The Canary Islands were first inhabited by the Guanches people, from about 600 BCE (the best guess I can find from various sources).  Genetically, culturally and linguistically linked to the Berber tribes of North Africa, these people populated many of the islands, developing distinct identities due to their isolation.  There are few traces left of them now.

The Phoenicians and the Cartheginians visited, Pliny wrote about them as the Islands of Bliss, and the Romans also knew of them. I have a vague memory of reading that there is a Phoenician archeological site somewhere but haven’t been able to confirm that (despite assiduous searching). So the islands have a history, a past that reaches back further than you might think when considering Tenerife’s reputation as a package holiday destination.

Holiday guides list La Orotava as one of the ‘prettiest ‘ towns in Tenerife.  Given my limited experience of Tenerife, I can’t confirm or deny this accolade.  I can, most definitely,  say that La Orotrava wears its colonial past with grace and pride.

Sitting in the hills above Puerto de la Cruz, the historic centre of the town is strictly preserved and maintained, and there are many large houses – both palaces and manor houses – to be preserved. One of the staff at the hotel lives in La Orotrava and he commented on the strictness of the preservation orders.

The streets are mostly cobbled,  gardens and churches are well maintained and, every so often, there are glimpses of the sea at the bottom of the hill.

A particular jewel is the Casa de Los Balcones ( House of Balconies).

This traditional Canarian house was built around a courtyard in the 1630s.  When it became a museum, the owners donated all the furniture, fixtures and fittings, so it gives an idea of life in the early 20th century.  It is also a centre for traditional handicrafts, especially the drawn-thread lace which is typical of the Canaries.

What makes the house special is the balconies – they are astonishing.

The other thing that stands out is the volume of wood used in the construction of both house and its balconies – they could even be called loggia. Floors, ceilings, window and door surrounds, staircases…   All wood.

It is no wonder that the information board mentions that the ‘best’ carpenters were used when the house was originally built.

Having had such a preponderance of wood in La Casa de Balcones, other instances of wood use become more noticeable until it dawns that wood, as a building material, is used everywhere.

All the doors, all the windows, all the balconies (with a few glaring exceptions), staircases, and so on.

Wood is also used as a frame in floors (along with lava stone).

This pattern also follows in Garachico, with the ceiling of the church being wood and the altars in the chapels.

It does make me wonder where they got the wood from, as the island might have large pines but that’s quite a soft wood and it wouldn’t last this long, particularly when exposed to the elements. A mystery for me to research.

After La Orotrava,  we went down to Puerta de la Cruz, which is a very different kettle of fish.

This was an important port, with a customs house and castle (with canons) protecting the harbour.  It’s now given over to tourism, with varying degrees of hotel quality.

The contrasts are stark.  By the harbour you have this

but go round the corner (literally) and it’s this:

Persevere through the Ale-hop, the cheap souvenir shops and fast food eateries and you reach the fishermen’s houses.  Some have been redone,  some need a bit of TLC, and some have raised ground floor levels so you step up from street level.  Presumably for when it floods.

It was bright,  jolly and much quieter than the centre of town.  There was a small archeological museum dedicated to the Guanches people, mostly without exhibits as they are remodelling, almost empty of visitors.

Tenerife is a blend of the old and the new, sometimes an uncomfortable blend. But the past is there, you just have to search it out.