Walking Santa Cruz

 

It's morning. It's a usual day. The city is already awake and breathing in the morning sea freshness. Lena and I leave the hotel. Life is boiling around us.

 

Opposite is a small square. In the center, of course, there is a fountain, along the perimeter there are paths and flower beds. Children are playing, and mothers with baby carriages are having leisurely talks. It's just like on the Spanish mainland.

 

 

On the perimeter of each column are vases with petunias. The industrious spiders created net from the vase to the trees overnight. I walked first down the path today and collected all the spider nets with my cap.

 

 

We are in the old town, if you can call it that. All the buildings are in perfect condition, so it's difficult to tell if they are new or old. On the right you can see the columns of the City Museum of Fine Arts.

 

 

On the same block stands the large church of St. Francis of Assisi. The doors are open. People come in and out.

 

 

The square in front of the temple was very disappointing - artificial lawns were laid out.

 

 

We walk toward the ocean to Plaza de Espana. The driver of a double-decker sightseeing bus convinces British pensioners to ride with him through the sights of the city.

 

 

Plaza de Espana is an unusual square. The entire square is occupied by an artificial pond with green water. Along the perimeter there are Alpine hills, cafe and tourist center, and a large paid parking under the ground.

 

 

Before the trip I bought a new lens Sony 35mm  for my camera. Tried to take portrait pictures. Photo is well, but too limited of a use. When walking around the city, you need a good zoom to capture all the details of the city.

 

 

It's good to read a book and breathe in the sea air. Or what do you call the air near the ocean? Ocean air?

There are even a few skyscrapers in Santa Cruz, but they are small. I'll show you the Canarian twin towers later.

This is Monumento a los Caidos, as Google translates it - Monument to the Fallen.

I like the palm trees in the center of the city! This is Candelaria Square. There are a lot of cafes here, so we decided to have lunch.

The prices in restaurants in Tenerife are quite affordable. As in Spain, menus of the day are common here, when for €8-12 you get the first, second and dessert. Often we take one menu for two. I've been asked how the waiters feel when you ask to share one dish for two? It's fine, they always bring extra tableware. Only once in the Czech Republic they asked us to pay extra for the plate.

What's strange, the mighty palm trees are 2 floors tall and grow out of little barrels, how they don't fall down?

There is a streetcar line in Tenerife. Unfortunately, it's not the old streetcars, but quite modern ones.

The palm trees look great against the blue sky.

I love dragon trees. On my way back I bought a sapling of this plant at the airport, and now it pleases me in the window at home together with the Canarian Aloe Vera from the last trip. This Aloe grows by leaps and bounds, it already occupies the entire window sill. For the summer I put it on the balcony, now I wonder where to keep this monster in winter?

 

 

On the next street I heard a noise. We went over to check it out. A bunch of people were standing along the wall and drinks. From the windows of the house across the street we could hear the sounds of a feast. Maybe a wedding or an anniversary? My mother and daughter saw me and fingered me.

 

 

A white scooter is under tree. On the handlebars is a meaningful inscription Like.

 

 

Lena photos me as I photos scooter.

 

 

We came to the Baranco de Santos waterfront, only there is no river! The riverbed is concreted. People are walking their dogs.

 

 

Jolly yellow canary house. It has to have tiles. If you don't have painted tiles on your wall, you're off the trend.

 

Young people are sipping beers, and on the rooftop across the street someone is grilling meat.

 

The mighty root of the tree is like the skin of a seal, just as lazy and clumsy.

 

 

In the bar across the street, a well-fed man is lounging in the sun. He sipped his beer and leisurely flipped through the pages of the book. He spits, rubs his fingers, rubs the page, thinks, and then turns it over.

 

 

Caught the colorful Canarian streetcar again in the frame. They go fast here.

 

 

The Parroquia Matriz de Nuestra Senora de La Concepcion can be seen from afar. Such typical Canarian architecture.

