Tenerife | Day 11

Day 11 | Tenerife

Mal Pais de Güímar


Yesterday was a surprisingly fun and exciting day! In the morning we went to Mal Pais de Güímar, a volcano that is 10,000 years old which is young in volcanic terms. They call it Mal Pais because it's hard for anything to live in such a hostile environment. There are butterflies, beetles, fish, flowers and oddly enough houses dug into the ground for humans. After that we went to the opera house for lunch and met a wonderful Austrian family with 2 girls about the same age as ours. While we were waiting for our new friends who we hadn't officially met yet (only laughed with across the aisle) to finish lunch and join us outside the girls and I went to Face Time our families. Peaches hadn't napped and was in a mood, snatched the phone and threw it over the edge of the balcony down to the rocks. When we peered over, it also happened to be where a homeless man lived (who Poppy had seen naked before a few days before crawling into his tent) and the phone fell right by his tent. Luckily, when I went down by the water through the rocks the man wasn't home so I was able to get the phone back without intruding on his privacy. I wasn't sure how to explain what happened to him if he was home. Once the phone was retrieved we walked with our new friends over to the Maritime Park of Santa Cruz and the girls stripped down to their roos and played their hearts out in the freezing water. We forgot sunscreen and didn't pack sun hats but thankfully they let us borrow theirs. It's something I don't think any of us will ever forget. The parents speak German, English, French, Spanish and their kids speak German and are learning English in Kindergarten. Pops is realizing how important it is to learn other languages, as are we. I wish I had learned another language when I was younger, not that it's ever too late but it makes it so much easier when you're a kiddo to pick up 1, 2, 3 or even 4 new languages! I only wish we had met them sooner but so is traveling, everyone comes into your life for a reason and having adventures with new people is one of my all time favorite things about traveling. I sure hope we get to see them again one day! When we got home, Peaches went to bed and Poppy and I went for an adventure hiking up to the cemetery at the top of town. On our way back down the "Calle Capri" which is like a rec center where men also go eat and drink was open. We popped our head in and met Antonio and the bartender who bought Pops some chocolate treats and Coca Cola. Antonio told us about his trip coming up to Miami where he leaves for a cruise but he said he won't leave his hotel room because people get stabbed when you walk on the streets of Miami at night. Coming from this tiny, safe and secluded town I bet Miami does feel like a monster! It looks like plays are held here and you can also play ping pong. John gets take out from here some evenings and 2 huge sandwiches, 2 chocolate bars and wine is 6 euros, can't beat it! Yesterday was a magical day, as is everyday.
