As I wake up in my hotel room facing the west coast of mount Teide, I wonder if the malignant influence of Guayota is responsible for the disturbing dream I had last night that brought up deep buried old painful memories from my early childhood. I felt like I spent the last few hours on Freud’s coach for a prolonged psychoanalysis session not sleeping in my bed, that’s how raked was my unconscious. Could be merely a coincidence the Teide was considered a gateway to the underworld?
The legend goes that Guayota, an evil deity who used to live inside mountain Teide in Tenerife about 8 million years ago, was responsible for the kidnapping and imprisoning of Magec, the god of sun, bringing about this Paradise into a darkness era. When Magec was finally rescued, Guayota was locked inside the volcano and for all they know he might very well still be there threatening the tourists and locals alike with his eventual coming back causing Teide to spill out fire, lava and smoke.
Grabbing a cup of cappuccino, vanilla flavor, I’m heading to the balcony filling my lungs with morning fresh air while I throw a curious look at mountain Teide proudly rising in front of me, trying to guess its mood and decipher its intentions.
I’ve learned that the last time Mount Teide has crumbled was about 100 years ago but since then he sleeps undisturbed by the stumbling blocks of tourists who dare to break his threshold. Anyway, I’m not going to pay it a visit this time, didn’t come prepared to climb its heights, and I barely have time to explore the town and its beaches. Maybe I’m not just ready to explore and conquer my fears yet. It’s not the Mountain we conquer, but ourselves. said Edmund Hillary and I can quite understand what he meant.
A week in Puerto de la Cruz is not enough to even think to live like a local, let alone to feel like one, so I’d rather accept am merely a tourist. A tourist, but what kind of tourist? Should I seek adventure, or visit the historical sites, or search for meditation retreats, or simply go around shopping? Prices here are a lot lower than in the United Kingdom for almost everything, so the idea sounds tempting. But taking into consideration that I have to start work immediately when I go back home, I chose to relax and go with whatever comes along. My son has rented a car and we’ll go to tour Puerto de la Cruz, spend a day in Loro Parque, visit Costa Adeje for another day and check on the beaches.
Loro Parque – the best zoo in the world
It’s certainly one of the biggest attraction in Puerto de la Cruz and a veritable paradise for brightly colored parrots. As a matter of fact, Loro means parrot in Spanish, and I can see why they named it that way. Lots of parrots everywhere. Here in Loro Parque I discovered that the combination of red and green on parrots is lifting up my mood and for the first time I started to think of having a pet. A parrot. With green wings and red neck. And speaking French, merci beaucoup!
The shows in Loro Parques were above expectations. Orcas and dolphins, sea lions and parrots are doing tricks for the visitors. Truly amazed how well trained they were, wonder how higher their IQ might be. It takes quite a high level of intelligence to learn and memorise all the exercises they were performing so well. However, I did not dare to take a seat first rows for orcas shows for fear of being attacked. I simply cannot fully trust a huge wild killer animal no matter how well trained seems to be. Just because they are around humans all the time doesn’t mean they are completely tamed. Googling about orcas habits I find that in recent years two orcas trainers were killed by their… pupils.
Costa Adeje, Playa de las America and Siam Park
Situated in the South part of the island, Costa Adeje is perhaps the most sought after tourist area, especially for the fine sand beach lovers. It’s quite a hilly resort, very very populated, we could barely find a parking lot and that after driving almost 40 minutes around, which was quite annoying. But the view and the serenity of Costa Adeje beaches were worth the trouble, I must say. The weather is a bit warmer here than in Puerto de la Cruz.
Nearby you can cool your feets in the deep green waters of the famous Playa de las America or sip slowly your favorite brandy on one of its 30 bar and pubs while listening to the relaxing sound of the restless ocean waves. If you’re in the mood for a walk, Siam Park Thailand themed water park waits to unfold its mysteries right in front of you. And if you missed the dolphin show in Loro Parque, you still have a chance to enjoy on in Aqualand, another water park situated next to Siam Park. Nobody can complain there are not enough attractions for tourists on this island.
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