Parque Taoro in Puerto de la Cruz: Gardens, Views and a Walk Above Town
Parque Taoro is the green hillside above the centre of Puerto de la Cruz. Come for the view over the town and the Atlantic, then stay for the garden paths, the quieter open spaces of La Sortija and the history around the old hotel and All Saints Church. The public park is free to explore,...Continue reading→
Marianne North in Puerto de la Cruz: The Garden She Painted
Imagine opening a window above a garden, with flowers close enough to paint and Mount Teide beyond the roofs of Puerto de la Cruz. In 1875, the travelling artist Marianne North made a home for several weeks at Sitio Litre. She painted its dragon tree, its planting and the wider Tenerife landscape. The garden is...Continue reading→
Alexander von Humboldt in Puerto de la Cruz: Teide and Sitio Litre
On the evening before St John’s Day in 1799, Alexander von Humboldt stood in Mr Little’s garden above the old port of Puerto de la Cruz. He could see Teide, the coast and the Atlantic, while midsummer fires appeared on the mountain slopes. That garden is today’s Sitio Litre. Humboldt’s stop on Tenerife lasted only...Continue reading→
Charles Piazzi Smyth in Tenerife: The Astronomer Who Went Above the Clouds
In 1856, Charles Piazzi Smyth came to Tenerife with a question: would a telescope see more clearly above the clouds? His journey connected the gardens of Sitio Litre in Puerto de la Cruz with temporary observing stations high on Guajara and the slopes of Teide. He and his wife, Jessie Duncan, brought back observations, drawings...Continue reading→
The History of Bananas in Tenerife and Puerto de la Cruz
Look beyond the seafront of Puerto de la Cruz and you can still find broad banana leaves along the paths towards El Bollullo. They are a reminder of an industry that reshaped the Orotava Valley and the town below it. A garden experiment, water lifted from a cliff, busy packing houses and fruit boats waiting...Continue reading→
Agatha Christie in Puerto de la Cruz: The 1927 Visit and the Story It Inspired
In 1927, Agatha Christie came to Puerto de la Cruz with her young daughter Rosalind and her companion and secretary Charlotte Fischer. She stayed at the Gran Hotel Taoro, and the family account at Sitio Litre remembers her visiting its garden. The cliffs and a house at La Paz left their mark on The Man...Continue reading→
Alfred Diston: The Artist and Naturalist Who Made Puerto de la Cruz His Home
Alfred Diston arrived in Puerto de la Cruz as a young British wine merchant in 1810 and spent much of the next half-century looking closely at his adopted home. He drew the people he met, their clothes, the coast and the gardens; he kept notes on the island's life and plants. His story connects Sitio...Continue reading→
Yeoward Brothers and El Penitente in Puerto de la Cruz
At El Penitente, beside Puerto de la Cruz’s harbour, banana crates once moved from a packing house towards ships bound for Britain. The building has gone, but the waterfront still tells the story of Yeoward Brothers: a Liverpool shipping firm, the people who grew and packed the fruit, and the pier that connected the Orotava...Continue reading→
From Finca to Fruit Ship: Banana Packing in Puerto de la Cruz
Before a banana from the Orotava Valley could leave Tenerife, it had to travel from the grove to a packing store, then through the streets of Puerto de la Cruz to the harbour. Growers, packers, drivers and boat crews all played a part. The old empaquetados may have disappeared from many familiar corners of town,...Continue reading→
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia: The Church at the Heart of Puerto de la Cruz
Step into Plaza de la Iglesia and the parish church gives the square its centre of gravity. Its tower rises above the trees and café tables, while inside a timber ceiling, painted altarpieces and silverwork tell a longer story of Puerto de la Cruz. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia has served...Continue reading→