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After a quick four hour plane ride to the northwestern coast of Africa, Lloyd and I arrived on the beautiful Canary Island of Tenerife. The weather was flawless upon our arrival. We decided to live by the seat of our pants and arrived without one reservation to stay. So we rented a little speedy Seat Altima and sped around the windy roads of the island hoping for an opening in a "casa rural." Just our luck, they were all taken... apparently it pays off to plan ahead. As the sun started sinking behind the mountains, we came to terms with the realization that we may be spending the night in our car. Luckily we found a dingy hotel and set up shop for the night.

Love Island

Lloyd Peter West
2007-03-08 17:47:41

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After a quick four hour plane ride to the northwestern coast of Africa, Lloyd and I arrived on the beautiful Canary Island of Tenerife. The weather was flawless upon our arrival. We decided to live by the seat of our pants and arrived without one reservation to stay. So we rented a little speedy Seat Altima and sped around the windy roads of the island hoping for an opening in a "casa rural." Just our luck, they were all taken... apparently it pays off to plan ahead. As the sun started sinking behind the mountains, we came to terms with the realization that we may be spending the night in our car. Luckily we found a dingy hotel and set up shop for the night.

We spent the better part of the week exploring the island. Using our trusty car rental map, we managed to see a good portion of the island, mostly exploring the southern coast- where the sunshine was. Our favorite spots were the ones that were less obvious. We strayed from the tourist route and discovered our own Tenerife. We were very taken by the towns of Cherche and Vilafor. Both beautiful towns on the side of the mountain with winding streets and gorgeous gardens.

The second day we found a wonderful little place in the tiny town of El Draquito near Grandilla. It was so small that even when we got to Grandilla people there had not heard of it.

The casa was called Anton Piche, it had a lounge, kitchen, b room and double bed which is all we wanted. It had an incredible garden, amazing flowers and a fruit garden with massive avocado trees. For better or for worse we spent the last 6 nights there. The ladies that ran the place were so so so sweet. The old lady could only speak spanish and she would go into these in depth conversations with us and we just talked back in english usually saying that we did not understand and gave the occasional chuckle.
What did we do.
- Went to the beach. Sam may have shown a little more skin than usual.
- We ate lots of food. Especially bread, cheese, jamon and olives. Oh the olives were divine. Eating out however was very disappointing.
- Played Boggle. Once again King Lloyd as he became known dominated the affair.
- Drove all over the island, 800 km in 7 days. Saw so much of the island.
- Went hiking. In amongst the volcanoes near Del Tiede which was incredible. Sam was a true walking legend. What a walker!!
- AND do what Team Smooch do best. Absolutely nothing!

All in all it was an incredible time. We loved the tiny town of Masca, had the worst meal of our lives at a restaurant HIGHLY recommended by our hosts, almost died driving the narrow narrow and very windy streets of Tenerife, ate a lot of goods from the bakery in Grandilla, lay in bed a lot, worked on our tans a bit and had a wonderful last lunch served by a Frenchman who made knives.
But most important of all, we enjoyed every minute of each other.