At the January I traveled to Tenerife in the Canary Islands for sun, fun, and warmth. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. It’s also the warmest place in Europe in the winter, with temperatures ranging between 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in January and February.

Vincent and I essentially went to relax by the pool and beach, but we also wanted to discover the rest of the island. We hired a tour guide, John Reid, who has his own private touring company, Tenerife Private Tours, just like mine. John is technically English but was born and raised in Tenerife.

Tenerife is a volcanic island, and we booked a tour to see the volcano, which is in Teide National Park.

John picked us up from out hotel with his car at 9:30 and we drove through some small villages for about an hour until we started the climb up to Mount Teide. It snowed a few days before and the snow was still on the mountain tops. The temperature suddenly dropped, and we went from bathing suits and shorts to having to put on our down jackets and jeans! The natural beauty of the many varied landscapes of rock formations, mountains, trees, pine forests, cactus fields, and boulders was spectacular and reminded of the national parks in the U.S. west.  

We worked up a hunger after the park, as it was already 2pm and John took us to his favorite restaurant, El Rancho, which has been open for more than 30 years. We had an excellent lunch outdoors on the terrace of local, Canarian specialties including a traditional soup with chickpeas, chorizo, and tomatoes, local wine, and a codfish stew.

I highly recommend John’s tours if you go to Tenerife.

http://tenerifeprivatetours.com/

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