Protected spaces in Tenerife

Protected spaces in Tenerife

A fascinating image - especially to those who still think that Tenerife is just a "resort" (the British press mainly) - is this diagram, showing the different kinds of protected spaces in Tenerife. Now, I will add the qualifier "in theory", but lets not get into a lengthy argument on how effective those protections are.

For the most part, these are areas where you won't find much in the way of building, beyond already existing villages and, hopefully be unlikely to do so for the foreseeable future, while the flora, fauna and landscape come first.

The diagram shows the various designations, which I'll translate for those of you who are interested, from the Teide National Park, which is surrounded by an even larger Natural Park area, inside which is Mount Teide, itself declared a Natural Monument (you can see many other, smaller Natural Monuments).

Beyond that, there are various other areas of Protected Landscape, Integral Natural Reserves and Special Natural Reserves, the two Rural Parks, plus a myriad of other small sites of scientific interest dotted around the island.

Much more variety than you might have imagined, I think.

Literal place names in Tenerife

Map of Tenerife prior to the Spanish conquest

Many of Tenerife's place names (such as those shown on this map) date back to the time of the Guanches, before the Spanish conquest. Names like Adeje, Güímar, Tacoronte (a toponym of Guanche origin, believed to be derived from "Tagoror," meaning "place where the Council of Elders meets") and Tegueste are still used for town names today. Others, like Taoro or Daute, are still in use, however, the literal meanings of these are not always apparent.

Guanche language being extinct, there aren't that many Spanish-Guanche dictionaries, much less any meaningful Guanche-English vocabulary.

We know that Tenerife bears the name that was used for the island by the inhabitants of the neighbouring island of La Palma; “Tene” signifying “mountain” and “ife” meaning white (the “r” was added by the Spanish). The natives of Tenerife itself called the island Chenech, Chinech or Achinech."

There's still much debate over the naming of the islas canarias (Canary Islands) themselves, but, it occurred to me when I spotted an item pointing to an Atlas of True Names that there's much more fun to be had translating the literal meanings of some of the Spanish place names on the island:

Starting with The Christians (Los Cristianos), which is probably most familiar with visitors, so named because, missionaries had visited the area and converted the locals, before the rest of the island.

The Giants (Los Gigantes), as we've said before, get's its name from the giant 300-600 metres cliffs after which the town has been named.

Roque de Garachico

Tradition says Garachico is part Guanche from "igara" meaning island and part Spanish, "chico" meaning small, thus Small Island, referring to the Roque de Garachico, the rocky outcrop just offshore.

Many place names start with Saint "San", usually referring to the one chosen, for some (often obscure) reason or another, to look after the area. Find out when that saint's day is and you'll also have a clue as to when there might be fiestas to attend.

Some names sound positively exotic or hopelessly romantic in Spanish, where their literal meanings in English sound rather banal or positively trite.

Playa De La Arena means "Beach of the sand" or Sandy Beach. A bit obvious but at least it does have sand, albeit black, unlike the Las Arenas (The Sands) beach at Buenavista del Norte, which consists almost exclusively of rocks!

Buenavista de Norte itself sounds so pretty in Spanish, whereas the English equivalent "good view of the north" - 'coz it had a nice, fertile, look about it to the incoming colonizers - just doesn't evoke the same feeling somehow.

The Silos (Los Silos)' uninspired name first appears in 1509, when agricultural activity required the construction of grain silos to store cereals there.

While, The Tank (El Tanque) takes its name from the irrigation tank or reservoir, the remains of which can still be found in Tanque Bajo.

Several places were named in direct reference to the events of the Spanish conquest. The Royalists (Los Realejos), recalls the faction camped in the low area of the town during those events. The Victory (La Victoria) refers to the one won by the Spanish there in 1494, while The Slaughter (La Matanza) refers to the terrible defeat the Spanish suffered in the first battle. (Like most history, of course, it was written and the names were given, by the eventual winners!)

Holy Cross (Santa Cruz) is so named, because that is where conquistador, Alonso Fernández de Lugo planted a cross (the very one is still kept in the church, Iglesia de La Concepción) in the name of the Catholic Monarchs.

Port of the Cross (Puerto de la Cruz) was formerly known as "Crossport" and the main square there is the Plaza del Charco, a very picturesque sounding name that translated literally, becomes the rather dull, Puddle Place.

Less obvious - though potentially even more entertaining to the puzzled, casual onlooker - are the reasons (which we cannot explain) for naming The Silent Coast (Costa del Silencio), when it has the noisy airport so close.

... nor The Biscuits (Las Galletas) or The Overcoats (Los Abrigos).

Armed with these examples and a little mischievous curiosity, you can now go forth around Tenerife's towns and villages, streets and plazas and wonder how they came to be called what they are and, what they mean literally.

A few more literal place names: The Lagoon (La Laguna), Candlemas (Candelaria), Passion Fruit (Granadilla), Willow Tree (El Sauzal), The Rosary (El Rosario), The Sand Dune (El Médano), Village of Flowers (Vilaflor).

Mount Teide world's biggest sea shadow

Teide Shadow

This article on the island (and its Carnaval) in the Guardian, says Mount Teide, "casts the world's biggest sea shadow." And this is confirmed at Volcano Teide, who tell us that, "... the shadow of Teide is the largest shadow in the world projected onto the sea." That's a pretty big claim to fame.

