Roads to Teide Re-open After the Storms and Snow

It’s good news bad news time. The Tenerife Government have just announced that all roads to Mount Teide are open, that’s the good news.

There is one road still closed and that’s the TF21 between Boca Tauce and El Portillo.

Unless I’m missing something, that’s the whole of the main road through the crater and past the cable car station.

That, you could say, is the bad news.

Carnaval on Tenerife - La Laguna, La Orotava, Los Cristianos & Los Gigantes

Although the Carnaval spotlight tends to fall on Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz, towns all over Tenerife hold Carnavals. Although in some places you’d never know it. La Laguna has just launched a new tourist website and guess what… no mention of their carnaval. The British Guild of Travel Writers who have just held their AGM on the island would be amazed at the number of ‘tricks missed’ when it comes to promoting events on the island. But gripes aside here are the dates for some other carnavals (I’ll add more if I manage to wheedle them out of an informant up a dark back alley – you think I’m joking?)

La Laguna – The theme is ‘rumoured’ to be Triton, King of the Seas and it will take place from the 13th to the 20th February.

Los Gigantes, Santiago del Teide – Another official ayuntamiento website which has overlooked including its carnaval details despite having main tourist resorts in their municipality. However the carnaval is due to take place in Los Gigantes between 26th February and 1st March.

Los Cristianos, Arona – Hat’s off to Arona Ayuntamiento who have included a full list of events on their website (the Spanish version anyway)

The theme is Viva Mexico and carnaval takes place between the 5th (election of the carnaval queen at 20.00 in the cultural centre) and 14th March 2010 (closing parade at 17.00). There are also open air dances on 13th and 14th as well.

La Orotava – God bless La Orotava. Tenerife’s classiest town knows that a website isn’t just for posting a smug looking photo of the mayor’s boat race (that’s ‘face’ - for anyone out there not au fait with Cockney rhyming slang).

With a Circus theme and a gorgeous poster, La Orotava’s carnaval runs from 13th February until 20th February. The highlights are the closing parade (from 16.30 on 16th February), the funeral procession and burning of…no not a giant sardine this time…St Crispin -don’t know what he did to upset the good people of La Orotava (21.00 on 17th February) and the end of carnaval dance (23.00 on the 20th February).

And don't forget to check out our Real Tenerife Carnaval page for tips on how to get the best out of carnaval

Carnaval on Tenerife 2010 - Puerto de la Cruz

Given the political shenanigans in Puerto de la Cruz this year and allegations of ‘black lists’ of workers who didn’t vote for the current council (that'll be the majority of people then), ‘masking up’ for Carnaval may feel closer to the fiesta’s roots this time around. Still that should make it even more fun and hopefully a bit anarchic.

Main Events

Thursday 11th February
21.00 - Election of the Carnaval Queen, Plaza de Europa.
Saturday 13th February
21.00 Opening Parade
22.30 - Grand Ball in Plaza del Charco, Calle La Marina and Calle Perdomo.
Sunday 14th February
Midday - Children’s Fancy Dress Competition, Plaza de Europa.
20.30 - Adult Fancy Dress Competition, Plaza de Europa.
22.00 - Grand Ball in Plaza del Charco, Calle La Marina and Calle Perdomo.
Monday 15 February
18.30 - “Matar la Culebra” (Kill the Snake)
22.30  - Grand Ball in Plaza del Charco, Calle La Marina and Calle Perdomo.
Tuesday 16th of February
13.00 - Antique Car Exhibition, Avenida Colon.
22.30 - Grand Ball in Plaza del Charco, Calle La Marina and Calle Perdomo.
Wednesday 17th February
21.00 - “Entierro de la Sardina” (Burial of the Sardine
23.00 - Grand Ball in Plaza del Charco, Calle La Marina and Calle Perdomo.
Friday 19th February
20.30 – Enrollment for the High Heels Marathon ‘Mascarita Ponte Tacon’ in Plaza del Charco.
22.00 – Start of the High Heels Marathon (yeah, maybe).
23.30 - Grand Ball in Plaza del Charco, Calle La Marina and Calle Perdomo.
Saturday 20th February
16.00 – Closing Parade
20.00 - Grand Ball in Plaza del Charco, Calle La Marina and Calle Perdomo.

