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Some Interesting
facts about the resort and the island!
During February
every year Carnival of Tenerife takes place.
Second only to that of Rio de Janeiro and lasting for
six days it is an extravaganza of exotic floats,
rhythmical tropical music and fireworks in Puerto de la
Cruz.

Tenerife is no
stranger to movie crews having done a wonderful job as
backdrop to 1million years BC, starring Raquel Welch.

The scene in Total Recall - when Arnie slips down the
slope & smashes his faceplate in a dream, was filmed on
the huge southern wall of the caldera, approx a third of
the way down.
The latest movie to be shot on location on the island is
Clash of the Titans.
Approx 160,000 years
ago, the original Mount Teide (could have been 8,000 -
9,000 metres height, could well have been taller than
Everest Nepal / China) collapsed leaving a huge caldera
, the Caldera del Canadas, the floor of which still
stands approx 2,300 metres above sea level.
Tenerife has it own
pyramids, in Guimar. They are low, stepped sided
pyramids, similar to the ones seen in Central and
Mesoamerica, as constructed by the Mayans.
It's also known that several of the pyramids have
underground chambers beneath them – they were used by
the native Guanches people as hiding places when the
Spaniards came.
The way the pyramids are arranged may have special
astronomical significance.

Tenerife is a
volcanic island that was originally formed in the late
Terniary Age.
In the centre of the island, the impressive cone of
Teide (3.718 m.) (the third largest volcano on Earth),
rises up over the Caldera de Las Cañadas, forming the
highest point of the island and, indeed, of the whole of
Spain.

Tenerife, the
largest of the 7 islands that make up the Canary Island
archipiélago, is just over 300 Km from the African
coast, and about 1.300 Km from the Spanish Mainland.
Thick gray dashed lines show the location of rift zones.
Orotava and Guimar formed as large pieces of the island
were removed by landslides. The landslides are caused by
the gravitational instability of the large island.

El Drago, is about
700 years and is in the town of Icod de los Vinos.
The tree is over 16 meters high, weighs about 140
tonnes, has a diameter of 20 meters and a circumference
of 6 feet.

Masca is one of the
most picturesque parts of the island and is the tip of
the northwest that is covered by the Teno Mountains.
Originally occupied by pirates and they had great views
of La Gomera, so they could see all the ships passing
between the Islands.

In Candelaria there
is a large open square with statues of the ancient 9
kings (Menceyes) who ruled before the Spanish conquest.
The Romans called
the Canaries the Fortunate Islands because of their
excellent weather.

That Fairways
gardens have over 150 types of plants?
We have started a project to name them, so everybody can
see what they are.
Next time you are at Fairways have a look around!

That Tenerife has
over 400 volcanoes?

That the Island has
21 different micro climates?

That
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton built the first
luxury holiday house on the island, and established the
first hotel here.
Not realizing that Taylor is English and Burton is
Welsh, the islanders named Playa de Las Americas after
these "American" movie stars.
The infamous Veronicas Strip was named after Taylor,
whose middle name is Veronica.

That the export of
locally grown bananas was the economic mainstay of
Tenerife between 1870 and 1914 until the First World War
and the British blockade robbed the island of its
international markets? Although the banana no longer
plays a pivotal role in the island’s economy it is still
cultivated extensively for export.

That Admiral Nelson
lost his right arm in Tenerife, thanks to a cannon ball?
It's sort of his own fault - he'd launched an attack on
the island.

Did you know that
Mount Teide casts the largest sea shadow in the world?
And while we are on the subject of being high...you can
catch the cable car right to the top of Teide...you
might have to queue, but not for long!

Did you know that
scholars still debate the origins of indigenous
Canarians, called "Guanches". One theory is that Greek
and Roman sailors brought North African prisoners to the
island and abandoned them here, and that those
prisoners, in turn, became what we consider "pre-hispanic"
Canarians.

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