There is a legend that says "When God created the constellations, a handful of stardust slipped through His fingers and fell into the Atlantic Ocean creating the Canary Islands." They are a group of islands off the coast of Spain. The one that we chose to visit was Tenerife. We were very surprised when we landed, as it was like a desert surrounded by water! The wind was blowing, the sand was blowing...nothing like we expected. We checked into our resort, The Marina, which had everything needed right on the complex, just in case we did not care to venture out! But we did and climbed a large hill and went down to the ocean. The views were of sand and cactus as far inland as we could see, but the view was wonderful with the waves crashing against the shore. We were on the Costa Del Silencio, which was very appropriate, as all we could hear was the wind and the waves! It was eerie, like we had discovered something special! Walking farther, we discovered a small restaurant by the water. We had margaritas and we dined at the buffet with good food and great desserts! Watched a Flamenco show which complimented a great evening for only 3000 pesetas, about $25.26! Home to bed somewhat early, as we were tired from fighting wind gusts all day! The Marina Resort Desert Landscape Whipping Waves The next day, after breakfast on our deck, we walked into town and felt really excited! We found a sleepy little town with great shops, friendly people, and a variety of restaurants. When we finally got to the beach, we found that it was a lot more crowded. There were even sun bathers up in the rocks! We followed the path and to our embarrassment, we came to a nude beach! We just kept walking, like we knew where we were going. The problem was that the path ended and we had to go by them again! Enough "views" for the day! Cleaned up and walked to the next little town, Las Galletas, and found a small restaurant on the boardwalk. We enjoyed the sunset, tapas, a glass of wine and some tiramisu dessert while we watched the "paseo", which is stroll in Spanish. The Spanish people are very family oriented and after their dinner (or before) they dress up and take an evening stroll together. Sun bathers Sunset at Las Gallatas After a few days of hanging out around the resort and the small towns within walking distance, we decided to take a bus tour and see more countryside. We drove through lots of little picturesque towns to Mt. Tiede, the highest peak in Spain at 3.718 meters above sea level (whatever that is...9000 ft?) . It is made up of several volcanoes and it's height, along with the trade winds, gives the landscape it's own unique characteristics. It is a narrow, windy, bumpy road that leads to the National Park of Las Candadas del Tiede. Mt. Tiede Our next stop on the tour was in Candelaria to view the Basilica. The Virgin Morena is the patron saint of the Canaries and many miracles and cures have been attributed to her, bringing people from all over to the Basilica to pray at her feet. The Basilica is small, on the water, and has many souvenir stands around it. Basilica de Candelaria After a long and informative bus tour (I usually hate bus tours, but this one was ok), we cleaned up and dined at an old mine in Las Gallatas. Wonderful food and ambiance! Dinner at La Mina Being the brave (or stupid!) women that we are, we decided to rent a car and do some mountain driving. The little white Citroen they rented us had a busted tail-light and lots of dents and scratches. They didn't even mention insurance, so we took off in our rent-a-wreck, and took a chance on my ability to drive a stick-shift through the mountains! My traveling companion claimed she could not drive a stick and volunteered to take movies. Still not sure I believed her, but we took off with a jerk and what was ahead of us was truly beautiful! Our first stop was Los Gigantes. It's a darling little town surrounded by huge rock formations. From the marina, it is possible to rent a boat and explore the rugged coastline. After exploring the area, we drove hair-pin curves through the mountains to the small town of Masca. The journey was rather nerve wracking! Masca is, without a doubt, the most picturesque of all the small villages on the island. It used to be a tiny, forgotten village, lost in the mountains; now it is the most visited. We found a tiny restaurant, La Fuente, where we had salads and home made bread. We ate slowly enjoying the serenity of it's idyllic surroundings. Los Gigantes Mountain curves A very needed break from driving Cobblestone street in Masca On the road again, we visited more small towns, stopped at more lookouts, drove curvy roads, until we made our descent and drove into Icod de Los Vinos, an interesting little town which was known for it's wine. It was rush hour and so very hilly and we were in a stick shift, so we sped through the town, hoping that we wouldn't have to stop on a hill! We kept going until we reached La Orotava, which was also hilly, but not as bad. We parked and walked through the old quarter, with it's carved wooden balconies and it's narrow sloped streets. We arrived just in time to see a lovely sunset. The drive back to the resort was not fun, but we made it and said "adios" to the Citroen and had 2 large cervezas before going to bed to dream of mountain roads and hairpin turns in a stick shift! Carved wooden balconies La Orotava Sunset On our last night in our "Paradise on the Ocean", we decided to walk in to town and dine at the little French restaurant we had found. This would be the ultimate challenge....French food in Spain! We love diversity, so we met the challenge. This unique restaurant was "Chez Pascal". It was small, intimate, full of antiques, velvet chairs, fancy lamps, and art. Our dinner was truly a "dining experience"! My main entrée consisted of bacon-wrapped shrimp in a lobster crème sauce over pasta. Homemade bread and white wine rounded off the meal. Oh yes, and tiramisu for dessert! It was wonderful and cost $18.00 for each. There were only 6 tables and so much individual attention was given to patrons. No hurry to give the bill, in fact you must ask for it. It is highly recommended, so remember "Chez Pascal" if ever in Tenerife in the Canary Islands! Highly Recommended! .