We had another half day in Santa Cruz – before leaving the island (and our guide) behind and continue on to Gran Canaria.

We spent the morning with a bit of a sightseeing tour of town, once more getting started at the local market – the Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África. The market was still in the process of opening up – so, many booths (especially the souvenir ones) were not open yet (or just getting ready) – obviously we had made it before the tourist crowds.

From the market we made it to the harbor front and on to the Auditorio de Tenerife. The auditorium is probably one of the younger buildings around, inaugurated in 2003 only. It’s shape is unique – and there certainly was some resemblance with an opera house in another coastal town down under.

From the auditorium we walked by the Castle of St John the Baptist and made it to the Palmetum. The palmetum is essentially a botanical garden specialized in palm trees. The park is organized by geographical origin of the various palm species – grouping those of the same origin in the same area. For me the ones from the Pacific region – New Caledonia, Papua New-Guinea, Polynesia – were the most interesting.

Afterwards it was time to fetch our luggage, say good-bye and board the ferry for the two hour trip over to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.