Where in the World is Tenerife?

There’s a lot of buzz, for some reason, about the ancient islands of Atlantis these days. When I was a kid, all those “unsolved” mysteries were very appealing– Loch Ness monster, Big Foot, and Atlantis, among other things. I’ve looked into Atlantis a little, and the best two ancient locations for this sunken city was either Santorini of Greece, or the islands of Tenerife.

I had never heard of Tenerife, and (as is my style), I looked it up. Mmmm what a beautiful place! Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain.

I’d love to see the beaches there. Isn’t that just beautiful? Tenerife is actually one of the biggest tourist spot in the world. I’d never even heard of it before. There are more flights to Tenerife by vacationing UK citizens than any other country, although that doesn’t count all the people from Spain who flock to those gorgeous beaches. Mmm.

The Romans gave Tenerife its name (meaning “snow”). Legends says that its snowy peaks are all that remain of the sunken paradise that was Atlantis. I don’t know if that is true or not, but I’ll bet it brings the tourists! It was on Tenerife that British admiral Horatio Nelson lost his arm, in the 1797 quest to take the islands.

Tenerife has suffered earthquakes from time to time, as has most of that area for millenia. It is a beautiful place and no wonder it is one of the number one tourist spots in the world. Perhaps when we finally get to see Greece, I will check out Tenerife, too!