Winter Sun in the Canaries - Tenerife with Darren, Laura & Lesley

 Winter Sun in the Canaries - Tenerife 

We arrived arrived in a very sunny Tenerife and we couldn't wait to make a splash in the fabulous pool. We played games, practised our swimming and relaxed on the sun loungers soaking up the warm weather. 

Our hotel was situated in the perfect location right on the beach. We enjoyed walking along the prom popping in and out of the quirky souvenir shops and soaking up the holiday atmosphere. 

We took to the sea's on a boat adventure. Our excitement was high as the captain told us that we were going on a hunt for dolphin and pilot whales. We left the harbour and headed out along the coast to an area of netted fish farms. It was here that the dolphins hung out, and it only took a few minutes for our first dolphin to swim into view. This was quickly followed by a few more. We watched in awe as they swam near to the boat. It wasn't long before we were told that pilot whales had been spotted a few hundred metres ahead of the boat. Within minutes we had groups of whales to watch either side of the boat, an incredible experience that we will remember fondly. There was even a family of whales, with the baby gently swimming alongside its protective parents. No words can truly describe how fabulous we felt. The captain then turned the boat to head back to Los Cristianos, letting down the anchor a little way out from the beach. This was our swim site, so lots of the group donned buoyancy aids and jumped into the sea from the swimming platform. The water was warm and welcoming, a beautiful turquoise blue. 

It was to Monkey World to get up close and personal with   endangered monkey species, birds, turtles, guinea pigs and a crocodile. To the delight of everyone, we were given the opportunity to have a photoshoot with both a fabulous white parrot and a small monkey.

Both sat very quietly on our arm whilst the photos were taken, making a super memento indeed to take home from our holiday. There was an extensive list of different monkeys to see, some species of which were endangered. They looked at us from the other side of their cages, with the same level of interest and curiosity as we did to them. Each of us had our favourite, as we did with the colourful parrots and exotic birds on display. 

The crocodile stayed so still that we wondered if it was real or not! The next enclosure had lots of turtles in it, followed by one with guinea pigs of all shapes and sizes. They ravenously ate the special chopped vegetables we had bought. Everyone enjoyed feeding them by hand, as they nibbled away at carrots, cucumber, peas or apple. They were exceedingly cute, and shared their cage area with a large tortoise, whose shell size we were most impressed with.

We jumped into the minibus to visit the big volcano of Mt Teide, at 3715 metres tall. What a wonderful drive we had, following a road that passed through green forests, with black volcanic lava deposits towering above us at the side of the road. It was exciting to see our first view of Mt Teide, the highest point on Tenerife. The views were spectacular. 

After our evening meals we always found a lively bar that had some great entertainment. One of our favourite night's was a tribute to pop legend Rod Stewart and the icon that is Elvis. In true JollyDays style we danced the night away showing off our disco dancing moves.  

An ice cream shop tempted us with its huge variety of different flavours, made extra memorable by being able to sit in the sunshine devouring them. 

It was off to explore El Mendano, a seaside town on the eastern coast of the island. As we walked along, we had a beautiful beach view, and enjoyed watching the large white horses on the waves due to the strong wind. Many kite surfers and windsurfers were out there in the bay, and we took time to watch their skilful jumps and turns, amazed at how quickly they moved along the waves. The town is a well-known destination for these sports, so it was no surprise to see so many people out there on such a windy day. Further down, lots of people were on the beach or swimming in the sea. We took time to sit and soak up the atmosphere, whilst some of the group couldn't wait to take their shoes off and dip their toes in the water. 

Of course we couldn't resist the many souvenir shops where there was something for everyone.