Heavy grey clouds filled the eastern sky as the sun rose over southern Tenerife. Not being certain of the weather the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox decided to head north and mooch around Santa Cruz.

As the explorers headed north it became clear that it was not going to be clear. The cloud covered most of the island, but at least it was still dry and the temperatures were still in the 20s. The first foray into the town was fruitless. Gorse Fox had parked at a big department store and as they started to explore, it became clear this was not in the centre of town. Have wandered about on the periphery for a while, they returned to base camp (the department store) and bought a map!

Moving on the car was repositioned in the car park by the docks, and the exploration continued in the old part of the town. Strret cafes spilled onto the pavements and narrow streets radited up from the port. The Plaza de Espana was being resurfaced and looked like a bulding site, but it was clear that it would make a great meeting place in the future. Whilst Santa Cruz would not make it onto GF's list of top ten cities of the world, it did have a quaint charm (in the older quarter) and some magnificent buildings.

The cloud never lifted, and the greyness flattened the colours of the surroundings. This was not a flattering day on which to visit a sub-tropical city for the first time.

By mid-afternoon we decided to head back to the south. There we found that we were right on the trailing edge of the cloud bank, and were able to sit in the warm afternoon sunshine and enjoy!

[File under: Diary]