Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital city of the Canary Islands in Spain. Located on the northeastern coast of the island of Tenerife, this enchanting city showcases a mix of picturesque beaches, striking architecture, and a lively atmosphere. Our time here was spent walking around and just enjoying the beauty of our surroundings on our own as we wandered the streets.

Our initial walk from the cruise ship into the city had a lovely walk along the waterfront where they had a series of small structures with faces of famous people connected to the area. There were singers, actors, authors, and the like who lived in the area at some point or featured the area in their works. My favorite face along the water was Agatha Christie, though their description of her “living” in Tenerife sounded more like a vacation to me given it was only two weeks long…

Our first stop along our walk was to Plaza de España, the largest square in the city. It was built in 1929 at the Castle de San Cristóbal, although it was renovated years later to include a seawater lake and pavilions. Below you can see photos of the plaza as well as the Monument to the Fallen, one of the several erected monuments across the Spanish geography that serve as memorial to the victors in the Spanish Civil War. It has four major sculptural elements: an allegory of the Fatherland holding the fallen soldier, a winged female figure representing Victory, and two soldiers wielding a sword, representing the civic and the military value.

Along our walk we saw many beautiful flowering trees. The most impressive was the flamboyant flame tree, also known as the royal poinciana or flame tree. We saw them everywhere and they were magical with their red flowers! I heard that in the winter the flowers will fall and create what looks like a red carpet beneath them. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I like the imagery of it!

We walked to the city market Nuestra Señora de Africa (Our Lady of Africa) where we saw a statue of a milk maid called Lechera Canaria. It’s the statue of a woman with a basket of milk pitchers balanced on her head. Lechere were women who used to go from village to village to sell milk, bringing it around on their heads. The most adventurous ones apparently could go up the hills into what now is Parco Rurale di Anaga with the help of a donkey. The statue stood out to me likely in part because of my new obsession with women carrying things on their heads (thank you all of Africa for that obsession).

Our next stop was to Casa Del Carnaval, a museum dedicated to the Santa Cruz de Tenerife carnival.

Every year in February, Santa Cruz de Tenerife hosts one of the biggest and most colorful carnivals in the world, akin to the famous carnival in Rio de Janeiro. According to Wikipedia, “The festivities on the streets of Santa Cruz de Tenerife start on the Friday before Carnival with an opening parade, which reaches its height during the night when thousands of people in fancy dresses dance until the early hours of the next day. The party continues night after night until Ash Wednesday. That day, people of Santa Cruz de Tenerife celebrate the “entierro de la sardina” (burial of the sardine), and with this event the carnival is officially over. However, the party starts up again the following weekend, known as the weekend of the piñata.”

There we saw many ornate costumes and colorful carnival posters from across the years. It was quite a sight to see and makes us want to return to experience the festivities in all their glory someday.

The Adán Martín Auditorio de Tenerife (Tenerife Auditorium) was another iconic landmark we saw along our walk. The auditorium has become an architectural symbol of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island of Tenerife, and even the whole of the Canary Islands. The building is famous for its great “arc”, the only large arch that happens to be supported by only two points, while the tip appears to be suspended, defying gravity. When glancing at the auditorium, it’s hard not to think of the Sydney Opera House, which makes it unsurprising that the term “The Sydney of the Atlantic” has come to refer to the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Our final stop along our walking tour was to enjoy a brief refreshment stop at a local café. John had a local beer and I had a local wine along with quesillo, a Canario flan dessert. It was tasty. We grabbed a local soda for Ryan to enjoy later.

We made our way back to the ship after a lovely day in the Canary Islands. Given we were supposed to have been here years ago before our trip was cancelled due to COVID, this was a nice place to be to bring everything full circle. Great location for sure.