Tenerife Travel Writing

Thinking of taking a gap year but stuck for a place to go? It's time for you to think about doing something more than just lazing on a beach all day and clubbing at night! Last summer I, along with eight mates jetted off to Tenerife for a week of charity work with the Atlantic Whale Foundation and loved it! Doing something worthwhile and learning about these animals while having the time of our lives was an amazing experience and one I would recommend to everyone!
The Atlantic Whale Foundation is a charity dedicated to conserving marine life, such as dolphins and whales (or cetaceans as we learnt to call them), which researches the movements of such animals around the coast of Tenerife (they currently have a database of 50 bottlenose dolphins and 325 pilot whales identified by their unique fins) as well as making petitions against their captivity. The charity is always looking for volunteers in the short term to help on their research boats, and this was the purpose of our visit to Tenerife. Volunteers with the charity also spend a day at the charity’s research base learning more about cetaceans and what people can do to help protect them.
Soaring over Tenerife, ‘The Land of Perpetual Spring’, to land in the south, the first image that strikes the eye is the overwhelming presence of Mount Teide. This colossal volcano, the fourth largest in the world, divides the island in half. The south, which is where we were to stay for the next week is hot and dry. As we flew over this half of the island, we saw bare rocky outcrops littered with cacti spread out below us like a moth-eaten blanket. The sky was light and cloudless and the bright blue sea glistened like liquid sapphires as it licked the black shores of the island.
As the plane began to descend, we got our first glimpse of Playa de las Americas. Located on the south-west coast of the island, 75 kilometres from the capital Santa Cruz, this is the tourist capital of the south. This gaudy cosmopolitan in the middle of the arid, barren land of the south was a welcome change for the eyes and even from the plane it was clear that the golden beaches lining the city were crowded with people.
It was with relief that we left the confinements of the plane and set off to the small town of Alcala which we were to call home. The journey, which lasted about an hour, was made in a small car and the Atlantic Whale Foundation’s van. Those in the car had a relatively safe and comfortable journey; those in the van had to endure the winding roads at break-neck speeds with only two seat belts between the four of us wedged precariously into the back seat. On top of this, our driver began joyfully telling us of her terrifying experience with a pigeon the week before: ‘And then it hit my windscreen and half of it went flying one way and half of it the other way!’ With this in mind, our arrival in Alcala brought more relief than leaving the plane.
The small, sleepy coastal town was clearly not a tourist attraction, and a group of nine, English teenage girls was obviously not a normal sight to the locals. Everywhere we went, heads turned and the normal noisy, animated conversations stopped. The small main street of Alcala contained just one small supermarket, a few dingy pubs and, oddly enough, an ultrasound and x-ray clinic. Outside the pubs sat large, balding middle-aged men on creaking white plastic chairs, who never failed to stop and gawp openly, often shouting unintelligible remarks.
Tired, hot and sweaty, we dragged ourselves up the two flights of stairs to our apartments. The ‘cosy’ apartments, which, being designed to sleep four comfortably or eight at a push, were sleeping nine of us, could hardly be described as spacious, though they offered a welcome haven after a long day’s travelling.
As we were in Tenerife working with the Atlantic Whale Foundation, most days involved a trip on the dinghy ‘Paola’. As we sped out to sea, smooth grey dolphins swam alongside us, occasionally jumping out of the water in an eager attempt to impress us and to show each other up. Despite great urges to jump into the water and interact with these incredible animals, laws prevent people swimming with cetaceans in the wild as these animals can harm people through what they see as play as well as the harm humans can cause to the cetaceans. The aquatic gymnastics continued as the boat came to a gentle stop. These elegant creatures never tired off showing off and we, the awe-struck audience, never tired of watching them. The inquisitive nature of the dolphins, and of the other sea animals we saw, such as the passive pilot whales, meant that every trip in the dinghy was action-packed and interesting.
Straddling the side of the boat, one foot trailing in the warm ocean leaving a white trail, like that of a snail, in the sea behind, we felt like we were birds, soaring free. The vast, endless ocean and the imposing cliffs, which lend their name to the port town of Los Gigantes, made us feel insignificant – just one tiny, unimportant being in the vast wilderness.
On our free day, we decided to visit Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife. As it is situated in the north of the island, our journey to Santa Cruz was to involve two buses and a two and a half hour journey. Drearily, we boarded the bus in the early morning sunshine, dreading the journey ahead of us. While Tenerife’s buses were comfortable, at least in comparison to those back home, the lack of air conditioning made long journeys almost unbearable.
As the bus crawled north, weaving its way through the labyrinth of mountains, we began to see the differences between the north and south of the island. Unlike the infertile, desolate south, the north is lush and green. Flowering trees lined the roads, offering welcome shade from the glaring mid-morning sun, though even this was not enough to cool down the sweltering passengers trapped in the bus like meat in an oven.
The bustle of the Sunday morning market in Santa Cruz was strangely comforting after the stillness of Alcala. Though we half expected to find the market swarming with tourists buying tacky souvenirs to take home to the bitter family members they left behind, the market was brimming with locals searching for some bargains amongst the treasure trove of regional delicacies, artwork and jewellery.
We ended our day on Teresitas Beach, just outside of Santa Cruz. Unlike most of the beaches in Tenerife which have black sand, this, supposedly one of the best beaches in Tenerife, has soft golden sand. As we jumped into the sea, the sun began setting on the horizon. Suddenly, the sun was a drop of blood seeping into the surrounding sky, staining it an array of colours – red, pink, orange. As the sea lapped at our feet, the sun peeked through the mountains for its last view of the day before disappearing, engulfed by the darkening sea.
Our expedition ended with one last trip on the dinghy. As we headed towards the secluded bay we often stopped in, we came across a lone dolphin. Immediately, it danced over to us and began to perform. Tumbling around in the water, the frolicsome dolphin was like a child, joyfully splashing about in the water acting up for its audience. As the dolphin grew tired of playing and swam off, we dived into the crystal waters of the bay and ambled up onto the beach. The small, enclosed beach’s black sand was hot to the touch and the shallow sea offered a welcome change for burning feet. The giant cliffs rose from the sand like natural skyscrapers, piercing the cloudless sky.
From the air, the cliffs, which earlier had seemed so dominating and overshadowing, are lost, disappearing from view. Vanishing below the clouds, the cliffs, along with the rest of the island, seem somehow insignificant in the wash of the eternal ocean.
Tenerife is the ideal destination for your gap year! Whether you want to do charity work like I did, explore the beautiful scenery or simply laze about on the beach and take advantage of the night life, Tenerife has it all!