In San Cristobal de La Laguna or just La Laguna, located just
inland from Santa Cruz in the countryside
of the Aguere Valley, a must see is the
historical centre, declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. For a day spent in
La Laguna, except a walk in the old part of the town the most interesting places are The Tenerife
History and Anthropology Museum, Plaza
Adelantado – historical heart of La Laguna, square with monasteries, cathedrals
and dragon trees. House Casa Montanez, religious buildings: Santuario de El
Cristo, Inglesia de Nuestra Senora de La Concepcion, Catedral de La Laguna. It
is an university city but like in every university city science is combined
with a lot of chances for party so here
comes pub Gabbana (C/ Doctor Antonio González, 11). Latino bar for electrolatino,
salsa and meringue fans. From Sunday to
Wendsday everyone could be a guest star
as it offers karaoke. The Orchilla is a discoteca pub, also popular here is a special bar called bar
El Otro (Elias Serra Rafols street) in the cuadrilatero where people on Tuesday
are reading poetry and on Wednesday to play music. It's very small but all visitors are like a
big family so the atmosphere is really friendly. La Laguna joined the
initiative “White nights” in 2011, held at the end of November, with a lot of all night events on the streets.
A “white night” here is more like a small parade and locals and tourists are really appreciating it. Located in the
historical centre of the city is hotel Laguna
Nivaria, which makes it a very good choice for accommodation.
A few words about the history museum, because
the idea to make this trip combined with some wine tasting starts from there,
strange but true. The Tenerife History and Anthropology Museum is located in
Casa de Carta (C/ Vino, 44 Valle de
Guerra) a typical canary house from the
XVIII century. Unfortunately everything inside is in Spanish but you will get
some kind of a written guide in different languages to understand at least a
bit of what you are seeing. So you have
to carry the guide and at the end lo leave it back. This is why I have decided
to share very short information about some topics covered in the exhibition as
almost everything in the city refers to the history of Tenerife anyway. The
guide starts with some information about the conquest of the Canary Islands
(1494). At this time the island is divided
into nine fiefdoms (menceyatos – statues of the nine leaders of the fiefdoms could
be seen in the small town of Candelaria,
see post Christmas markets and
Candelaria). Tenerife is the last Canary Island conquered for the Spanish crown
by Don Alonso Fernandez de Lugo. He receives
the title of Governor (1502), which gave him jurisdiction of both La Palma and
Tenerife. Local people are described as people, living in huts and caves and
wearing only shirts made of goat or sheep leather. The god of the original
inhabitants, they called Achaman with meaning “he that sustains heaven and
earth”. The Guanches started to receive Christianity with enthusiasm after the
appearance of the Virgin of Candelaria statue on the beaches of Guimar (most
reliable year of the appearance of the statue is 1931 and there are a lot of
versions about the missioners who brought it). The new population of the Island
was made mainly by Andalusians, people from Extremadura and Castile and
Basques. Colonies of Foreigners were groups of Genoas, Florentines, English,
French, etc. African settlers also came on the island. In the sixteenth century
the main export product is sugar cane, but from seventeenth it was replaced by
wines, because of the raise of the wine prices on the European markets…hm wine…
La Laguna and Tegueste and the district of Anaga represents a wine growing zone
with a wealth of varieties. Actually the
old town with all these historical buildings and oh I cannot mention that it a
bit cold here brings the idea of trying some goods that replaced the main
export from sugar cane in seventeenth century. Oh well, of course I mean
wine. So the closest place to do that is
to try some wines in Casa del Vino “La Baranda”
in the town El Sauzal (only 12 kilometers from La Laguna
Autopista del Note/TF-5 from Santa Cruz, bus 011 from La Laguna). The place is
small looking more like
a traditional village, picturesque and with very cheap restaurants. The wine
house offers visitors a better look at the island’s rich winemaking heritage,
description of wine making techniques, wine routes, popular sorts and festivals
related to wine. And there is a wine
tasting where are offered some of the popular wines from the different regions
like Mencey Chasna, Bencheque, Calius Afrutado, Arautava Kryos. There is no
option for paying for entrance and wine tasting as they are paid separately 3
euro entrance and 1,5 and 2 euro for each glass but you can continue ” with
tasting” in the restaurant of the complex.
El Sauzal and situated just only a
few minutes drive Tacoronte. In both places you can enjoy good wine, good and
very cheap food, spectacular views of the sea and Mt. Teide (specially in front
of the wine house), picturesque and traditional atmosphere. At the end science
and wine trip was a good idea…
