THE WORLD'S BEST CLIMATE

The Canary Islands are regarded as having the best all round weather in the world, and so when a 'Scratchie' card offered the LegsyBoys a week at a luxury resort in Tenerife with the only proviso being a presentation from a time share spruiker, it was a no brainer. And so we headed there for Easter (yeah yeah, I'm a bit late with this). Tenerife is the largest of the Canaries, which is a dominion of Spain, and receives over 5 million visitors a year, particularly from the UK, Germany and Scandinavia!! We are staying at the Pearly Grey Ocean Resort built on the cliffs of Costa Adeje on the south side of the island.

The island is very tiny and it only takes 90 minutes to drive from bottom to top. The south is where most of the newer resorts are located, whereas the north is the more traditional part of the island. A time share resort must be like a land based ocean cruise liner, it has nightly cabaret acts and all manner of activities to get involved with - or even better NOT TO! After the chill of an English winter, Dulcinea and los ninos are seeking sunshine, warmth and water; for my part I'm keen to see the sights on the island (can there be that many?). And so basking by and in the pool, and on the spectacular sundeck reading and sipping cocktails is rule of the day most of the time.

I could get used to this....

....me too...

....me three

On our first night we decide to get stuck straight into the local cuisine, and it's fair to say that the region's signature dish isn't in the same mouth watering category as the magnificent cuisine of mainland Spain. The signature dish of Tenerife is actually a sauce - MOJO - and served with meat, fish or most commonly potatoes. It didn't inspire! One thing that was, however, immediately noticeable is that, like the mainland, food and drink is inexpensive and fresh.

Patatas mojo - Tenerife's signature dish!!

We drive 20 minutes to Arona, the tourism hub of the island and location of the two largest beaches Playa De Las Americas and Los Cristianos. The natural coast sand of Tenerife is black, but here tons of golden sand from the Sahara Desert has been imported. Ironically, the nature of shifting sand has turned the beaches into a greyish colour. The region is also noted for its Easter pageants, but they were on Good Friday, so we only catch sight of a small parade (the purpose of which escaped us!). The promenade is beautiful, there are numerous sand sculptors around, and we decide to have dinner here.

What can I say....

Inter-island ferry

They go fishing for the strangest things in Tenerife!

Sand sculpture - it was Easter don't forget.

Cool wall mural

Wall to wall bistros

Playa De Las Americas

Enough of the sun, pool and cocktails. Today we completely circumnavigate the island, and it's spectacular. Being volcanic, the island's topography is stunning. Los Gigantes cliffs are awesome, rising 600 metres out of the sea, and were once known as the Wall Of Hell.

From there the road winds through mountains to Puerto De La Cruz.

The difference to the southern resort areas is stark, and the black sand on the beaches is surreal. In nearby Icod we find the Drago Milenario, the Thousand Year Old Dragon Tree. The oldest and largest of its kind in the world, it has a circumference of 20 metres, rises to 18 metres and has over 300 branches; it's pretty amazing.

Spying a soccer ball and never backward in introducing himself, Buzzy plays some football with the local kids - I knew the Spanish lessons would come in handy one day!

Needless to say, driving around looking at scenery does little for the mood of los ninos, and so the following day we have a treat in store for them (alright - us!). Siam Park is acknowledged as being the world's biggest and best water theme park (at least until someone from Florida or Disney find out about it!), and we're going to put it to the test.

It's a one-off experience and so we hire a private cabana for the day - no, not a giant sausage, but a private bungalow with all mod cons, including access to food, the fridge (!) and bottomless ice cream - how good is that!

Don Legsy's healthy lunch

 Well, not as good as the actual park I have to say...this is just the most awesome water park I've ever experienced (and I've now seen a few!) with breathtaking slides. Pride of place goes to the aptly named Tower Of Power; it is a 28 metre, almost vertical drop that requires one to lie on one's back with ankles and arms crossed - pray like hell - and descend; it catapults you into a see through tube and shoots you through the middle of the shark aquarium...once was enough!

Tower Of Power

Other slides included the Dragon (where we experienced zero gravity), the swirling Volcano, the Giant, Jungle Snakes, Naga Racers, Mekong Rapids where we all shared the same raft,

Naga Racers

and on the leisurely Mai Thai River you got to float around the park, as well as under the shark aquarium and the riders on the Tower Of Power zipping by overhead.

The magnificent Siam Beach wave pool is the biggest I've ever seen, generating waves large enough for the venue to be hired for surfboard riding after hours.

It is lined by immaculate golden/white sand, imported from the Algave coast of Portugal - not hard to guess that expense has not been compromised in the park. It's an outstanding success, los ninos are like pigs in mud, Dulcinea's had a ball, and Don Legsy has had 50 shades of s--te scared out of him but loved the day.

Now we can do some more cool sightseeing, hopefully without too much complaining form the little 'uns.....after we enjoy the beautiful sunset over La Gomera.