Finding Yin and Yang on the Hillsides of Tenerife

I went out to search for evidence of  bleakness,  sadness and possibly anger, a proof of man’s arrogance and his disconnection from the earth. I expected to be overwhelmed by the anger, but instead I arrive home  overwhelmed by beauty and a sense of renewal.

Where was I? What happened? Was this a Road to Damascus moment? (now there’s a phrase to conjure with right now!) Maybe. Maybe not. There it is, you see – Perhaps. Perhaps not. Maybe Yin? Maybe Yang? Goodness knows I don’t know enough about Eastern philosophy to be sure, but I think that’s what I experienced. I hesitate to use the word Zen, because I’m not sure I totally understand it, and it could be that in saying that I do understand?

Here’s the backstory: A couple of weeks ago my friend, Cristina and I were driving up into the mountains to see the snow – an occurance sufficiently rare, despite what you see on postcards from Tenerife, to prompt folk to take their kids out of school for the day to go to see it – we drove through familiar territory, through the village of Vilaflor and up towards the National Park and the caldera, chatting about this and that, taking in a surroundings which were beautiful, but to which we were accustomed. There are seasons when this journey is remarkable for its loveliness, when flowers are in full bloom, or the seascape, with its glimpses of mysterious, other islands is almost hypnotic, but this was an ordinary day – early spring, before the blooms, the seascape a little dulled by haze, little flora on the roadsides.

We’d been driving through the shade of pines for several minutes, when we rounded a curve and almost paused. The vista in front of us was like a kick in the stomach. We slowed. We pointed. We said very little, because there were no words. The once-familiar panorama to our left, where the mountains glided down to the sea, was like a war zone.

It’s been seven months since wildfires swept across this countryside, and I hadn’t realized that I’d been away that long. This was my first view of the devastation, these black, skeletal posts marching across the contours of the hillsides had been elegant pine trees. As the mountain mists writhed their way between the branches they had left moisture, which the trees fed to the soil below in one of those perfect cycles of nature which leave us awed.

To say that we were shocked would be putting very mildly.

It wasn’t as if I haven’t seen endless pictures on the internet, or film on tv, of what happened, but being up close is something else. Last Tuesday I went back to try to understand:

This time there is no shock. I am prepared. But when I pull over the car it’s a few minutes before I can get out. It feels the same way I feel in a holy place, as if I am intruding. And, of course, this is what happens when thoughtless men intrude on Nature, when they forget that they are a part of the equation which makes up our world, and selfishly blunder their own way, regardless. It is rumored that this enormous destruction was the result of one good old boy having a wee bonfire to burn garden rubbish. Having a bonfire to burn garden rubbish at a time when there had been no rain in the area for two years; when, on every walk, words like ‘arid,’ ‘barren’ or ‘parched’  hung on our lips in unspoken anticipation of a sight like this one;  and when the trees were virtually the only remaining greenery on the landscape. It is also rumored that the village in which he lives has closed ranks and that no prosecutions have been made. I can’t repeat more than rumors. I can’t find information other than rumors. Silence speaks volumes about mankind.

I stop in several places. It is, for want of a better word, heartbreaking, and I am very aware that despite the enormity of what I am seeing, this extends far beyond this area. The tinder-dry ground couldn’t have been more vulnerable. The fire spread, well, like wildfire. If you’d seen the scenes unfolding daily on our tv screens here you would have understood the origin of that phrase.

I wonder if the guy responsible ever comes to look at what he did?

I drive. I stop. I take photographs. I am a witness to destruction. I wanted to come after the fires, but it seemed like rubbernecking, somehow encouraging the idea that this was a spectacle, an entertainment. I am, after all, not a professional journalist. I am saddened. I stand for long moments and think of how it used to be, wonder how long it will take to recover, wonder how the guy who started it all can live with himself. I’m not in a forgiving frame of mind.

