The Passenger ⋆ Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.

January 5, 2025January 4, 2025

Tenerife

It was a rather spontaneous decision to spend the end of the year on Tenerife, enjoying the warmer weather in contrast to central Europe. Tenerife is the largest of the Islas Canarias located in the Atlantic ocean close to Western Sahara and Morocco. The island has the shape of a tilted Y and was formed 12 million years ago by volcanic activities. First human traces can be dated back to the 10th century BC; interaction with European cultures started in the 14th century CE followed by a colonisation by the Spanish after massive fights with the indigenious people.

January 3, 2025January 4, 2025

Teide

The highest mountain of Spain can in fact not be found on the Spanish mainland, but on the island of Tenerife belonging to the Islas Canarias. The Teide is 3,715 meters high and of volcanic origin – the last erruption was in 1909. Surrounding the mountain you can find a beautiful national park and a caldera named Las Cañadas with a diameter of 17 kilometers. The Pico del Teide was also the holy mountain of the Guanche indigenious people who gave it the name Echeyde, El Teide is just the Spanish transformation of this name.

December 28, 2024December 30, 2024

Ghost town

If you’re into lost places or graffiti art you should consider a visit to the Sanatorio de Abona at Abades, on the southern coast of Tenerife. Leprosy reached the island rather late and in 1943 it was decided to create a sanatorio with all you need: from different houses via hospitals to a church in Franco style. Prior to finishing the construction works leprosy could be defeated and the sanatoria became superfluous. Not a single person moved and was treated there. As the buildings were never finished and repurposed, Abades is today a ghost town close to the shore and tourist houses.

December 27, 2024December 30, 2024

Drago milenario

The icon of the city of Icod de los Vinos is a very old ‘dragon tree‘ or Dracaena draco. These trees grow very slowely and in former times this large one was expected to be 3,000 years old – in fact it is growing close to the city center since 600-800 years, still impressive. The Drago is 16 meters high and has a circumfence of six meters. Its resin is blood red and the Guanche living first on the island treated the tree as their sanctuary and used the resin to cover their deceased. The tree has been declared a national monument in 1917.

December 26, 2024December 30, 2024

Reina Sofía

North and south are concepts that are used in a flexible manor on Tenerife. The island was created by different volcanoes and is Y-shaped. Everything that is rather north of the central mountains is considered north, everything else as the south-side of the island. Driving distances are never really long, but it might be sensible to have an airport north and south of the Teide mountain. The one in the south is the Aeropuerto de Tenerife Sur Reina Sofía (TFS) located in the community of Granadilla de Abona.

November 26, 2024November 27, 2024

Winter Wonderland

When the days are getting shorter and colder, a part of Hyde Park close to Speakers’ Corner turns into the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland – a crazy mix of a Christmas market, the Oktoberfest and a fun fair. Winter Wonderland began at London in 2005 and was ever-growing since then (if you ignore the Covid-19 times). It combines good music, festive lights, fun rides and overpriced food and drinks. A funny adventure letting you taste unexpected food creations and experience the joy of amusement parks.

November 11, 2024January 12, 2025

Is this Africa?

That was one of the very good questions my first tour guide at Casablanca discussed with me. A question that is easy to answer geographically, but culturally? At Morocco, the Arabic history mixes up with Portuguese, French and Spanish influence. It is a country oriented pretty much towards Europe but with a fascinating past and heritage that makes a tour through the North African country an endeavour that one must do once in a lifetime.

November 11, 2024December 2, 2024

Marrakech-Ménara

The international airport of Marrakech (RAK) is located at the city quarter Ménara pretty close to the modern part of the city. It was opened 1942 as an airbase of the United States (like most airports at Morocco) and transports 2.5 million passengers each year with its one runway. That is just a third of the volume of the airport of the economic powerhouse, Casablanca. The modern airport building is connected via busses to the city, but because of the short distance also fixed-price taxis are a very valid option.

November 10, 2024December 8, 2024

Jardín Ménara

Where do the locals of Marrakech spend their Sunday afternoons? A lot of them you can find in the relaxed atmosphere of the Jardín Ménara, a vast olive grove in the southwest of the city. Between these olive trees people gather for a picnic, play and make music. Food and drinks are sold on the ways leading through the garden and to the large water reservoir in its center. The garden was created in 1156 by the rulers of the Almohad caliphate and today belongs to the Marrakech UNESCO world heritage site.

November 9, 2024December 8, 2024

Oullywood

One of the most beautiful places of Morocco is Äit-Ben-Haddou, a traditional city with houses made of clay at the Asif Ounila river. It is a maze of streets, towers and houses in the desert which slowly turned from a real city into a movie industry hotspot and tourist location. Today still some people still live there, but preserving the hold houses is costly and housing comfort is better elsewhere. Those who stay, live from tourism and therefore preserve this magnificent place.