Love Me Some Whales

Another adventure we had while visiting Tenerife was whale-watching.  We set out on a bus to travel to the marina of Los Cristianos.  The morning was warm, mid 70's and the sky was clear blue. Once we boarded the catamaran, we set sail to find pilot whales.  About 40 minutes out.......what to our wondering eyes appeared but 20 pilot whales.  It was the most amazing sight to see these beautiful creatures in the bluest water I've ever seen!!! There are more than 500 pilot whales living off the coast of Tenerife.  Before these islands where inhabited by humans, these animals were already living in the area, especially in the warmer waters of the southern region.  They feed off the squid of the deep waters and remain there year round.  If you want to know more about pilot whales, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_whale.

Once all the photo opts were complete, we set sail further out and spotted about 20 bottle nosed dolphins.  It was like being at Sea World...only better.  The dolphins performed for us..leaping through the air, playing with the jet stream of water coming from the catamaran, chasing along beside us and under us!!!  It was a breathtaking site.  As the dolphins left, some of them made a formation one last time and leaped through the air as if choreographed by an unseen source!!!

We continued to sail along the coast, taking in the panoramic view of the coastline of Tenerife and a view of Mount Tiede that was awesome!!  We even stopped for a short dip at Spaghetti Bay.  Then, 4 hours later, it was time to return to the marina.  Our adventure was a success...lots of whale watching and dolphin watching!!!  It was spectacular and well worth the time!!!

Bodegas of Tenerife-Part 3

Our last bodega was really just a local vineyard that produces wine for the restaurant they operate on the grounds.  Las Gangarras is in the town of Arona about a 15 minute drive from the beaches of the south of the island. The restaurant consists of 5 Canarian farmhouses dating back to 1850. The 4 acre site allows for the owners to organically grow their own vegetables right there around the restaurant and they also have a small winery.  Due to time constraints, we were only there long enough to sample a few of their wines...didn't get to see the winery but did see the old press.  I must say all of the bodegas we visited were beautiful and the wines were absolutely delicious.  We ended up with 5 free bottles of wine to bring home...unfortunately only 3 bottles made it back!!!  Nothing more disappointing than to open a bag and see 2 crushed bottles of white, fruity wine!!!!!!!!!!!

Bodegas of Tenerife-Part 2

Once we finished our time at Reverone, it was time to load up the bus and head for Bodega Frontos.  Let me tell you, traveling on a bus in the mountains makes your heart skip a beat at times but our driver, Moedle, did an awesome job on those twists and turns!!!

Bodega Frontos is in Granadilla de Abona and was established in 2003.  The bodega is in a natural park area 600 meters above sea level where the soil is volcanic.  There is a cellar made of volcanic pumice which regulates the temperature for storage.  While there we sampled various award winning wines and indulged in a yummy Canarian lunch.  They also provided each of us with our wine of choice upon departure.  You can go here to learn more about Frontos: http://www.worldwidevineyards.co.uk/frontos.php.

Bodegas of Tenerife-Part 1

One of the experiences we had in Tenerife was a ride towards Mount Teide to visit three local wineries or bodegas.  At each bodega we sampled wines in the red, white and rose' family!  The first was Bodega Revero'n in Vilaflor which has been family owned since 1947.  This winery is 1300 meters above sea level.  Diego and his wife, Dona, took us on a tour showing us how they currently process their wine and then to the old press of days long ago.  They also gave us lessons in wine tasting: what to look for in color, what to smell and how to taste.  They even set up tables with "nibbles" consisting of pastrami, nuts, bread and cookies all native to the area.  Upon leaving, Dona provided each of us with a bottle of our chosen wine!!!!  I loved the fruity taste of the white wine which is made with white listan grapes.  The Reverons were so gracious and hospitable....such a wonderful place to visit!!

My Laptop Didn't Do Well On Our Trip!!!

I'm back!  Yep, I know I haven't posted in forever and I was so prepared to post all last week but...it didn't happen.  Harley Man and I went to Tenerife, Spain last week.  So...I had everything prepared so I could use my laptop and post photos of where we were and what we were doing.  As soon as we checked in at the airport, I sat down to do a post from my laptop and holy cow, the screen on my laptop looked like a psychedelic etch-a-sketch.  Everything was pink, purple and blue and I couldn't read a thing.  Talk about upset!!  I have no idea what happened and I'll be visiting the Geek Squad in the next few days to find out what is going on.  I had Skype all set up for conversations with my daughters and friends and boom the best laid plans went right out the door!!

Once we were at JFK in New York, about 300 of us boarded Air Europa for a flight to Tenerife.  We arrived Saturday morning at the Abama Resort and were greeted with cocktails and a delicious lunch.  Our room had a view of the ocean and the banana fields!  Such a spectacular sight.  After some exploring of the hotel, a visit to the fruit market to pick out fruit and wine to be delivered to our room, a shower and a nap...we met for dinner poolside with all the other couples we traveled with.  Lots of food, conversation and laughter!  Let's just say most of us were not partying into the night...we were exhausted from the time difference and the flight!!  So off to bed we went knowing that Sunday would be filled with adventure as we traveled to 3 wineries in the area.  More to come this week on our adventures!!