The Canary Pine is more forgiving, however. It is resilient and strong. Its bark burns, but at its core it remains alive. In time that surviving core will push out new growth through scorched skin, from its latent battalions of buds, which have been held back for just such an eventuality. Throughout Canarian pine forests you can see blackened trunks from previous fires sporting fresh, new life, but it will take time.

Strange to say, I don’t feel the anger I thought I would feel this day, and it isn’t just the knowledge of the pines’ rebirth which has cheered me, but the, literally, breathtaking sights which I’ve seen on my way to this point. I didn’t do biology in school, so my utterly uninformed opinion is this – we had two years of drought, when there wasn’t sufficient rainfall to provoke much growth in springtime, this must have meant that seeds expelled from flora in the meantime lay, dormant on the earth, until, this year, watered and warmed adequately, the whole island appears to be heaving with an abundance of wildflowers which is making everyone proclaim that they’ve never seen anything like it. Friends who walk more than I, friends whose knowledge of different plants is far vaster than mine, friends who have lived here all their lives are saying the same thing: there never has been a spring like this one.

In a minute I’m going to stop rambling on and just post the pictures of my drive. This is a moment in time which should be shared, no doubt about it. It can’t identify all the flowers you’ll see. I am awed by the profusion of terraces of wild fennel, and enchanted by friendly California Poppies swaying at the roadsides. Beyond those, the purple hazes, the delicate buds and other types of poppy I can’t name for you.

Turning, finally, away from the ruins of once-verdant hillsides, I come home by, for me, a route ‘less-traveled,’ to be put in mind again of the good stuff on our planet. I am driving now away from the direction the fire took, seeing unspoiled countryside, thick forests, elegant terraces (a reminder that man and nature often do work together) and curbsides littered with flowers of every hue under the sun.

I arrive home, not in the state of frustration and anger I anticipated, but serene and hopeful. Perhaps confident in the Earth’s promise of renewal. My faith in man is less, my faith in Nature is more, than when I left home on this very short journey. Is that Zen? Not understanding just why I feel this way? Is this the inevitable balance of yin and yang of which philosophers speak, allowing us to be skeptical and hopeful at the same time?

Added April 8th: This is a post I would have written anyway. I have, almost unwittingly, written a fair bit about the landscapes and nature in Tenerife, which is an island of amazing diversity and beauty, but at the back of my mind whilst writing this post was participating in the monthly Boomer Travel round up theme, which is Nature. I haven’t ready the other contributions yet, but am utterly certain that I’m going to love them. If you enjoyed this post, then you’ll definitely enjoy the others! Take a look at http://greenglobaltravel.com/2013/04/05/nature-travel-blog-roundup/

Living a Quiet Island Life

My days have been very quiet of late, some gentle meanderings around the island: a visit to a couple of pretty parks in El Sauzal on the north coast.

Atlantic winds and heavy rain on the south coast always mean snow in the mountains. A drive through the caldera and down again through spring meadows of wildflowers in La Laguna, and a stop for cake on a lazy, seaside promenade in Punta Larga on the way home.

 

2012: Postcards to Myself

I used to have a cork board in my kitchen. It began each January naked and bare, and acquired its finery as the year wore on, photos, theater tickets, pamphlets, programs, press cuttings, badges and all the bits and pieces from events, celebrations, visits and journeys I’d made during the 12 months. On December 31st I used to take a photo of the board, and the following day I’d strip it ready for new memories. I think perhaps it was a forerunner to this blog, because when I started blogging I didn’t do the cork board so much any more.

Not terribly into philosophizing about the departed year unless it was especially remarkable, and even then there are some things too personal to ramble on about, so I came up with the postcards I might have sent myself from those events, celebrations, visits & journeys. This is the 4th year I’ve done this now.

