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Tenerife is the largest and most populated of the islands. At its center is a dormant
volcano, Mt. Teide, which is the highest point in all of Spain.
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An album of The oldest mountains on Tenerife
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An album of An album of images of the historic park at the pyramids of
Guimar. Much of this park is devoted to anthropological theories of
Thor Heyerdahl.
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An album of he 4,000 meter dormant volcano is the cause for the dramatic climatic differences
across Tenerife
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Our little home is amongst the vineyards of the Orotava Valley. Our neighbor goes with burro every day to tend to his farm, mostly of
potatoes, but also grapes, corn (for the burro and for his table), and
calabazas (green pumpkins).
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Oratava is a historic and cultural center of the island, just one town east of us. Famous for it's architecture, the houses of balconies
and concert hall of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, Gretchen is glad it
is so nearby.
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We came to Tenerife because of the schooling opportunities here. This is Thomas on his first day in the Trinity School Uniform. The
school faculty is predominately British, the curriculum is British and the
majority of students are Spanish. Their families are either multi-lingual
or want their children to learn English. Needless to say, Thomas is becoming
quite fluent in Spanish even though it's forbidden to speak Spanish at school.
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Every town and village has a Patron Saint who is honored annually for about two weeks. Known as a fiesta, there are common rituals
such as the church patrons carrying a statue of the saint through the
streets in a very somber parade with stops along the way to the church to
watch the fireworks. The dates for fiestas vary which means one can find a
fiesta on the island any time of the year. This is the fiesta for our town,
Cruz Santa in early October.
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This photo of Thomas is taken very near the top of the volcano. We did not climb this high, we took an exciting cable car ride
to get this tremendous view. The island in the background is probably Gran
Canaria.
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Tenerife is flowering all year around, hibicus in the fall and spring, poinsettias in the winter, bougevilla most all the time. The
varieties of flowers are uncountable. Many are grown commercially such as
Birds of Paradise, carnations and gladiolas.
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Bananas are one of the dominate export crops of Tenerife. 30% of those exported come from the Oratava Valley where we live.
Plantations are found on all sides of the island. Because of the limited
supply and quality the bananas are exported to Spain where they
sell for a high price. We have learned alot about bananas while
here and bananas are a daily part of our diet.
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A flower garden in Oratava. There are various gardens open to the public, particularly on the North side of Tenerife. Most famous is the
Botanical Gardens in Puerto de la Cruz. Before plants were imported to the
mainland, they were brought to these gardens to see how well they would grow.
The Botanical Gardens exhibit trees and plants from all over the world.
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As you climb up the foothills to the volcano, it becomes much cooler. crops on the north side of the island become
mostly wine grapes, sweet enough to put on the table and eat for
desert. Even higher, there are apple orchards. The final zone before
you reach the high and arid lava fields is a pine forest.
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At the top of the pine forest zone, the clouds sweep up from the valley and over the ridge until they disappear into the
dry air of the arid side of the island.
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The lava extrusions are more clearly defined the closer you are to the peak. Near the top are desolate fields of lava and enormous
rock formations reminiscent of parts of Nevada and Utah. To give you an idea,
the movie "Planet of the Apes" was filmed in these lava beds.
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Surfing is a popular sport for guys in their twenties. November is one of the best times of the year for surfing although surfers
can be spotted most anytime of the year.
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We found this surfer to be particularly skilled. Within one hour he caught three waves and rode them in all the way.
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Most all the guys seem to have a surfer-girl who accompanies them to the beach. They share a snack before he goes out and she bathes
with pride and smiles in her bikini from ashore.
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An album of A romantic town all decked out for Christmas
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An album of The Spanish exchange gifts on the day of th Kings rather than on Christmas day
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An album.. Despite being far from family, we still enjoyed Christmas
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An album.. Thomas' tennis lessons were a major part of his life on Tenerife
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An album of Thomas' birthday party which included duels among knights
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