Island Hopping 2024: Canary Islands; Mount Teide Stargazing

Reading, looking up to enjoy the spectacular scenery, dozing off, then reading again.  This is our cycle of life while at the villa.  We spend most of our time on the balconies.  I like to move from one place to another. Sandy has found a chair in an alcove of the lower balcony that she has made her own personal nest.  

Together, beneath the golden caress of the Canary Islands' sun, we found solace on our weathered marble balcony.  Its timeworn stones, warmed by the day's embrace, cradled us in our individual daydreams. The undulating whispers of the Atlantic winds, are a constant companion and to me, at least, weave tales of ancient mariners and distant shores.  This is the magical feel of this place and this island.

In the evening we booked a stargazing tour to the top of Mount Teide.  The tallest mountain in all of Spain, Mount Teide, towers above the Atlantic Ocean offering an unparalleled vantage point for observing the cosmos. Its elevation minimizes atmospheric interference and its island isolation reveals a pantheon of celestial wonders, from distant galaxies to the dance of neighboring planets.  The telescopes at the top of the mountains revealed planets, nebulas, galaxies and binary stars to us.  Photos from the Hubble Space Telescope have spoiled us in terms seeing many of the wonders of the universe in color.  Yet, there is still something special about staring through the eye piece of a telescope and seeing first hand the Orion nebula, albeit that the light I am seeing through the telescope lens actually left the nebula 1,344 years ago (about the time the vandals were sacking Rome).  Still, it was new to me!

Constellation Orion taken with iPhone.  Tip of the dagger is where the Orion Nebula is, and where baby stars are born

Mount Teide

Sun Setting over Tenerife's sister island of La Gomera

Canary Island Pines found only on Canary Islands

Mount Teide, a volcano, is a little over 12,000 feet above sea level.  Atop this mountain  looking up at the stars the temperatures were cold, Icelandic cold.  As much as we appreciated the stargazing we were very happy to get back into the nice heated van.  We got back to our villa about midnight.  It was a good day in the Canary Islands. 

Bundled up for Stargazing