This year began magnificently, shortly after new year, camping on Alto de Guajara, sleeping in a cave, seeing a billion, billion stars and watching the sun rise from the ocean, casting its glow over Guajara and Mt Teide, the famous shadow of Teide extending over the Atlantic – a never-to-be-forgotten experience. It changed my life in some ways. Gave me confidence and focus I’d lacked, especially coming fairly soon after the abseiling episode. Was the rest of the year ever going to live up to that….frankly, if it didn’t, it was going to be up to me, wasn’t it?

There were some amazing highlights; like the climbing wall in Kendal – something I thought I would never do; sitting overlooking Lake Grasmere with Austin early on a warm and still Spring morning, the mists still hugging the lake; all the fun and foodiness of Camden Market with my sons; my first press pass – something else I’d given up hope on long ago; a some stunning hikes in Tenerife and in England; London in Spring with Guy and a touch of luxury;  some wonderful laughs with girlfriends on the island; catching up with some old friends, too seldom seen, in England, and listening to the awesome Steve McCurry speak at the opening of an exhibition of his work here –  hasn’t all been hunky dory,  but hey, here are the good bits – the laughs and the triumphs, the successes and beauty, the great meals and……..
some sunsets.

    

Travel and Challenges as Metaphors for Life: Birthday Musings

How come I didn’t write about my afternoon at the climbing wall in Kendal? Can’t for the life of my remember now. Perhaps I was overcome with shyness, perhaps I thought everyone would laugh? Afterall there were ten-year-old girls practically running up the wall I was so stoked to have climbed! I was hugely proud of myself, and even prouder that Austin was proud of me!

It taught me a lot. I know now why climbing books sell so well, why Joe Simpson and Andy Kirkpatrick are so avidly read. It isn’t all about the climbing, it’s because climbing is a metaphor for life. You don’t jump from the bottom of a mountain to the top. You take it painstaking step by painstaking step and it’s scary, and it’s hard work, and it’s an overwhelming buzz when you finally make it. Okay what I did wasn’t probably even the first rung of the ladder, but it was an inspiration!

So is travel:  you have to plan, miss buses, wait for planes, put up with surly people, dirt, loneliness, boredom  but the good stuff makes it all worthwhile, like reaching the top of the mountain (or the climbing wall!) the buzz you get from experiencing new places, trying new foods, meeting new people, learning about different lifestyles, being overawed by the planet’s beauty is beyond words.

It seems to me that modern life just makes us so comfortable that we lose touch with “real” life, with actually living, experiencing life, instead we watch other people’s pathetic lives on reality tv, grab another ready-made meal and get drunk every weekend to forget how boring our lives are – at least a lot of people do that, and I am more than aware that I’m talking about those of us who are lucky enough to have been born into “western” society. Living a “real” life in Mumbai or the middle of the Sahel simply means surviving sometimes. I know that, and not that I mind my share of wine, nor a good movie, but we shouldn’t expect things to come to us easily.

We have to seek, work at/for, plan, and most of all challenge our perceptions (mostly of ourselves) if we want the buzz. We have to do that bit extra, go that bit farther, dream that bit bigger.

This is what I learned from “climbing,” and also from traveling. The traveling thing I was born knowing, but became more of a challenge in doing it on my own. I had to conquer shyness and my own self-doubts.

I’m very lucky to have two sons who encourage me. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be blogging now, and I would never have climbed the wall. I am incredibly grateful to them both for their inspirations.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I had my first surf lesson! I never got off my stomach, lying on the board and spent more time in the water than on the board I think! Unlike the climbing I doubt it’s something I will try again, but it still taught me things – if at first you don’t succeed try, try again for one! Even on my stomach for about a half a minute I finally “got it” – at least I think I did! That rush that comes when you feel as if you are flying over the water. Also, I hadn’t been for more than a gentle swim in quite a while, and I tend to get a bit nervous, unlike my sons, swimming never came naturally to me, so it was good to regain confidence.

Biggest lesson from yesterday, though? It was fun!!! I think with all the worries brought on by the recession and stuff, I’d forgotten what it was like to have pure fun! And it was good! Happy birthday to me!

