La Laguna, the old historic centre, is linked to Tenerife’s new capital of Santa Cruz by a tram line. The journey from one terminus to the other takes 20 minutes. I really don’t know why UK cities don’t all ban buses and build a tram system to cut down on pollution and improve the transport system. This one is modern, fast, efficient…a tram runs every 5 mins for 1.35€ a journey. A snip. The impact can be faif on every street corner-the town is quiet, clean, calm. Seems to be a no-brainer especially as places like Oxford have councils who are trying to clear up their centres.

You cannot tell that you are on a volcanic island off the coast of Africa. Santa Cruz is like any other Spanish town in Spain with wide streets and open squares and numerous green parks with cooling fountains and shady trees.

Tall apartment blocks with balconies and shuttered windows stare down from a high number of storeys. It is a very picturesque, rather modern Spanish city with new paint, new buildings, new roads, new port facilities. There’s lots of greenery planted around the place to break up the streets and create a shady ambiance.

Feels like money has been used wisely to calm the place down but, at the same time, keep a classy, cultured feel to its streets and promenades. So no clever images. Just a few pics to give you a flavour of the place.

The harbour was really bustling with a cruise liner in port and four different ferries mooring up and packing or unpacking their vehicular cargoes of lorries and vans and cars, avoiding little columns of anti passengers bouncing and clanging down walkways and ladders to get on or get off.