Tenerife (Friday 9 February)

Today we were back in Tenerife. We had booked a hire car so G and E went before breakfast to collect it which was remarkably quick and straightforward. We then returned for breakfast and said our farewells to Marion's wonderful family who were returning home later in the day.

Another fast ferry sets off

Out first stop on Atkins Tours was at the pine woods of  Las Raices where Franco plotted his coup to overthrow the Spanish government in 1936 which triggered the Spanish Civil War. There is nothing there now to indicate that this happened and the area is now a recreational area for walking, picnicking, cycling and barbecuing.

We then continued our drive up the 'dorsal' or backbone of the island, stopping at several miradors on the way. Evidence of last year's forest fires were evident everywhere but we could see that many of the trees were already regenerating.

Up and up we climbed until we reached the foot of Mount Teide, Spain's highest mountain. The mountain top was shrouded in cloud so there was little point in going up in the cable car. It was also expensive (€40 each return)!

There were some strange cloud formations around

The summit of Teide remained hidden

The view from our lunch table

We eventually headed down the mountain until we reached Los Gigantes for a look around some of our old haunts.

Around €1.5 million each. Perhaps not!

The journey back to the ship was a little slow because of traffic congestion but we made it. Tonight was Carnival in Tenerife and we could hear the music blaring out as we walked back to the ship.

It was then a late dinner which took a little time as the waiters were rushed off their feet and then it was bed.