 

How Does Travel Fit with Friendship?

I’ve been meaning to write a post about friendships for at least six months now. If you love travel or if you’re an emigrant then your life can be bittersweet when it comes to friends and family, especially around Xmas time. Whilst my life is blessed with a variety of friends I never could have dreamed of when I was younger, from so many different countries and backgrounds, and I’ve learned so much from them; one of the biggest lessons being that everyone has a story, and there are many, different ways of telling the story, of living, or looking at life, the important thing is to listen to the stories, and to let go our preconceptions, even if only for a short time until we absorb other ways of being.

At the same time, there are, inevitably more goodbyes than the average person makes. It’s a good thing when they happen to remember the Buddist teaching that we must accept that nothing lasts forever. It’s one of life’s more difficult lessons, sometimes it seems impossible to accept, but it’s a fundamental truth. I’ve been especially blessed the last few years with a particular, lovely group of friends here in Tenerife, and I have a whole headful of memories of hikes, barbecues, birthdays, brunches, festivals and laughter to draw on when I’m alone.

As I write one of them is already off traveling, and when she returns to the island I will hopefully be traveling myself, so I don’t know for sure when our paths may cross again – but I am totally sure that they will. I believe that we are, simply, destined to meet and keep meeting some people. Another friend has returned to live in her own country for a while, whilst she brings up her young son, and I’m quite sure our paths will cross again too. In the meantime, thank the gods for the internet, which keeps us all in touch, and which even extends our friendships – I also have friends I have yet to meet in the flesh!

And then there are the renewals of friendships when we return to places. I went back to the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England this year for the first time in many a year, and caught up with old friends with whom I went through marriages, births, growing up, divorces, traumas and much joy over the early years of my life, and there is nothing quite like the warm glow that brings, nor that odd sensation of surroundings being familiar yet strange. And there was the sheer delight of getting to know my goddaughter’s young children…..the next generation of course.

 

It’s a given that everything said extends even more so to family. Mine isn’t large, and in the last 12 years we’ve only managed one Christmas together. That doesn’t mean that in our hearts we aren’t together. When you like to travel you carry family and friends with you, not just the photos in your wallet, but that warm glow or that lump in your throat when you think of them. The times you are together are that much sweeter and packed with goodness.

And so at Christmas time, friends – old, new and yet-to-meet – I wish you all the happiness and fun of the festive season, whatever your personal beliefs, because there seems to be something for everybody who is willing to listen at this time of year these days. I don’t resent the dwindling of the “Happy Christmas” greeting, because “Happy Holidays” embraces all.

The Posts That Never Were

Like many folk, at the end of the year I like to tidy up a bit, my house, my wardrobe, my computer, my life in general, get rid of the deadwood, so it doesn’t weigh me down for the shiny new year.

Doing this last year I came across some intended posts which had never seen the light of day, and did a synopsis of the places/people/events by way of finishing up the material which was hanging around. Sure, I have half-written posts which are awaiting confirmation of facts, pictures, more information, or just inspiration; one is almost two years old and still hasn’t made it, but here are this year’s stragglers.

Ansel Adams Exhibition

I usually do manage a few words about photography exhibitions I go to Robert Capa, Steve McCurry, Don McCullin, Frans Lanting, and the Ansel Adams expo at Greenwich’s Maritime Museum was totally up there on a par with those. Coming back from the UK I was trying to catch up and full of a cold, and now realize my omission in not recording my impressions, and the precise adjectives and descriptions are lost, because I made no notes.