A Tale of Two Tenerife Women

On the right, above the archway, is the small opening from where, it is said,
Sister Ursula, enclosed in the convent, watched church services for the rest of her life.

Sister Ursula's Forbidden Lover

The first story relates to something in the church attached to the Convento de las Catalinas, opposite the Plaza del Adelantado, on the Calle Nava y Grimon in La Laguna. To the right of the main altar, above an archway, is a small opening or window that allows a person enclosed in the room behind to attend mass. Tradition links this opening to an event that occurred in the year 1651, when Jerónimo de Grimón y Rojas, the son of the owners of the house now known as the Palacio de Nava (Nava Palace), the grey stone building next door to the Santa Catalina Convent, ran away with his lover, Sor Úrsula de San Pedro (Sister Ursula of Saint Peter), a nun from the said convent.

The couple had tried to leave the island in an English ship anchored in the bay of Santa Cruz, for which she was disguised as a page, but just before sailing, they were discovered by the forces of the law. Sister Ursula was sent back to the convent and the unfortunate Jerónimo was accused of abduction of a nun and condemned to death. The sentence was carried out in the spring of that year and Sister Ursula was obliged to witness the execution, which took place in the Plaza del Adelantado, from the Ajimez (tower) of the convent.

The head of her lover was stuck on a spike and put on display in the Plaza del Adelantado as a chastisement to the public, for several days. From then, enclosed in the religious order for life, Sister Ursula's only contact with the world outside the cloisters of the convent was to witness church services via that small window above the arch, beside the altar.

The story of Catalina Lercaro

The other tale has become a well-known La Laguna legend. Catalina Lercaro was the daughter of one of the most powerful families in Tenerife: the family of Lercaro-Justiniani of Genoese origin, whose palace in La Laguna, the Casa Lercaro, is now the Museo de Historia y Antropología de Tenerife (Museum of History and Anthropology of Tenerife)

In the rear patio of the palace, one can still see the curbstone of an old well - the well is now non-existent or has been filled in - down which the young girl is said to have thrown herself, rather than have to consummate the marriage that her father arranged for her with a much older man, who it appears was a slave trader. Legend also says that she was interred in this same patio, because, having committed suicide, she was not entitled to a sacred burial. Further, there are many who claim that the ghost of the disgraced Catalina still walks abroad in the old mansion in which she lived and died.

These two stories give us a very clear image of the situation of women in Spanish and Canarian society from the 16th to 18th Centuries, when the only thing girls were prepared for was a marriage (that was usually little more than a "business contract"), passed from the guardianship of father to husband. Women in that era were expected to be obedient, chaste, retiring, shameful and modest, as well as quiet and to be locked away inside homes, always dependent upon a man. Yet marriage was still preferable to spinsterhood, which was seen as the failure of the woman, the only solution to which was that they should profess their "calling" and join a convent, forever, which very few ever escaped.

Tenerife Fire, One Year On

My good friend José Mesa has once again been out taking photos along the route of of the forest fire that burned across 18,800 hectares (46454.8 acres) of Tenerife last year. In addition to photos one year on (the set is still under construction), but he's also stitched together numerous "before" and "after" versions of shots taken at identical places, showing the situation in August 2007, shortly after the fire and again in August 2008. View them as a slideshow. It's quite heartening to see how nature is fighting back.

Photo: 042 agosto07 agosto08, originally uploaded by Mataparda.

They're taking the p*$$ aren't they?

Weird mushrooms in Santa Cruz

Seen on a stall in Santa Cruz' Nuestra Señora de África Market (wonderful place really). Not Shiitake, but SHIT TAKE - two words. Best mangled translation ever.

Tenerife for pharologists

La Farola del Mar, Santa Cruz de Tenerife CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS [CC BY-SA 3.0]

A note at the bottom of Colin Kirby's post about tram spotting in Tenerife, says, "Coming soon on hobby corner, Lighthouse bagging." Er what? Obviously, having lived on, if not under, a rock for 16 years, this new fetish hobby had passed me by. And, surprise, surprise, it really is to do with lighthouses - well, you can never be sure. Princess Anne is a regular anorak wearer and "champion pharologist", apparently. And Tenerife has much to offer those with this bent.

The lighthouses of Tenerife are operated by the Autoridad Portuaria de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. And pharology tourists (a.k.a. lighthouse bagging holidaymakers) have quite a few lighthouses - 8 sites, some have 2 structures - to bag in Tenerife at: Punta de Abona, Punta de Rasca, Punta de Teno, Buenavista, Puerto de la Cruz, Punta del Hidalgo, Punta de Anaga and Santa Cruz de Tenerife Muelle Sur ("Farola del Mar") Not all are working.

The province of Santa Cruz, of which Tenerife is just a part, if you add in the islands of La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma, offer even more delights.

Probably the most famous lighthouse to bag on these islands, is the Faro de Orchilla (Punta Orchilla Lighthouse), in Frontera, El Hierro. It's an important lighthouse, because it was once the most westerly point of the "known world" and, from the 17th Century, was used to mark the zero meridian, until the British moved it to Greenwich in the 1880s.

List of lighthouses in the Canary Islands