For our last full day in Tenerife, we finally got a chance to explore a natural park known as “Parque Natural de Anaga.”

Located in the heart of the mountainous “head” of the duck, Anaga receives far more rainfall than the arid volcanic regions further south.  After hearing from Diego about the park and the marked contrast with the other parts of the island, we had been trying to find a time to work in a quick visit.  Though we were busy packing, our time was running out in the Canaries, managed to work in a quick trip.

As we drove from Santa Cruz and started to climb into the mountains, the differences were immediately apparent.  Instead of brightly colored, jagged rocks, we saw dense forests.  We soon found a place to park and took a short hike, which the kids enjoyed.

Underneath the thick canopy, the air was cool and moist.  I was sorry that we didn’t have enough time for a longer hike, but it is also nice to have something to look forward to for our next trip to Tenerife.  After our hike, we drove further up into the forest to reach an outcropping that provided nice views of the park.

Looking southwest, we could see Santa Cruz, our temporary home in Tenerife.

We had only been here for a little more than two weeks, but Santa Cruz is an easy place to grow fond of.  We could start to feel a slight tug of sadness that we would be leaving.  Fortunately, we were excited about our next destinations, and we would be seeing our Spanish friends later in the summer in Germany.  Altogether, our sadness at leaving dulled into simply premature nostalgia, a melodramatic sign of a good trip.

-Will