Islas Canarias.....................
A few weeks ago, my roommate Tracy was having the winter season blues and said “I just need some sunshine.” It was only a matter of minutes before we decided to plan a trip to the beach, more specifically, Tenerife. But this was more than just a girls beach trip, we decided to go to a Volcanic island, with black sand, and check out the largest active (the term active is used here loosely, active just means its has the ability to produce lava, not explode at any second) Volcano in Europe.
So Tracy, Danica and I went to Tenerife for three days and got to enjoy the beach, sunshine and check out Mount Teide! We flew in Thursday night and almost immediately fell asleep at the hostel. Woke up on Friday morning to hippy haven...more than the normal amount you usually encounter at hostels (or so I am told).
Friday
we tried to layout in the sun, but it was too chilly in the morning with the
cloud cover, so we hiked a dried lava hill instead! Cool view, and
strange red rocks, the terrain was dry and sparse and probably looked like the
south west of the United States.
Finally
the sun came out and we got to soak it in!! However, with the glorious
sunshine came the naked Germans..........fine, they want to tan everything? We’re in Europe, it’s a cultural norm, Ill
get over my American prudish ways. Do
they stay on their towels where people can choose to look away from them? No, the 75 year old men were very much on
parade walking or jogging along the coastline with no qualms whatsoever to the
cold, wind, water, or innocent bystanders. I'm still a little scarred…
Saturday
was another great day on the beach, and we met up with Danica's two friends who
stayed at the hostel with us. All 5 of us went out a dusk and found some
of the Volcanic caves and watched the sunset from the lava beds. Her friend could drive a stick shift, so we
all decided to rent a car on Sunday and drive from one end of the island to the
airport on the other side, to catch our flight home.
The
island isn’t very big, and if you rent a car, you can drive up the Volcano!!! It was huge, and had windy roads cutting
through the small towns on the South, and North side of the island. The south side had a dry, sparse, landscape,
whereas the North side became a dense jungle of different looking trees and
fruit farms. The Canary Islands are
closer to the coast of Africa than they are to Europe, which made everything
about the Island unique and very different from being in a Spanish city. A very cool trip and a great excuse to get
out of the city!
Now
that I am back at school, its been a crazy week because we have been setting up displays of my
students art work. We have a cultural
week before Easter, where the students all research a topic and create posters,
or pictures about our theme, which is world events in the 1800s. I've been using my Art Ed skills to help the
students with their projects and my teachers have given me full reign with the
displays!
Lots
to do before Easter, and I have my friend, Leah, coming to stay with me! I haven’t seen her since she helped me move
into my apartment here and I’m looking forward to visiting a friend from
college…Hope everyone is doing well too!
Can’t wait to visit this summer!!!
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