"Journalism: A profession whose business is to explain to others what it personally does not understand." Lord Northcliffe, 1865 - 1922
Hello to our new friends in Tenerife, and a big 'thank you' for making our 2010 AGM so enjoyable.
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Front Page Opinion
Each week we hand the front page of the Guild website to one (or more) of our members to write on a subject about which they feel strongly. The Guild would like to point out that all views expressed in this column are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the organisation.
My Tenerife
1 February 2010
Joe Cawley, British Guild of Travel Writers
For most of the 19 years I’ve lived in Tenerife, I’ve always felt the need to qualify my response to ‘Where do you live?’ with, ‘…but in the hills’.
Perhaps inevitably because of its mass package appeal, the island has been subject to more than a little derogation. Even now there’s still a stigma to say you’re holidaying in Tenerife. In fact I’m sure many Guild members would have quietly groaned at the announcement of this year’s AGM destination.
Now, I’m not going to gush PR-spiel about the glories of Tenerife (I’d like to keep my Guild membership, thank-you very much), but by now I hope you’ll realise there’s a hell of a lot more to the island than the one square mile of beaches and bars that it’s previously been judged on.
Almost 95% of visitors head straight to the southern resorts, which is where the majority remain rooted. But as we know, they’re missing out on the real Tenerife, the Tenerife that has kept me here for so long.
My Tenerife [my house pictured left] is a hillside village where walking my kids to school every morning involves at least a dozen stops to say ‘hola’ or chat about the weather (invariably sunny). It’s a place where my family and I feel safe and welcome; where community spirit still thrives and the air is as pure as you’ll find anywhere. Most importantly though for those who visit, it’s a place with a real identity, a unique character and great depth.
Hopefully fellow members who attended the AGM will agree, and can finally help put to rest those misconceptions of the island being a one-dimensional resort. Then I can simply say, “I live in Tenerife.” And leave it at that.
To have spotted a pod of pilot whales within minutes of sailing out of the harbour and then to lean over the bow of the catamaran and look down into one of their blow holes was quite something.
The traditional Canarian dish of papas arrugadas, tiny unskinned potatoes boiled in salty water and then baked, were an element of several of our meals.
Over in Taganana, on the north of Tenerife, we ate home-cooked food at Casa Africa. When I asked who had cooked for us, I was told, simply, "Momma!" Our hostess then stood at the bar chatting with locals and allowed me to photograph her.
My late father used to take me down to Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh to watch the trains rumble by beneath the bridge with the castle hulking above. I loved the big ones to London, which seemed incredibly exotic at the time and in a way still do. I think you still need to retain some of that childish enthusiasm about travel to do the job we do.
What's your most bizarre memory of travel?
To narrow it down from about a 100... Read more...
"Curious male onlookers make photography difficult in Pakistan, but although my own temper rose, people were never aggressive. In Jacobabad, I traced a line in the dust and told three hundred tribesmen to stand behind it. Which they did. Such orders would never be tolerated in another country, but there was always laughter - at my expense - for the sight of the tall, angry woman photographer was more fun than the cinema!"
Christine Osborne, An Insight and guide to Pakistan (Longman).
For most of the 19 years I’ve lived in Tenerife, I’ve always felt the need to qualify my response to ‘Where do you live?’ with, ‘…but in the hills’.
My Tenerife [my house pictured left] is a hillside village where walking my kids to school every morning involves at least a dozen stops to say ‘hola’ or chat about the weather (invariably sunny). It’s a place where my family and I feel safe and welcome; where community spirit still thrives and the air is as pure as you’ll find anywhere. Most importantly though for those who visit, it’s a place with a real identity, a unique character and great depth.
