We set off at 8.45 on the Views of La Palma tour. Not over impressed by the guide.! First stop was the  15 th century church of Nuestra Senora de las Nievess, just up from Santa Cruz ; gorgeous gold altar. Then a loo stop  at the top of the mountain as we crossed to the warmer, bluer skys, side of the mountain. We then drove into theNational Park  set in a huge caldera . Parked high up there and went for a 20-30 minute walk with gorgeous views of forest. Then we drove an extra bit to see the volcano formed in 2021  and its larvae flows.- Back to the ship by a quicker route with lots of tunnels.!.

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A quick lunch and then off on the Walking among volcanoes  tour. A Belgian guide, no doubt quite knowledgeable but with a singsong voice that sent us to sleep!.

Our destination, the Teneguia Volcano, at the southern end of the island was a Marine Reserve with a varied landscape made of black sand beaches and coves, salt flats, pine forests and vineyards. Our hike gave panoramic views of this south volcanic area. The start point was at San Antonio Volcano Visitor Centre, where we got an introduction of the volcano's history, which last blew in 1949 and has now been repopulated by hardy Canarian pines. We walked along the crater rim. The views down into the crater were great and there were also panoramas of the sea beyond and o the islands of La Gomera and El Hierro.

We then started on the hike itself with a very difficult downhill slide for some 20 mins: I almost gave up!. We then reached fairly level ground, but had the dubious bonus of an unannounced 2 km detour to another caldera: the walk would have been much more enjoyable for me without this!

ended at the Lighthouse and the old Saltworks of Fuencaliente, an area ornithologists, botanists and scientists take a keen interest in and which in 1994 was declared an Area of Scientific Interest. The bus met us some 1.5km short of the lighthouse, and Chris and many others took the opportunity of getting it down to the cafe at the lighthouse, There we met up for a beer and cake. Reboarded the bus for the 1.25 hours drive to Santa Cruz de la Palma. Reboarded the bus for the 1.25 hours drive to Santa Cruz de la Palma.

Finally we got to the road  near the lighthouse; I collapsed into a bus whilst David continued the extra 1.2 k on foot. The destination was the old Saltworks of Fuencaliente, an area ornithologists, botanists and scientists take a keen interest in and which in 1994 was declared an Area of Scientific Interest. There was a cafe attached, where I had a very welcome beer, and a too large chunk of cake .David eventually appeared, having completed the walk on foot, and we had a little wander around the salt pans -. Eventually we reboarded the bus for the 1.25 hours drive to Santa Cruz de la Palma.

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Back on ship we had to attend a special Briefing immediately as the winds were too high to anchor off Gomera on Saturday. Were given options for new tours on Tenerife..Picked at dinner in the restaurant and finally collapsed into bed by 10.55

Saturday, October 8th. Tenerife - this a substitute for Gomera where the seas were too rough to disembark Botanical Gardens and La Laguna tour. Then the Wine in Tenerife  with Mojo workshop.

Set out to the Botanical Gardens and La Laguna tour. Had an hour to wander around the gardens, created in four acres 150 years ago, not so impressive as Tresco. The garden project was born with the idea of bringing exotic plants from the New World – America – and that Tenerife would serve as a climatization centre before their journey to the Iberian Peninsula – hence its official name. However, the project didn’t work as planned due to the differences in climate between the Canary Islands and Iberian Peninsula. Even so, the Garden continued to function and still stands today, where it is one of the most spectacular botanical gardens throughout all of Spain. It certainly has a lot of different plants, but they are squeezed into quite a small urban area

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. Then on to the UNESCO town of La Luguna, some of it quite impressive, but it's architecture had been spoilt before its 1999 award. . The giant Dragon Tree we growing in the town was impressive

La Laguna's historical centre was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. In 2003 the municipality started an ambitious Urban Plan to renew this area. The city was the ancient capital of the Canary Islands. And La Laguna lies right alongside the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife; thus, the two cities and municipalities form a single large urban centre.

The layout of the city is shared with colonial cities in the Americas and Old Havana in Cuba, Campeche in Mexico, Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, or San Juan de Puerto Rico, among others used its street plan.

A declining population and economy in the 18th century resulted in the transfer of the capital to Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1723. Santa Cruz has since been the capital of the island of Tenerife. La Laguna was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. Several streets of historical significance have been closed off to traffic. La Laguna has often been called the «Florence of the Canary Islands», this is due to its large number of churches and convents, as well as its old town and historic buildings.

 

Back to the ship for lunch after a frustrating stop for a drink in a local hotel.

 

 

Then out again for the Wine in Tenerife  with Mojo workshop. The venue, Monje Bodega, was very much a tourist trap; he talk about the vineyard's wine and the demonstration on Mojo making were poorly done. David and I did not wish to prepare any Mojo but were entertained by watching Conrad and Michelle do so enthusiastically. . Mojo sauce sauce is apparently typical of the Canary Islands and can be red or green; made using coriander, parsley or pumpkin. Conrad did a good job in getting us involved in making the Mojo Sauce and Michelle helped him . We enjoyed the entertainment and the local cheese and their red wine.

Back to the ship by six. I enjoyed a swim. We ate in La Terraza

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Very welcome  after 2 hectic days!. Had our first breakfast in the restaurant and then caught up on emails, as the 9.30 lecture spot was taken up by rude Charmaine, maybe giving her Future Expeditions presentation, which she had already failed to give once at 3pm as she had only had 6 people present; this time we were going to watch it in the cabin, but no lecture was once again given!!!. Other lectures during the day were 'Áncient Sources on Macronanesia' by Alex; ´Razor clams, limpets & barnicles' by Robin and ´Moving Continents' by Manu. I also played bridge and we ate in Hot Rocks - Had a long chat with Jonathan in the Panorama lounge after dinner, and then with Meghan, the just arrived photographic manager ,who was up on deck with a full moon

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Pilates and then another civilised breakfast in the restaurant. A very interesting lecture given by Roddy; ´Small Communities´. Washed my hair and had a swim before lunch in the restaurant. Then our last bridge game and the latter part of Conrad´s lecture; Ísland Rehabilitation¨Trivia, reading  the end of Moon Island by Rosie Thomas, Recap and pre Briefing about the Cape Verde Islands and San Antao in particularly. Dined in la Terraza 

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