Carnaval on Tenerife 2010 – Santa Cruz de Tenerife

It’s time to dig out those old clothes, rip up old curtains to make a sexy outfit and paint your face all the colours of the rainbow…or instead of dressing up for a normal Saturday night down the ‘patch’ in Las Américas, you could put on fancy dress and head to carnaval.
The biggest and the brashest is in the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife from Friday 12th February till Sunday the 21st. Officially it ends with the ‘Burial of the Sardine’ on Wednesday 17th February, but think of it a bit like a Quentin Tarantino movie and you should get the gist.

And great news, they did use the Chimp in the bikini poster after all.

Main Events

Wednesday 10th February
21:30 – Election of the Carnaval Queen, Internatiol Fair & Congress Centre
Friday 12th February
19:00 - Cabalgata Anunciadora (Opening Parade)
22:30 – Open air party in Plazas del Príncipe, Europa & La Candelaria
Saturday 13th February
20:00 - Mini Parade
22:30 – Open air party in Plazas del Príncipe, Europa & La Candelaria
Sunday 14th February
20:00 - Mini Parade
22:30 - Open air party in Plaza de La Candelaria
Monday 15th February
20:00 - Mini Parade
22:30 – Open air party in Plazas del Príncipe, Europa & La Candelaria
Tuesday 16th February
16:00 - Coso Apoteosis (Closing Parade)
22:30 - Open air party in Plaza de La Candelaria
21:00 – Firework display
Wednesday 17th February
21:00 - Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine)
22:30 - Open air party in Plaza de La Candelaria
Friday 19th February
22:30 – Open air party in Plazas del Príncipe, Europa & La Candelaria
Saturday 20th February
13:00 - Carnaval de Día – Carnaval of Colour
18.00 - Coso Infantil (Children’s Parade)
21:30 - Open air party in Plazas del Príncipe, Europa & La Candelaria
Sunday 21st February
10:00 – Antique car exhibition
17:00 – End of Carnaval Fiesta, Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero
22:00 - Open air party in Plaza de La Candelaria
21:30 – Firework display on Avenida Marítima

The Party’s Over in Puerto de la Cruz – Fiestas on Tenerife, Mueca 2010

Some bad news for aficionados of some of Puerto de la Cruz’s more contemporary fiestas; the surreal and wonderful street arts festival, Mueca won’t be taking place this year (2010). The other fiesta victim (at this point) is the Ecological Cine Festival.

Anyone who’s been in Puerto for the Mueca festival will know that it attracts thousands of people to the town and adds a modern flavour to Tenerife first city of tourism.

The reason for its temporary demise is said to be financial, but we’ll have to wait and see what else falls under the butcher of El Hierro’s cleaver.

It makes a bit of a mockery of those misguided newspaper reports who were crowing that with Marcos Brito getting back into power, things would start to get moving in the town.

The plaza café shut on New Year’s Eve because of a strike, Playa Jardín café and toilets shut for the same reason, fiestas cancelled…

I think I’d better revise my definition of ‘getting things moving’.

Fiestas on Tenerife – Fiestas de San Antonio Abad in Buenavista del Norte and La Matanza

If you want to see lots of people in traditional costume and a gathering of animals of such magnitude that you’ll be wondering if there’s an ark nearby, then La Matanza and Buenavista del Norte are the places to be over the next couple of weekends.

Buenavista del Norte holds their romería on the 17th January, but more interesting is the animal fair a week later on 24th (dates to be confirmed as the general fiesta info on Buenavista’s website says the fiesta takes place on the last two Sundays of January, but tradionally the romería de San Abad takes place on the Sunday closest to the 17th, and the Feria de Ganado a week later – which would make it on the 24th).

An even bigger animal gathering takes place in the highlands of La Matanza on the last three Sundays of January (17th, 24th & 31st). Oxen, horses, donkeys, goats, dogs, lizards, ferrets, rabbits and the occasional snake mingle with the crowds at this very, very traditional fiesta up in the northern hills. The main day, the Octava Ganadera takes place on the second Sunday.

Fiestas on Tenerife – Fiestas de San Sebastián in La Caleta, Adeje

It’s a different saint who’s being celebrated at Playa de la Enramada beside La Caleta in Adeje, but there are still animals involved.
Visitors to the plush hotels on the Costa Adeje side of Playa de la Enramada don’t often usually encounter much signs of Canarian culture on the upmarket resort’s streets. So it can come as a bit of a shock, and not necessarily a pleasant one going by some previous comments on some forums about Tenerife, when hordes of horsemen appear on the beach to ride their steeds into the sea.


God forbid that the real Tenerife should intrude on someone’s beach time.

For those wanting to experience a 'real' Tenerife experience, it's a fascinating sight.