DISCOVER PUERTO DE LA CRUZ

It is located 4 km West of La Orotava , and is about 37 km from Santa Cruz de Tenerife and about 25 km to Tenerife North Airport.

The municipality is the smallest in Tenerife. In Spanish the inhabitants are known as portuenses

The elevation is 9 meters. The lowest point is the coastal Atlantic zone, the highest is Las Arenas, a volcanic cone with an elevation of 249 meters. Farmland is in tucked into the valley areas and within the Atlantic coastal zone; urbanisation covers much of the area and the terrain rises rapidly to the south.

Prior to the development of hotels and buildings, much of the area consisted of agricultural land. Considerable fiscal pressure led to the land being developed and the population shifted from rural to urban and tourism. The population is mainly urban today.


SITES OF INTEREST

• Costa Martiánez (El Lago) compeleted and designed by the famous architect César Manrique
• Charco Square in the town centre is worth a visit.
• Loro Parque, a famous park and zoo located on the outskirts of the city.
• Ermita de San Amaro, dedicated to the semi-legendary Saint Amaro.
• The local sewage-plant, situated close to the Punta Brava beach, the Martinez Hotel complex and Loro Parque. It is known to leak and can be identified via its intense odour from a great distance.

TOURISM IN PUERTO DE LA CRUZ

Tourism is an important industry in Puerto de la Cruz, as evidenced by the number of large hotels on the skyline.

Puerto de la Cruz is frequented by the Northern European during the winter months, due to its mild climate, and is particularly popular over Christmas and the new year periods.

The Western European tourist contingent to Puerto de la Cruz tends towards more mature couples, in comparison to resorts such as Playa de las Americas. Puerto also has a modest gay scene centred around Generalisimo Avenue.

The summer months sees more Spanish tourists, particularly during the very hot month of August on the Spanish mainland.


EVENTS IN PUERTO DE LA CRUZ

The Tenerife Airshow (Festival de Aeromodelismo) (Spanish for 'Aeromodelling festival') is held every year in near the harbour, usually in Europa Square. The airshow celebrated it's 25th anniversary in 2006.

El Carnaval is held every year. Ash Wednesday is in the middle of El Carnaval.

"La Embarcacion de la Virgen del Carmen" (The Sea-setting of the Virgin Carmen), is held July 16th. It has become in latter years "la Fiesta del Agua" (The water party), where copious amounts of water are thrown at the festivities. It is preceded by "La Sardinada" (The Sardine Festival), where sardines are fried and sold the night before at San Telmo.

Hundreds of people congregate in Charco Square and its fishing port, where festival goers participate in games (like the popular run-along-the grease-pole, where people have to run along a greased pole and catch a flag to win the game, very humorous).

Because of the normally mild weather, people go in T-shirt and shorts (British and German tourists are especially known to wear socks with sandals), or just bathing suits, and enjoy a quick dip in the waters of the port to help cool down in the usually good July weather.

The event starts around 12-1 o'clock in the afternoon and lasts till around 10-12 o'clock at night, depending on when most people get tired. Between 11pm to 5am, heavy drinking is known to set in amongst those dressed in socks and sandals. Local police such as the Civil Guards, tend to patrol the popular beaches and arrest mainly drunk English tourists.

At the height of "La Sardinada", a large papier mache sardine is wheeled through the streets, brought to the waterfront, "blessed" with "holy water" (normally petrol or lighter fluid) by a man dressed as a Bishop. The sardine is then set alight, to huge applause. After this, a huge firework display ensues. The event is known as the "Burial of the Sardine".

Amongst the crowd at this event, "professional mourners" will be found. These are invariably men in drag, wailing, for comic effect.

Although the Burial of the Sardine rarely starts on time, the event always attracts crowds, and it is advisable to arrive early at the harbour.

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