Welcome to Garachico

After a groggy start, we hustled and got the heck out of the miserable resort. We stopped again for bread and cheese and then made the trip straight to Agaete to get the boat back to Tenerife. On the way, we saw a great view of the Azulejos, an ash formation that has been colored blue and green by oxidized iron. It was very beautiful.

We got to the port an hour early and got our tickets. We then took a walk through the cute town and decided we should have stayed there. The town had a picturesque beach and great views. We bought some books and pottery from a nice woman who gave us a book of country poems and stories that she had collected for free. I had her sign it, of course.

During the quick trip over to Tenerife, we read the Sun newspaper and bought a fleece shirt and cap from the Fred Olsen ferry line. We struck out from Santa Cruz de Tenerife in search of a cuter, smaller village and first headed to a mountain town called La Orotava. The town was beautiful and we planned to return, however we didn't stay because it was 'far' from the coast and not so quiet. From the map, we decided to drive on for a town called Garachico.  It turned out to be just what we were looking for. Garachico was a cute little coastal town with a lot of local character. The buildings were old and included a several hundred year old church and fort. The buildings, similar to Santa Cruz de La Palma, sported intricate wooden balconies and original stone façades. We had a bit of a back-and-forth about one apartment (I had to tell a woman in Spanish that my wife wasn't very happy with the place) before we found Pensión el Jardin and settled in. We got the last room available. It had a communal bathroom, but a cute resident cat and a dog. The woman running it was a pleasant Swiss immigrant who offered to do our laundry when we asked if we could do it.

We walked around the town a bit and discovered small bars and restaurants hidden all over. The pension was one block from the water and we found the rocky, volcanic coast and walked along a well manicured walkway for a bit. Several swimming pools were roped off in the rocks, but the surf would be too strong to swim there during our stay.

Eventually, we dined on paella and salad. The sangria was not good, but the rest was great.