Of course it was amazing. You  have to grasp for words when you describe something which has been written about endlessly for many years. I suspected I might be disappointed. I thought black and white landscapes might be dull after the zillions of color ones I’ve seen this year, but they were fascinating, utterly gorgeous and imparted not just beauty but a sense of history, and the earth’s power  too. The exhibition continues to March, and I am very much hoping to get back to see it again. To crown a wonderful afternoon, where, honestly I felt as if I’d been the west coast of the US, we emerged from the museum to this sunset, which seemed perfectly in keeping with the impressions whirling round my head. Here’s an Adams quote to give you an idea:

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”

London Docklands Museum

There, actually, will be a post about this, perhaps after I’ve been again. I wanted to see the museum because I was interested in the connection between Canary Wharf and the Canary Islands. The museum answered my query on that point by email, thus: “Canary Wharf was developed in the 1930’s as a wharf for ‘Fruitlines’ who imported goods from the Canary Islands and Mediterranean.” So that was me kind of disappointed because I’d already dug that up, but I’d hoped it dated back to Shakespeare’s time and wine imports. However, the museum was absorbing. Like any good museum it was far too much to take it all in in one visit, so we confined ourselves to one area, and I found things I hadn’t expected, like a powerful documentation of the slave trade……horrific to think that London was involved, but of course it was. I can only be proud, as an English woman, that we saw the light before many other countries did and abolished slavery.

The museum includes a short “walk” through a reconstruction of the murky streets where press gangs roamed in search of unlucky victims to augment crews, and you can even smell the surroundings! Below is a picture of my son, Guy and Katrina from TourAbsurd sitting in a “pub” of the day.

Camden Market, London

I spent two, marvelous afternoons munching and wandering around Camden Market, but ended up writing nothing. Perhaps because the second visit, when I actually took more photos, was kind of personal…some quality time with both my sons together, something which doesn’t happen all that often, and perhaps because the days were overcast and chill, and the photos subsequently not that colorful. They certainly didn’t match the colorful atmosphere, the dizzying choice of yumminess from the food stalls or the glow of the mulled wine :=) Though the memories are sharp!

Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife

In July I went to take a look at the famous flowering of the Dragon Tree of Icod de los Vinos, but now it isn’t the iconic tree which lingers in my memory about the day but the scent. As Pilar & I walked down towards the church to get the classic view of the tree, I suddenly seemed to be floating back in time to my childhood. It took seconds to realize why these images in my head were being unlocked – the flower beds outside the church were filled with roses in full bloom, not only roses, but roses with perfume, which reminded me of my grandad’s overgrown little patches of garden, which, for all their neglect yielded wonderful aromas every summer. These flower beds could have been anywhere in England. Of course the climate in Icod is that bit cooler than the south, where I found it impossible to grow roses which flowered prettily back when I had a garden.

A whole lot other not-writing went on in 2012 too, some memorable meals, London’s Chinatown, discovering bubble tea, many strolls with Trixy (after the theft of my Blackberry I stopped doing the #walkingwithTrixy thing on Twitter & Facebook) watching sunrises and sunsets I know I’m privileged to have seen, a brief visit to York in Autumn, the fact that I started running (but I’m addressing that elsewhere) ,musings on motherhood, expat-ness, travel, friendships. An incredible amount of stuff un-marked for one reason or another, far too many to begin to address now.

Perhaps, as my school report invariably said, “I could do better if I tried”………do I feel a New Year resolution coming on perchance?

World Travel Market: A Newbie’s Perspective

I wonder how many thousand words have been written about the World Travel Market? Are my thoughts about it even relevant to this blog?

Well, yes and no. Given that you probably read this blog to find about the Canary Islands or other places from one perspective or another, then perhaps no; but given that blogs are personal things, not dry or over-effusive magazine articles, then perhaps, yes.

The World Travel Market is important to travel writers, and that’s the category into which I arrogantly lump myself now, because it gives destinations the opportunity to sell themselves……though one has to sympathize with Iraq and Libya, talk about an uphill task! Equally, you have to wonder why some places bother to attend given that they are so popular anyway. I had my doubts, though, was this really the best place for someone with wanderlust and no real income?

I quite like being a fly on the wall, so it didn’t bother me that I hadn’t lined up appointments beforehand (took me all my time to arrange planes and trains!), I was just there, last minute, to get a feel and see what I might have in store for the future. If I go again it won’t be the same. As with all first experiences there was a sense of wonder and being completely overwhelmed on several levels.

