In the fall of 2023, we embarked on a transatlantic cruise crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. I was excited to visit the Canary Islands as my high school penal had often written about traveling there for family vacations. One of the stops was Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife being the island and Santa Cruz being the capital. In Spanish, Santa Cruz means Holy Cross hence, there are multiple cross monuments throughout the city
We usually venture off on our own rather than taking a ship tour, and this day was no different. Instead, we decided to go on a walking tour and see some of the sights in town. After leaving the port, we noticed a small plaza with a large cross called the Cruz de Santiago, or St. James Cross.
The cross is associated with Saint James, one of the first 12 apostles of Christ and the first disciple to be martyred for his faith. The cross’s sword shape may represent the weapon used to behead Saint James; the cross symbolizes God’s protection and can be given as a gift to wish someone well on their travels or as a reminder to be careful while traveling.
Iglesia de Nuestra Senora del la Concepcion, Church of Our Lady of the Conception, is just a few blocks from the cross. It was the first temple founded in Tenerife and the mother church from which all the others on the island were born. Construction began in 1511, replacing an older parish church. Initial construction focused on the head of the church containing the three naves.
This initial construction was completed in 1558, 47 years later! The next phase was the tower’s construction sometime between 1577 and 1630, with final construction completed between 1694 and 1697.
Though the church took 139 years to complete, poor construction and maintenance led to a complete rebuilding between 1738 and 1778. This work, under the direction of architect Diego Nicolás Eduardo, focused on the main chapel and the head of the temple. In the late 18th century, the main chapel was replaced with a ribbed vault roof leaving the church as we see it today.
After visiting the church, we went to the Cesar Manrique Maritime Park. The park is about a 15-minute walk from the center of town and contains the Auditorio de Tenerife, similar to a convention center, a botanical and sculpture garden, the ruins of Castillo de San Juan Bautista, and a large outdoor public pool. The whole complex was designed by Cesar Manrique, a world renown artist/architect and native of the Canary Islands.
The castle has an interesting history, but I wouldn’t make an effort to see it on its own; on the other hand, the architecture of the auditorium was fascinating. We could walk around it and see it from several angles. Then, we went to the beautiful public pool with stunning auditorium views. However, unbeknownst to us, the public pool was topless!! It was not a pretty sight!
After a few hours at the pool, we began to make our way back to the ship. On the way, we stopped at a local restaurant called El Turpial for a late afternoon lunch. It was delicious! We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Santa Cruz and would happily visit again should we have the opportunity.
