An Island off the coast of Africa, Tenerife is a typical travel spot for German and English vacationers in winter. Since the climate remains on average between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s essentially the European equivalent of the Bahamas.

I was traveling, for the first time, with a friend! Molly and I are both Americans in Madrid, and while the two of us knew nothing about the Canary Islands, we had similarly open attitudes towards adventure. One of our main struggles in booking the trip was deciding whether we should fly to Tenerife South or North.

Well, we ultimately realized how small the island really is when we wound up taking a bus from one end to the other, more on that later.

Los Amigos hostel had a big role in making our trip unforgettable. It was there we met lots of international adventurous friends who showed us around the island, taking us to see such incredible sights as the natural rock pools, gorgeous beaches, and taught us a cool ball game for the beach.

But we’d arrived during the rainy season and without warning it started pouring. We ducked for shelter under these flimsy umbrellas (pictured above) and prayed that our cameras wouldn’t get wet.

The storm passed and we continued exploring.

We passed some men fishing off of these rocks in the ocean. It was seriously picturesque.

Day two involved a lot more endurance than the “beach vacation” we had originally planned for. Our new friend Daniel guided us through three different busses to cross the island, where we finally reached our destination, Anaga, a hike through the Macronesian Laurel Forest.

One of my absolute favorite parts of this hike was this “tour of the senses” that consisted of these plaques placed sporadically throughout the hike with these overly-poetic descriptions of the ambience, often translated so poorly so as to be incoherent. They advised us to “turn yourself into a weather station,” “feel the ground’s folds,” and to “Connect wiht the nature” [sic]. One plaque asked us to reflect on our feelings, other said that “if you close your eyes and walk in silence, a door will open in your mind wich will put you in close contact with nature in this special area.”[sic]. It was so great.

But for real, this place was spectacular.

Though it was hard to “close your eyes and walk in silence,” where the path was a muddy trail filled with other explorers, the experience was special and I’d never seen such unique and ancient natural formations as the view we reached at the peak of our hike.

Finally, we did get a chance to relax on the beach for a while before the rain struck again. The sand on this beach was imported from the Sahara.

Sincerely a special vacation. ✿