January 19, 2019 - Fun Facts About Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Tanya in Canary Islands - Day 8

Elisa's Daily Scoop 
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs 
CURRENTLY IN: LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
​NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 28 DAYS: DISNEY WORLD, FLORIDA

Tanya's Daily Scoop 
Covering the West Coast & the World
​CURRENTLY IN: THE CANARY ISLANDS
​

TRAVELIN' COUSINS BLOG HAS BEEN RANKED #7 IN
BRAND BALLOT'S TOP 100 MOM BLOGS FOR 2018!!​​​​​​​​
​

Fun Facts About Santa Cruz

Happy Saturday!!! I am in such a great mood today - got a chance to chat with my bestie Cuz in Santa Cruz de Tenerifel!!
We haven't spoken in well over a week and the stuff is piling up for me to chat with her about!!  It wasn't a long conversation but it was a slight fix lol.

My day started off with fixing up my house and getting the kiddies and dog out of the house for a showing early this morning.  We grabbed a quick breakfast at Dunkin Donuts (Punkin too - a nice, plain bagel!) and then headed back home.

The weather report has been talking up a huge winter storm for this weekend, but when I checked this morning, it appears that the forecast might have changed to just rain.  I'm relieved because I really didn't want to be clearing snow this weekend.  

Additionally, we have plans for tomorrow to go into Queens (Astoria) to have lunch with my friend Sophia and her delightful daughter, Lyla.  I was concerned that a snow storm would prevent us from traveling.  But, so far, so good.  Things are looking clear!!

(photo credit: cdc.gov)

If you haven't already, read all about Tanya's day in Gran Canaria yesterday and the wonderful pictures she took!

As for today, she is exploring Tenerife.  A few facts about this particular Canary Island, for which Tanya will be back tomorrow to tell you all about her first-hand experience today.

Fun Facts About Santa Cruz Tenerife
​Canary Islands

1. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly referred to as Santa Cruz is the capital of the island of Tenerife, and jointly with Las Palmas in Gran Canaria of the Canary Islands. 
2. Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the sole capital of the Canary Islands, until 1927 when a decree ordered that the capital of the Canary Islands be shared with Las Palmas.
3. Many government offices, including the Parliament of the Canary Islands is located in the city.
4. The area was known to the Guanches, the first inhabitants of the island, as Añazo. and date back to approximately 2000 years ago, according to archaeological sites found. 
5. The famous Mummy of San Andrés is one of the most important archaeological remains of the aboriginal past of the region.
6. The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the second largest carnival in the world.
7. Three of the most notable landmarks in the city include the Auditorio de Tenerife (Auditorium of Tenerife), the Santa Cruz Towers (Torres de Santa Cruz) and the Iglesia de la Concepción.
8. Santa Cruz was listed in British newspaper The Guardian's 2012  list of the five best places in the world to live.
9. The city that is now Santa Cruz had a few names throughout its history: Añazo or Añaza, Puerto de Santiago Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Santiago de Tenerife and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as it is currently known.
10. Santa Cruz de Tenerife means: "holy cross of Tenerife," in memory of the foundation of the city, at which time, conquerer, Alonso Fernández de Lugo planted a Christian cross  in the place that is now the center of town to signify the day (May 3, 1494) when his Castilian crew disembarked on the island.

Well, have a fab day!

-Travelin' Elisa
xoxo

My day in Gran Canaria

Greetings from Santa Cruz de Tenerife! Which I’ve always known just as Tenerife. But now we know better.

As my usual routine, I am about to head out and explore then I will share all my findings and feelings with you in the Daily Scoop tomorrow.

So as for today let’s take a peek at what our day was like on the Island of Gran Canaria…

(c) travelincousins.com

FUN FACT - Despite the name -  the islands were not named after canaries - the Canary Islands is actually where the cute little chirping birds (Canaries) actually got their name. The Canary Island being one of the locations where these little birds originated.

 
Starting our day we headed out to Puerto de Mogan which is one of the most popular and loveliest yet smallest resort areas on the island. Also known as little Venice, because of all the canals. And being that it was a Friday (so I was told, because I really have no idea what day it is), there is a weekly market that is held in Puerto de Mogan on Fridays and this small little town was seriously bustling! ​

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

We initially strolled through the crowds and then I made my escape! 
I had previously read about some staircase that leads up to a view point yet it wasn’t until I saw these stairs going up had I even remembered such a thing. I’m sure glad that I remembered, otherwise I’m certain that I would’ve been upset with myself for forgetting and not going. But since we climbed up to the top of this picturesque residential staircase, snapped away taking pictures and caught all of the views that the said viewpoint has to offer and without any other tourists. I was quite happy!

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Once we made our way back down and into town I caught glimpse of a sign that would lead up to the actual viewpoint. But around maybe 1/2 way up we had realized that the view was the same. Only we got to enjoy ours without other people. SCORE

So we opted to spend our time more wisely and walk around the Harbor.

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

During our stroll we had come across a baker selling a variety of breads at the market. I decided to take a quick look to see if he had any Bretzels…and low and behold he not only had Bretzels but also a few vegan sweet treats!! Lucky us!

After a lovely afternoon in Puerto de Mogan, we made our way to the famous dunes of Maspalomas.
And all of a sudden it was like we were in the Sahara! Well this is just about he closest I plan to come to it…we are 90ish miles from the coast of the Western Sahara and one in every 3 grains of sand here at Maspalomas originated from the Sahara. 

I took my shoes off and got sand between my toes. The sand was much softer than I had expected. This was way more than enough sand for little ol’ me. I can’t even begin to imagine what being out in the middle of the Sahara Desert would be like.

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Towards the mid afternoon we had made our way back to Las Palmas and then did a hop on hop off bus tour since we allowed our curiosity to get the best of us. We sat up top and had the wind in our hair. as we caught glimpses of the sights in Las Palmas.


Eventually hopping off at the historical section of the city named the Veguta, where there is a maze of narrow cobblestone streets and tiny squares, as well as Plaza Santa Ana facing the Cathedral Santa Ana with it’s impressive 19th century neoclassical Roman columns.

This was my favorite part of Las Palmas and if I ever make my way back here I'll be sure to explore this area some more!

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Now I'm off to go explore Tenerife,
-Travelin' Tanya