(A Belayed) Friday's Five - 5 Carnival Destinations in Europe

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There's not doubt about Brazil holding the number one Carnival in the World. Carnival in Rio started yesterday and has a full program until Tuesday 8th - which includes street parades, masque balls, street bands and a lot of samba. Good. But taking out Rio de Janeiro - What else has the World to offer? There are a lot less known, but still awesome Carnival Celebrations you should consider as an alternative, and these are my favorite ones:

1. Cologne Carnival. This is the largest and most famous Carnival in Germany (and probably in continental Europe). Although historically the celebration starts on November 11th at 11:11am, the actual Carnival began last Thursday, "The Women's Day", and lasts all the way over to Wednesday 9th, "Ash Wednesday". What's Women's Day you may ask? It's a day that has been celebrated for ages, that thanks all women for the good influence and hard work they have done (and do). During that they, women storm city halls, cut men's ties and are allowed to kiss any man that passes their way!
2. Carnival of Venice. The Carnival of Venice was first recorded in 1268, but was stopped for many years when the city fell under Austrian control (in 1798). It was again revived in the late 20th Century and now is one of the top Carnival destinations Worldwide. The Venetian tradition is most distinctive for the use of artful masks, which were used in the celebration to remove social differences. Anyone participating, could mingle easily with people of different classes or sex.
3. Carnival of Cadiz. Andalusians are probably (together with the Canarios) the spanish folk with highest number of festivities over the year. Cadiz is nationally recognized for it's Carnival, which is relatively different from the rest of Europe. In Cadiz, the costumes worn are often related to recent news (such as the bird flu in 2006, during which many dressed up as chickens!). What's fun about it is it's sharp criticism and original costumes. Another highlight are the groups of chirigotas - satiric popular groups who sing about politics, new times and household matters often using clever world play.  
4. Carnival of Croatia. The most famous Croatian carnival takes place in the costal city of Rijeka, in the Kvarner region. What makes their Carnival unique is the incorporation of local traditions and customs. Just before the end of Carnival, each town in the region burns up a man-like doll called "mesopust" who is blamed for all the conflicts of the previous year. But the most iconic symbol of Croatia's Carnival are the bell ringers, who dress up in lamb-wool costumes and wear big animal masks and walk from one village to another ringing the bells they wear around their waists.
5. Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. To close, what would be a post about Carnival celebrations without including the major one - the one of my home town? Carnival in Tenerife lasts for several weeks, during which you have the murgas competition (a similar group to the chirigotas), queen elections and culminate in a week of street parties and parades. One of the best days for celebration is "Ash Wednesday", which is called the "Entierro de la Sardina" (The sardine's funeral). This night, locals dress up as widows. Each coastal city builds a huge sardine, which is carried along the streets to the water. It's then placed on a fisher boat and burned, while letting it dragged into the ocean. Everyone "fake cries"! During these days, Tenerife receives massive visits from all over Europe - only the Carnival of Santa Cruz (capital of Tenerife) attracts more than a million visitors! The Carnival aspires to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site this year!

I'm missing Tenerife's Carnival this year, and it's not easy when watching my friends add their pictures on Facebook. I hope next year I will make it again, even if it's only for a weekend!

Me dressed up as Catwoman in Carnival 2006

Which is your favorite Carnival destination? Have you been to any of these? What would you dress up as? 

Lessons I've Learned after Hiking in Tenerife

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This is my 100th post, yay!! 

Don't worry, I'm not going to prepare a list of 100 things you should know about myself. I'm really not that interesting. Instead, I wanted to share with you a photo essay on what, up to now, has been my most challenging travel experience.

Arriving to Afur, Tenerife -Starting point

I'm not a sporty person - while many friends are longing for the snow to come back in order to spend their weekends skiing and snowboarding, I'm hoping to find an excuse to eat fondue and drink mulled wine. This doesn't mean I'm a coach potato (at least not all the time). 

This was one of those days. A friend came to visit me in Tenerife and, to break the routine, I planned to go on an easy hike - maybe 3 hours, nothing too risky. After all, Tenerife has beautiful hidden paths with amazing views, and tiny villages that offer fresh fish for half the price as any bigger and more touristic town on the island. 

