11 days, 10erife

And now for my final 2025 journey with Alan and Russell. Any pretence of this being a trip rather than a holiday is evidenced by the beer mats. Dorada, the local brew, is in no way a real ale but having established that that isn't available, I opt for the cheapest. Well, at 2 euros a half-litre in some places, it's a bit rude not to. The business cards come from some excellent restaurants and we're glad to have chosen only B & B at our hotel rather than half-board.

Costa Adeje, where we're staying, is the better part of the 10-mile stretch of hotels, bars and restaurants. Nearer to Africa than Europe, Tenerife is sort of like Blackpool without the winter gales. We watch a David Bowie tribute, Comedy Elvis, and an excellent singer called Hayley Butler doing songs by Tina Turner, Chaka Khan and Amy Winehouse. Not everyone's cup of tea or glass of Dorada but hey!

Several excursions are possible on foot or by bus. An hour's run on the motorway gets us to Santa Cruz the capital. Christmas is in full swing, but also a memorial to the fallen of the Spanish Civil War. It's more typical of a Spanish city than the coastal strip, but also has space for one of the dragon trees endemic to the Canaries.

Other excursions takes to Puerto de la Cruz on the other (north) side of the island, and San Cristobal de la Laguna. The latter, with the grid layout of streets in its core, reminds me of New World cities and that Tenerife was a staging post for the explorers, right back in the late 15th century.

Russell has been to Tenerife about 20 times over the years and asks us if we would go back. Never say never......Read more