Port 41 Santa Cruz, Tenerife April 22, 2007

On the next day, Sunday we visited the 2nd Canary Island on our trip, Tenerife. (And, our last port to visit!) Our photos show the capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz. This lovely picturesque harbor has mountains framing clusters of homes and the Santa Cruz waterfront. Today we drove to and through the 35,000-acre Canadas del Tiede National Park. We were stunned by the angularity of the 2.3 Mile high Mount Tiede and the vast encompassing Canadas volcanic caldera that is 29 miles in circumference. The colors of the Volcanic rocks & ash are quite pretty and the rocks are very rugged. And, different from the Island of Tenerife, there is an abundance of vegetation due to a lot more rain fall.
We stopped at the Park Parador for coffee and cakes and a hike up to some lookout points. Then it was back to the ship, for an afternoon departure, that began our seven-day trip across the Atlantic to Florida.

A few notes about the photos above. The 1st shows many of the mountains-2nd see the gigantic lava rock. 3rd is called a chimney. 4th is a dock picture with a Calatrava building way in the background. 5th shows Santa Cruz city creeping up the mountain.

Port 41 Santa Cruz, Tenerife April 22, 2007

Port 40 Con't.

The garden below is in Cesar Manrique's home

The he designed the sculptures which can be found in many places on the island.





Those are grapes below-planted & shielded from the wind using rocks.

Post 40 Canary Isl, Spain-Lanzarote April 21'07

These 7 islands off of the northwest coast of Africa were created to by a series of oceanic volcanic eruptions, 20 million years ago. Some how, European stock called Guanches landed on these islands 4000 years ago. Lazarote Island now has 100 separate oceanic volcanic areas. A six-year extensive eruption in 1730 left 75 percent of the island covered with lava. This moon surface effect is striking in the Parque Nacional Timanfaya. We bussed over and through crevices of this futuristic landscape. An artist, Cesar Manrique, born on this island, and later returned to live there was very influential. He trained in classic and modern art in Madrid, also lived in New York & Paris. Upon his return he helped this island restrain the usual garish high-rises and advertising signing that occurs with landscape development, by getting the government to keep dwellings no higher than the palm trees and buildings both private and public to be painted with brilliant white wash. The doors and windows sills were to be painted environment green unless it was along the coast and then ocean blue was allowed. Then, he took a site near the village Yaiza, which was a flat field of lava, but had huge room the sized underground bubbles and crevices in the lava flow, to construct to a modern house that would contain his family, his studio and a gallery for paintings and sculpture by him and others. This now is a two level cultural arts center, the Fundacion Cesar Manrique. The drive through the Island was so interesting. Wine is made here. The grapes are planted in a depression and then are sheltered from the wind using rocks. To grow food dirt must be brought in and mixed with the volcanic soil with good results. Then we lunched at a farmhouse turned into a seafood restaurant in that village. What a lovely visual and gustatory experience we had today.

Post 39 Gibraltar April 19, 2007

This British colony is 6 kilometers long but it has 52 kilometers of tunnels that were created by the allied forces in the World War II, as this was a strategic information center.
Regent invited all World Cruisers to a private “Concert in the Caves” by the European Sinfonetta Touring orchestra. St. Michael’s cave provided a dramatic grotto rich with stalagtites and stalagmites surrounding a stage 60 steps down from its entrance. The orchestra played a flowing lyrical Mozart violin concerto No. 3 and a dramatic moving Mendelssohn Symphony, “the Italian”. The acoustics were marvelous without any artificial amplification. Afterwards we spent time with the troop of Barbary apes that prosper on this bit of rocky, forested mountain. It is believed the apes arrived on pirate ships. We walked the main street that is a pedestrian - only shopping, eating and hotel section of the city. No purchases were made, as the British pound costs two US dollars now. On to the Canary islands and hopefully some hot weather before the cool Atlantic crossing.

Port 38 Malaga, Spain April 18, 2007

April 18, Malaga Spain.

This lovely town nestled between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Mediterranean sea was an active Phoenician trading post after these people came from Troy, following it’s 10 year siege by the Greeks with their “horse” ploy in 1184 B.C. Now it is a beach playground, part of the Costa del Sol. Today, however, it was Costa del Rain. In spite of the drizzle five of us walked the Old City seeking out: the early Romanesque Cathedral dated to 1528; the new Museo Picasso, housing little-known late paintings and sculpture that belong to Picasso’s grandson Bernard; The Alcazaba an 8th century fort, with multilevel walk ways, rooms, and gardens presents mostly in the Arabesque Moorish style; A Greco-Roman adjacent open air theatre; a stately majestic pedestrian- only shopping street, that is replete with modern sculpture & flowers, and finally, lunch at a vintage café specializing in seafood. Our lone purchase was a ceramic portrait, a Picasso-like figure of a man in brilliant colors, crafted by a Malaga artist.

Port 37 Valencia, Spain April 17, 2007

The 2007 America’s Cup Regatta began here today. The 2003 winner Alinghi, from of all places Switzerland, defends the cup here. BMW Oracle, entry of Larry Ellison, of the Golden Gate Yacht Club and Oracle of Sacramento, has budgeted 200 million dollars to win this event. The Emirates team, New Zealand and the Luna Rosa Challenge, Italy are the other two big money spending challengers. We visited the site of the harbor where the boats are housed and tuned in ancient cathedral-like 18th century warehouses. Andy Green, the unsuccessful helmsman of an earlier New Zealand team is now a TV and media personality spoke to us after a lovely reception. He is broadcasting this Louis Vitton Cup in which the challengers race off in matches to decide who is the final challenger to race against Alinghi in the Americans cup, to be raced between June 23rd and July 7th.
He told us the history of the race and showed recent pictures of the pre-race skirmishes. Regent sponsored this meeting event about the races. It was held in the 1996 “City of the Arts and Sciences”, which buildings were designed by Santiago Calatrava, the world famous Valencian architect engineer. The main entertainment hall appears as a giant eye with lashes that open to the heavens. The long arching Hall of Sciences also runs along sparkling reflective water moats. Perhaps you have been to Redland in northern California where there is a bridge designed by Calatrava. Or, you may have been to Milwaukee and seen the museum Calatrava designed.
(The last picture is of another building-an aquariam)