First the scale of it – the last event I went to at Excel was for the London Marathon, and was, I think, less than half the size of WTM. Entering Excel, blushing proudly as I showed my press pass – though still feeling at the back of my mind that someone was going to denounce me as a fraud, and rip it from around my neck – was a cross between entering Penn Station at rush hour and Carnaval. Thanks goodness I was with my friend, Katrina, from TourAbsurd, who guided me quickly to the press area! People in fancy dress shuffled by the guys in business suits, there was that excited hum which reminded me of a race track, and even at that early hour it was clear that a cup of coffee was unlikely!

I have this crazy thing where I like to be comfortable to enjoy my food, so eating anything there was out of the question given that the tables were always full and the queues never-ending. That said, I was lucky to attend a couple of press breakfasts, one with St Kitts & Nevis and the other with Ft Myers/Sanibel which were absolutely delicious and set me up for the rest of the day……. and neither of those mentions were requested btw…….I was genuinely impressed by both……stoked my wanderlust!

Not to drone on – other impressions:

Just a Drop: The first stand as one entered occupied by this NGO started by Fiona Jeffrey who runs WTM. I hadn’t heard of them, but they do similar work to Charity Water and Water. Excellent, excellent stuff and it lifted my spirits as a first experience of an event where I was expecting lots of hard sell. I’ll be following them in future.

Utterly childish thrill to be there when Universal Studios announced their new ride, opening next summer – Transformers – wow but that brought back some cool memories from when my kids were young! How tickled would they have been back then that I could say I’d been five feet away from Optimus Prime?!

It really is almost embarrassing how Orlando can bring out the child in you! Everyone there was thrilled to see Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee. Transformers!

Too much paper. Couldn’t help wondering how many trees had been sacrificed to produce all those maps, booklets and pamphlets we were handed as we arrived. None seemed to be on recycled paper, and lots ended up trampled under foot or in bins.

Big differences in the way stands were presented between the old hands and the newer destinations, and the more experienced ones weren’t necessarily the better, often, presumably, not having to sell so much, preferring to chat among themselves rather than with passers-by.

Only one of the sessions stood out for me, everything else, whether it was about sustainable travel, social media or WTM itself seemed to be largely waffle, statistics or expectations, just not “real” somehow……the sustainable travel one was especially disappointing. I was expecting some ideas for solving the problems we face, not just a repetition of what those problems are. We’ve seen most of them coming for years. It isn’t news. Granted I couldn’t attend all the stuff I wanted to, some things clashed on time, but didn’t come away feeling that I’d learned very much.

Janice from Solo Traveler, Keith from Velvet Escape and Melvin from Travel Dudes talk about the White Paper

The session which stood out was the “Best Practice in Travel Blogging” white paper , which was articulately and professionally presented. Blogging is a constantly-changing new way of communication, and the TBU White Paper attempts to explain to the industry what bloggers can offer, and how they might be used. I was glad I’d popped back on the last day to hear about it.

All in all, blisters (there is a dress code, so I had to wear “proper” shoes!) and an irritating cough aside, it fascinated me. I didn’t do nearly as much as I could have, or would have another time, either business-wise or socially. Social events, whilst I was thrilled to meet folk I’d only met online before, were awful noisy and what with the sore throat they became difficult. Still, veery interesting. New ideas. New ways of looking at things. Some great experiences and interactions. Next year, I suppose, if I’m there it will be because the write/travel thing has become more important to me, and the event itself won’t be worth a blog post.  Bit like travel itself really, the novelty is fascinating and fun.  Just wish they’d cut down on the paper.

During our week in London Katrina & I stayed in a delightful apartment in Hackney, arranged through HomeAwayUK, whom I would definitely use again without a doubt. Our stay was so much easier on account of the facilities and ease of travel this apartment supplied!