After some research, we decided on hiking from Afur to Taganana - A hike that was signalized as being between 3 and 3 and a half hours, absolutely feasible (right?). Right. 

The hike trail starts by going down a the Barranco de Tamadiste (a ravine). This was relatively easy to hike, and we came across some other fellow hikers (who apparently did this every week). After approximately 3km descent, we arrived at a small beach - not particularly pretty, but hey - we arrived to the ocean, first mini-goal completed! 

Warning: as  tempting as the water may seem, I don't recommend going for a swim. The water in this area has a very strong currents. 

The trail then continues to the right, on a strongly pronounced ascent until you reach 120m above the sea. The path goes along the edge of the coast, providing the (exhausted) hikers with rewarding views of Anaga and Los Roques de Anaga. At some times, the trail was very narrow, and we had to literally grab ourselves to the rocks and not look down - the cliffs went straight down from around 140m height. Nothing suitable for anyone afraid of heights! This was also the reason for which I have rather few pictures of this trail (I was too busy not falling into the ocean!). But I did take one picture that may just sum up the whole trail along the coast side. 

Our views along the way

After 7kms walking along the coast and small plantations and gardens, we finally arrived to upper part of Taganana - the place where we would be rewarded with a nice simple beach and fresh fish, wrinkled potatoes and mojo picón. It was only another 20-30 minutes walk down to arrive to the beach, when a kind local woman came out of her house to greet us. We told her where we came from and our plans for the rest of the day which ended with an optimistic "... and then we get the bus back to Afur". There was no bus back to Afur, not even near Afur. "Well... then we'll take a cab", we hesitated. No. No cabs in Taganana. Good. We were stuck.

The local woman told us that the quickest way back to Afur was walking over the mountains.  I wanted to laugh, or cry, or both (and maybe I did). It had taken us 4 and a half hours and a lot of stress to get to where we were. I wanted my reward! But sure, if we walked down to the beach, we then had to walk all the way back plus walk over the mountains. And it was getting cold. And it looked like it was going to rain. 

So we walked back to Afur over the mountain - for another 2 hours. At some point, I stopped feeling pain in my legs, and started to feel desperation - I was hungry, angry, tired, sweaty, and cold, too. But once we had reached the top of the mountain, a strong feeling of satisfaction started growing inside me. 

Taganana, from the Top

The views we got to admire from both sides of this mountain paid back all the breathless, waterless and foodless moments I thought to die along the way (back then, I didn't know what I was capable of doing!). 

On our way back to Afur (this time over the mountains)

... And after 6 and a half hours, we arrived back to where we had parked our car. Just in time to drive back home, get a shower and make ourselves through the full menu of my favorite restaurant, La Rosa di Bari. 

Lessons learned during my first real hike experience?

1. Don't trust the estimated walking hours you can find at the start of a trail (or on the internet). Unless you are an expert hiker, I would recommend to add up to one hour more. 
2. Wear correct footwear. I didn't wear hiking boots but simple sport shoes and thought this would be enough. When I noticed how much I slipped with them, walking along the edge of the coast was really scary - I didn't feel safe at all. 
3. Take a hiking stick with you. You may think these sticks are disturbing, but  they really come handy when walking along steep paths. 
4. Be prepared for anything. We just had 1 L of water with us, and we were 3. We managed to refill twice on the way, but it wasn't enough (specially on the way back). We didn't have food because we had planned to eat fish at the beach, and consequently spent 6 and a half hours starving.  
5. Organize yourself before you leave. It would have been wise to research the best way to go back from Taganana to Afur before walking the 4 and a half hours. 

Which has so far been your most challenging travel experience? What have you learned of it?

By the way, on thursday I was featured over at Amanda's A Dangerous Business as her Thursday Traveler, check it out!

The Land of Water and Fire (Part II)

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Lanzarote, Canary Islands (Spain)

I know many people who have heard about Lanzarotes beautiful beaches, but besides crystal clear water and great temperatures (even in December!), there's a lot more to see and experience. It's impossible to summarize the secrets of the island in just one post - so this one is going to be the first of a series called The Land of Water and Fire. 

