34 THE VOLCANO TEIDE EXPERIENCE/ THREE HOURS IN BARCELONA
DISCOVER THE DANCING STARS ABOVE TENERIFE
Tenerife is known for its beautiful beaches, friendly locals and scorching sun, but have you ever thought about what lies above? High above Mount Teide ,the stars dance every night, much to the pleasure of tourists and locals a-like who get to gaze in wonder at the worlds beyond earth. Our Journalist Sarah Pickering had the pleasure of seeing this magnificent sight for herself at the end of last year when her, and her partner, took a trip to the Spanish hot spot...
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TAYING locally at Hotel Siesta, we wanted to explore more than just the usual hot typical holiday that most of us tend to take. Now don’t get me wrong, we love a relaxing time as much as the next person , but sometimes a break away from the so called norm can transform a holiday- this is when we came across the Volcano Teide Experience. It was no secret that the volcano was there ,I mean, it can been seen from miles and makes up a vast area of Tenerife as a whole but never before have we had the urge to fully explore this area when all the apparent good stuff was on the shore line, until now.
When researching things to do on our week long trip abroad, I stumbled across the Volcano Teide experience and was instantly hooked on the vast variety of things to see and do, night or day. To my surprise, I was shocked yet impressed to find that Tenerife ranked third in the world for the best place to see the stars so of course this narrowed our activity search to ensure we attended some form of star gazing.
The Volcano Teide Experience website was extremely informative of both the sights in which would occur whilst on any number of their excursions, and all the other details in between. So, whats on offer? The Volcano Teide Experience offers keen parties the choice of day excursions which range from visiting the observatory, Jeep safari tours (on our list for next time!)and cable cart runs to the top of the mount. Despite wanting to experience something different during our time here, we still wanted to soak in the sun at all opportunities so this therefore led to a night time excursion- Opting for the Mount Teide Night Tour, we looked forward in excitement to this new experience. The tour was well organised with the agenda sent through to each booking ,which included a pick up service which would be available to all hotels in the southern region in which we were staying. A quick 2 minute walk from the doors of our hotel and we were greeted by the lovely tour operator at the doors of the mini bus to take us to our destination.
Prior to the night, we were informed of how the temperature would drop due to being so high up and it being night fall, so jumpers and comfy clothes were essential- Luckily, Ireland had prepared us for the colder climate so a change into airport clothes a few days early was no problem. The tour which we had purchased included a sunset viewing from the base of the volcano so we made our way through the streets of Las Americas and into Los Cristianos, before beginning to scale the national park in the 25 seater. As we made our way up the twisting
heights, views of La Palma and ... became clear before disappearing beneath the clouds and we reached the summit.
A crowd had gathered at the rocky view point
which impressed from all angles- with the setting sun in front of us and the backdrop of the Volcano Teide shadowing behind us, the set up for what was next to come was perfect. The group disembarked the bus and instinctively made our way across the molten rock remains in the direction of the silhouette of people further out. In quick splendour, the sun began to set and painted the sky with a show of orange and purples- Just enough time for pictures and the sun was gone and the dark blue sky rolled in rapidly.
In a hurry, we bustled back onto the bus and descended for the cable car base which was the site of the star gazing for this group. A pre-packed picnic within the visiting centre to ensure peak darkness to view the stars lasted about 20 minutes as we tucked into a baked baguette fruit muffin and then it was time to explore the night skies. The excursion had enticed a wide range of dialogues
and therefore the group dispersed into English, French and Spanish groups.
Four large telescopes sat directed at the sky as the tour operator explained what we were expected to see throughout the course of the night and the star gazing began. In a slow rotational circle, each traveller was given the chance to feast at the sight in the sky through each telescope, and once everyone had had a look, then our guide took to explaining what we had just witnessed. High definition viewings of certain planets, cluster stars and constellations were viewed throughout this period and, for us personally, brought a sense of surreal acknowledgement to the experience. To view the rings of Saturn in such a way became a highlight of the tour and from this point i knew it was a must do for anyone visiting the Island. The guide then spent time pointing out shapes in the sky as we walked throughout the night sky above Tenerife- the ifs, buts and whys rang out at the amazement at the sight before us as we sat in hope for the experience to not end so soon. A few hours and past and unfortunately it was time to head back to the shores of Tenerife. In blissful silence, we descended down the side of the mount with everyones eyes glued to the windows to soak in every last second of the dancing planets and stars before the artificial lights hid the show once more.
A professionally run experience with highly knowledgable guides, suitable even for the most inexperienced traveller- A must done whilst in Tenerife.
EXPLORE ONE OF EUROPE’S OLDEST CITIES IN THREE HOURS!?
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T’S very easy to plan a trip that is specifically booked for this reason, however, with bumps in the road and unexpected hours to burn, how do you know what to do in this time?
Personally, i like to do as much as possible, no matter how long i have in certain situations, and fortunately, i found myself recently burning time in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe- Barcelona!
