The skies begin to clear and the day gets prettier and prettier as we drive toward Garachico. On the way there are fields and fields of banana or plantain farms. Everywhere you look, banana plants are stuck in any field, on terraces clinging to the side of cliffs, just about anywhere a tree can be planted – there is a banana tree. Again, had no idea there was such a big banana business here.
It is entirely too quick of a drive to Garachico, it’s only a little at 10 am when we arrive, so we scope out the parking options on the main ocean road, and then make the decision to continue on to the end of road – to Buenavista del Norte just for the fun of it.
This gives us an opportunity to drive past Garachico and stop at a beautiful viewpoint above the town for photos.
The drive to Buenavista is nice, through little towns and down lanes lined with stone walls and palm trees, always with the impressive granite mountain cliffs in the background.
As the skies clear, we even see a rainbow over the water.
We reach the end of the road past the golf course, and back track our way into Garachico again. It is about time for lunch, and we’ve picked out a restaurant on the main square, Aristedes, that gets great reviews and the menu has tons of seafood – octopus, squid and cuttlefish. We’re ready for food by now!
Parking is now a bit crazier than when we first passed by, as there are more tourists pouring into town. We make one pass with no luck, but on our 2nd drive by, we find the perfect space right by the little grocery store we want to visit and the road that leads into town. The grocery store turns out to be a bust – expensive wine and no beer that will work for us. Back out on the street, we end up taking the long way around to town – following the ocean road along the outside of the walls, then finally turning into town, walking up the stairs…
…that lead to Plaza de la Libertad, and the two churches that anchor the plaza.
It is here that Aristedes is located, right on the corner of the plaza by the white church. As we approach the restaurant patio, though, we notice nothing is outside – at all. Not good. Then we see the hours of operation sign – NO! Not again! They aren’t open on Friday or Saturday. Aw, come on! There was nothing about that on their website or in any reviews. Darn it. We are so disappointed.
Sigh. So now what? Well, I’ve written down another restaurant, El Caleton, which is right on the water. It got good reviews, but, right there, above the little lava created pools where you can swim, we’re sure it will be pricier and probably a little more touristy. Oh well.
We walk back through town and along the coast to El Caleton. It’s pretty busy, as you would expect for a restaurant with tables and umbrellas on a slate patio overlooking the ocean on a now beautiful sunny day. We grab a table for two fight on the water and peruse the menu.
It’s actually quite a good menu, with lots of choices, and surprisingly enough, not that pricey for the location. We end up with more food than necessary – as usual – but there is Calamares alla plancha (grilled calamari that comes with roasted potatoes) that is calling Ed’s name, local Queso Asado (baked cheese) that is me all the way, and then Pulpo all vinaigrette (octopus vinaigrette) that sounds good to both of us. The food comes – and – yep – its too much – but it is extremely good, and the presentation is amazing. Yes, that is cheese there with a round cut out and a sweet hoisin type dipping sauce. Excellent.
We could sit here all day actually – it’s that great – atmosphere, weather, food, drink – we’re happy. But, this is not the port at which you want to linger and push the boundaries. Miss the ship here, and you’re flying back to Fort Lauderdale to meet the ship as she sails in from her 7 day Atlantic crossing. So, reluctantly, we pack it up and make our way back to our car and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
On the way, we spot a Lidl grocery store (an Aldi competitor), so we dive off the highway and make a supply stop. Wow – this place is awesome. Total Aldi format, and the prices are insanely cheap. There is a whole proscuitto ham leg for 95 Euro – ridiculous. The beer and wine are dirt cheap, I pick up what turns out to be an awesome bottle of Verdejo for 2.59 Euros (I broke the bank and didn’t choose the .99 euro bottle). We could go nuts here, but we have learned our lesson with customs and meats in Florida, so we aren’t going to push the envelope and try to smuggle sausage back home. The best we can do is load up with cacahuetes (peanuts) and more chocolate bars.
Back on the road, we successfully navigate back to the port parking lot. I leave Ed with the bags on a bench by the lot and walk back to the rental office to drop the keys in the drop box, then we begin our trek back to the ship for our 7 days at sea
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