Santa Cruz - Sights, Smells and Surprises

My name is Hazel. I grew up in the south of England but my heart has belonged to Spain for a long time. After traveling with small groups from North America around the mainland of Spain for many years as a tour leader, love led me to lay roots in Tenerife, and now with a young daughter and a mortgage in the mix, I can happily say I won’t be leaving this incredible island anytime soon. As a Brit I had long associated Tenerife with the all-inclusive seaside resorts of the south, but since moving here nearly a decade ago I have been endlessly surprised and delighted by the massive variety of landscapes it offers, as well as its fascinating history and cultural mix. This is a little corner of Europe, with all the rights and privileges that this represents, but we are much closer to Africa, and oftentimes far more latino in spirit than Castilian. Then there is the legacy of the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, the Guanches, that is still omnipresent yet often goes overlooked. The Canaries have seen huge changes in recent decades, as my mother-in-law likes to tell me, who grew up in the tough rural mountain landscapes of Anaga. She also likes to teach me how to cook ‘properly’. So although I’m not a native to the islands, I feel like I’ve been adopted by them, and I have an interesting perspective to offer visitors. On my tours I like to bring in a bit of everything, history, architecture, nature, always with a sensorial focus. I will take you to the neighborhood bar where you can hear the locals arguing, smell the pulguitas being prepared on the grill, and sip a coffee that looks too pretty to drink (the barraquito). I love being a tour guide mostly because it’s great fun, and I never stop learning. I do drive (and don’t worry, I’ve driven for more years on the right now than on the left!), so please reach out if you would like to visit anything in particular and I will be thrilled to visit with you. I look forward to hearing from you. Happy Travels!