From disembarking Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of
the Seas, I began an exploration, if you can even call it that, of Barcelona in the early hours of Sunday morning. Now, if you are planning on spending the day making the most of the foreign exchange rate, then i do not recommend visiting anywhere on a Sunday because the busy city turned eerily into a sleeping giant - Although, a result for myself as having the streets of Barcelona all to myself was not a prediction ahead of the trip. A quick jump in one of the bright, yellow taxi’s at the port delivered myself and my suitcase to the door of La Sagrada Familia. A Sunday morning feast for the eyes as a lack of queues and crowds made for perfect viewing of every intricate detail on the Beautiful Basilica- Silence to ponder around the architectural masterpiece was looked at as one of life’s luxuries as it’s so uncommon in the likes of a city like this.
Once spending an admiral length of time gazing at
the building, I brought myself right back down to earth with a pit stop at a well-known franchised coffee shop - it’s all about balance right?
The early morning fell silently by as I watched the
birds from the window of that coffee shop and one quick google search later and i knew my next move. My top tip for travelling through a so called “transit”
city is to locate where your next mode of transport will be, and from what time it will leave- base your sights around this area in accordance to your remaining time in the city and enjoy!
Luckily, the La Sagrada Familia fell high within the area surrounding my transportation and therefore made for an excellent starting point to slowly wander towards the point of leave.
Star gazing at the cable car base- imagery provided by Volcano Teide Experience
With no real intention of going anywhere in particular, I walked in the direction of retail-filled streets; usually the area in which most tourist attractions and events are and this led me to the Passeig de Gracia area. Along the way, colourful walls, buildings and cafes lined the route to destination nowhere and for me, personally, this becomes a highlight to such short spaces of time because you stumble across small things you may not have seen if you had a plan, therefore missing out on the true character of a city or area. The sun began to rise just as I made it onto the passeig de Gracia and it lit up the beautiful Casa Batllo, situated sheepishly amongst a retail strip. The house, which has been likened to that of Claude Monet’s Water lilies, is covered in strips of stained glass, projecting the sunlight onto the street below and lighting up the walkway for the groups of people who had now ventured out onto the streets . This, just like the La Sagrada Familia, had a small queue outside to which travellers with a longer period of time than I, could spend wondering through the door of these places- I however stuck to gazing from the outside which was suffice. Again, the slow pace of a Sunday morning meant I
Struggling to know what to do with free time before a flight? NI Travel News’ Journalist, Sarah Pickering, found herself exploring. Barcelona for a few spare hours before boarding a flight home after the latest cruise adventure- here’s what she got up to...
could take a moment to look for whatever Barcelona held for myself next, whilst tucking into an ice cold water and a gelato form the nearby local shop (the perfect holiday breakfast if you ask me!). A few quick generic searches and the Gothic Quarter appeared on screen and, thankfully, it was a few minutes walk from the Casa Batllo. Heading south on the retail area, I walked in the general direction of the Gothic quarter and eventually walked into the La Placa de Catalunya- An open space to eat, chill and watch the hundreds of pigeons search for food. This was also the area where I would be taking the transport to the airport, therefore I knew exactly where i was coming back to and long before I even had to result! This area was also busier to the previous streets with many tourists groups and street performers which gave the feel of what Barcelona was like mid week . I continued on until I stumbled upon the Gothic Quarter which showcased building after building of amazing architecture and period buildings; this area came in off of the roadside and was adorned with pedestrian streets making the streets feel more narrow and filled. It also added to the feel of the Cathedral once i did reach it as it was as if the streets made way for the stand alone building. I turned a adorned and there it was- The Barcelona Cathedral over looking a small square and with it being Sunday, this area was by far the busiest place I had explored. Much like the La Sagrada Famillia, the shapes and colours were similar, although the structure was much smaller and more hidden, yet making the same impact on the eye of the beholder. Again, if you had extra time you could go and explore the inside of this beautiful building but time, unfortunately, was not on my side and therefore I had to move on. At this point, I had decided I had seen as much as I was going to get the privilege of and headed back in the direction of the square where my transport to the airport would be waiting. However, on my way back I took a different route as whats the harm in seeing a slight bit more than I would have the other way; I can across the space which, again, like the majority of buildings in Barcelona, was beautifully decorated with a small queue for entrance outside. Knowing I had a short period of time left, I gazed in wonder for a few minutes and then trickled into the gift shop sitting adjacent to the towering building where I picked up some souvenirs for myself and family to remember my short time spent in Barcelona. If anything, you will have taken from this piece that I am not one for queueing however with that said , I did stop on my way back to the bus for an authentic second breakfast. The smell of sweet fried dough led me to a little hidden churro shop; Just big enough to fit a handful of people with a small queue outside, I stood in the warm morning sun and awaited the sugary treat. With my bag of hearty churros, chocolate dipping sauce and souvenir , my time was up in beautiful Barcelona and back to the La Placa de Catalunya I went.
Barcelona from above: Drone image of La Sagrada Famillia
January 2022 Travel News
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