 

 

We walk along the port. A giant oil platform came in. I've heard that the Canaries are vehemently opposed to oil production in the region, but who will listen to them when there is so much money going around!

 

 

We reached the main building in Santa Cruz - the Auditorio de Tenerife.

In the center of Santa Cruz de Tenerife rises the wonder of avant-garde architecture, the magnificent masterpiece of Santiago Calatrava, the symbol of the city and of all the Canary Islands, the Auditorio de Tenerife. The concert hall of Tenerife is one of the most striking and significant art objects in Spain.

 

The Auditorio de Tenerife was a striking modern example of expressionist architecture. The area of the Concert Hall was about 6.5 square meters. The total length of the roof structure, located at a height of 50 meters, reached one hundred meters; its weight was 350 tons. The curved exterior lines of the building were repeated in the interior rooms and music rooms of the Auditorio. In the center of Santa Cruz de Tenerife rises the wonder of avant-garde architecture, the magnificent masterpiece of Santiago Calatrava, the symbol of the city and of all the Canary Islands, the Auditorio de Tenerife. The concert hall of Tenerife is one of the most striking and significant art objects in Spain.

Read my article about this amazing concrete structure.

And here are the twin towers.

It was the end of January, and the city was preparing for Carnival. They had brought different attractions to the island from somewhere. Faded slides, a Ferris wheel, a scare room.

 

That's an interesting angle, isn't it? It's like looking under the peacock's tail.

Camera Man.

What colossal calculations of Strength of Materials the architect had to perform in order to sculpt a giant sharp beak out of concrete.

An interesting art object. On the shore instead of breakwaters piled a bunch of stones. Various artists have painted portraits of musicians, singers, composers. I counted 3 Michael Jackson! They love him.

You have to stop for a minute, breathe in the invigorating sea air, feel the power of the wind.

In a small inlet near the concert hall, I found rusty fishing boats.

On the backside, the Auditorio looks like a butt. Is this a funny idea on the author's part?

- Your foot is facing left.

- Yes, I'm so excited about the ocean.

There are some very funny forts in the Canaries. Under the formidable name of Castillo de San Juan lies this wonder, which looks like a garage.

Graffiti: The Virgin Mary with a cute kitty and a dog.

A bar with an obscene name.

Finally showing you Auditorio in full size, now you can put all these incomprehensible scraps together in your head.

Very close by is another attraction of the city. Maritimo Park of the great César Manrique, read about his most significant architectural objects in the islands. I am his fan.

The park with swimming pools is beautiful, but the entrance costs almost €3, sun loungers and umbrellas the same. Let's just admire it from the outside.

The last point of today's walk is Palmetum Park. It is not just a botanical garden with palm trees.

In the seventies of the last century, there was a city landfill on this spot. They raked up a mountain of garbage 40 meters high! Something had to be done. The stench from the dump was blowing all over the city, then great minds decided to make a park. In 1996, the government allocated 4 million euros and construction began.

The mountain was covered with a fertile layer of earth. Engineers built a clever system to remove the gases from the garbage. They put in air pumps and even a burner to burn off the gases.

Biologist Carlo Morici collected palm seedlings and seeds from all over the world. He designed themed zones, planted everything. The hardest part was adapting the overseas plants to the new climate. It was very difficult.

And so in 2014, 18 years later, the park was opened. The event was attended by the current King and Queen of Spain, Don Felipe and Dona Letizia. They even planted name palms in their honor.

If you don't feel bad about the €6 entrance fee, you should definitely take a walk in the park. There are so many exotic palm trees there!

It was getting dark. In the park, Garcia Sanabria found a sculpture of a mighty sad woman.

Teenagers walking after school.

A girl with bunnies.

Once again, a brisk streetcar.

On that wonderful note, we'll say goodbye to Santa Cruz. Don't avoid it. Come to the city at least for half a day. Take a walk along the waterfront, see Cesar's creations...