La Ermita de las Nieves

Lanzarote is quite flat compared to other Canary Islands like Tenerife or La Palma - It's highest mountain is little less than 700m high! This makes it easy to access high points and enjoy the amazing views. Visiting the Ermita de las Nieves is rather a insider tip, so you won't find any tourist masses around. This beautiful little chapel is situated on the top of the mountains Risco de Famara. In case you wonder - Nieve means snow in spanish! 

Formerly, the locals used to walk up the slope to the Ermita, to pray here for rain whenever it was desperately needed. Nowadays, it's still a local tradition to climb up these slopes on the 5th of August, enjoying the spectacular views of Famara.

Las Nieves can be easily reached by car from the LZ10, driving through Los Valles and watching out for the signpost "Las Nieves". 

If you liked this post, you might also like:

- The Land of Water and Fire (Part I)

Stay tuned to know more about the Land of Water and Fire soon!

The Land of Water and Fire (Part I)

Hello! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Lanzarote, Canary Islands (Spain)

I know many people who have heard about Lanzarotes beautiful beaches, but besides crystal clear water and great temperatures (even in December!), there's a lot more to see and experience. It's impossible to summarize the secrets of the island in just one post - so this one is going to be the first of a series called The Land of Water and Fire. 

Parque Nacional de Timanfaya

Lanzarote is the oldest of the Canary Islands, and was emerged more than 18 million years ago as a result of aggressive volcanic activity. The National Park of Timanfaya emerged when 32 of the island's 100 existing volcanoes erupted simultaneously, between 1730 and 1736, destroying fields and villages and covering 1/4 of the island. 

Today, Timanfaya is probably one of the few National Parks worldwide with not even a blade of grass to be seen - The heat of the ground, the almost inexistent vegetation, the abstract volcanic twists and turns... altogether remind me of something evil. 

At the Islote de Hilario, which is the starting point of a beautiful ride (or walk), the surface reaches up to 120ºC, and only 13 meters deep even 600ºC! Once you pour water into one of the wholes, and wait for 2-3 seconds, the water is thrown into the air with an extremely high speed, creating artificial geysers. 

The National Park can be toured on a bus (or a camel, I think) and can be hiked. You cannot walk freely through the lava field - not that anyone wants to go through that kind of hell anyways, but, with previous appointment and confirmation, there are two guided walking tours you can take - an easy one of 2 hours and a difficult one that takes about 5 hours. The weather prediction showed possible showers, so we decided to go safe by taking the bus tour.   

At the Islote de Hilario (starting and ending point of this tour) you can find the Restaurant "El Diablo" (the devil - which is the symbol that Cesar Manrique, architect, designed for the National Park). The food is quite simple. If anything, I would recommend to try the grilled steaks, which are grilled out on natural warmth coming out of the ground. 

The whole scenery is truly impressive and probably one of my favorites among the seven islands - next time, I'll hike it! 

If you liked this post, you might also like:

- The Land of Water and Fire (Part II)

Stay tuned to know more about the Land of Water and Fire soon!

My Secret Places In Tenerife I

Playa de Los Patos and Playa del Ancon

Picture Source

I realized I've never talked about my home land, when, in fact, Tenerife is pretty much paradise. A different kind, though, which is what I like most about it. Forget about the white sand, the crystal clear water and the millions of tourists, and turn it into high and aggressive waves, rocky background, black sand and less than 10 people on the beach - that's Los Patos and Ancón.

They belongs to a part of La Orotava called El Rincón. When going by bus (probably the easiest, due to the lack of parking spots) you can take bus 376 from La Orotava and get down on the last stop. From there on, the walk is only of 10 to 20 minutes.

Getting there is already an adventure, as you have to walk through banana plantations, climb rocks and try to avoid high tide and full moon, since the beaches are not very wide and tend to disappear with the sea during those days. Sounds amusing, right? It's half as difficult as it sounds, really - you just have to keep that in mind. Both beaches are frequented by surfers, nudists and sometimes, during summer, you can find people camping. It's rather rare to find foreigners around - They tend to stick on to the first of the three beaches of the area, Bollullo (maybe because it's the only one that does not carry the risk of leave no trace on certain days).