy because it’s the vacation spot for many Europeans. Most restaurants have multi-lingual menu, which to me, takes away the adventure of being in a foreign country. There are also the street vendors and restaurant “sales people” who try to hustle you to buy their stuff or eat their restaurant. Fortunately, I think being Black gives me an advantage in this situation because I get approached way less than Ana who is White and blonde, and everyone thinks is Finnish. The weather is perfect with hot, sunny days and cool nights. The sun is ridiculously strong, as I believe we’re pretty close to the equator.
So what have I been doing with my time? I’ve resumed Spanish classes for the last week on the trip. I have morning classes this time, from 9:00AM to 1:00PM. It has been a struggle waking up early for class, but it’s the best thing for my time in Tenerife. Unlike Madrid, everything closes around 9 or 10pm. In the afternoons, I’ve done a variety of things like go hiking, go to the pool, visit the various black sand beaches, and take road trips to other cities on the island. It’s been very relaxing.
I will say that I could have done without classes this week. The classes are good, but I have reached a point where my learning curve is sloping downward. I’ve gotten to the various past tenses and frankly I have no idea when to use to use them. This is the time when I just need to do a complete review of everything I’ve learned at my own pace. The classes move so fast and my class in Tenerife has 8 people (vs. 3 in Madrid). Anyway, the trip is going well and I’m happy to have my travel buddies again. I’ve introduced them to the game Phase 10 and they are now hooked. Another group falls prey to the grip of Phase 10! Off to bed so I can try to wake up on time for class tomorrow. I only have two more days left so I guess I should take advantage of it.
Location: Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands