petanque and petals

The third of my posts about Tenerife!  It’s all such an age ago too!  If only I could keep at my blogging instead of doing a lot of the useless stuff I do on the computer!  No I don’t play games – much -  but collecting and pinning stuff on boards is something I could cut back on!

Back to Tenerife then!  One of the main reasons – no, THE main reason my friend Peter goes out to Tenerife in the winter is that he’s passionate about petanque, and there are lots of Europeans taking holidays on the island during the winter months, and spending their afternoons playing at the Bel-ten, (or was it Ten-Bel?).  Tommy and Sandra probably introduced him to the Tenerifian “scene” in the first place and he is very happy playing with, and learning from, folk who have probably grown up with the game!   Some are very serious and rarely raise a smile, but even I managed to get a few grins and high fives when I occasionally threw a good boule!  My biggest and best moment was a high five from the French petanque champion – a lovely guy called Jean Pierre!  It was fun joining in, and  I enjoyed using some French in the attempt to find a common language amongst the players.  Most spoke some English, but a few Belgians and Spanish players only had a few words.

We played several times, including in the competition held on the Friday of Carnival week when we were told to dress up in fancy dress!  Tommy’s and Sandra’s brains were picked and they produced a box of things they keep in their apartment for special events.  I picked out the Scottish saltire tee-shirt and a silly hat to match, while Peter chose a white Scottish tee-shirt, tartan ribbon and a “Jimmy” hat.  (Comes from the expression “See you, Jimmy”  supposedly used a lot in Scotland, especially in Glasgow, where all Scotsmen are thought to have red hair!!!!!  I’m trying to find the words for an English translation of “See you!” but I’m having problems with it.)  We did look a right pair!  I got some odd stares too and I discovered that the Scottish saltire is also the Tenerifian flag!  Fancy that! Their background is darker blue though.

At first we wondered if we were going to be the only idiots, but it turned out that quite a few folk had dressed up.

The dark haired guy in the left photo is actually bald, but looked great in his dark wig. 

The folk on the immediate left are Danish.

We had a good time that afternoon, even if we didn’t win!    The final was played with everyone standing or sitting round the piste on the available plastic chairs.  It was quite a tense  game, but in the end the woman in the red tee-shirt and her partner won!

 

 

 

 

Now, my title suggests I have more to say about my visit to Tenerife, and that is where I’m going next.  It was February, traditionally a dreary dull month back at home….. but here it was like the middle of a British, Scottish even, summer!  And were the flowers in bloom?  You bet!  Take a look at these!  I can’t name them all, but I’ll do my best… starting with the bougainvilleas!  They were everywhere! 

Aren’t they amazing!  even growing wild in the scrubland at Bel-ten (or is it Ten-bel?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was on the way to the cafe where we had lunch a couple of times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and this is a cactus!

 

 

 

 

and I think this is a bird of paradise plant.

 

and more bougainvilleas.

 

 

 

more cacti, below,

 

It seems somehow shocking that these on Peter’s terrace are artificial – and not his!

 

 

 

Yes, I know it’s a bird, a parakeet in fact, a rarely still one at that, but I had nowhere else to put it, so it’s here!  They were everywhere too, too fast to take pictures of normally, as they screech their way through the air at enormous speed!

and more bougainvilleas – even orange ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was in Garachica where a volcanic eruption 300 yeats ago covered some of the village.

 

How beautiful is this with its two tone colouring! 

And this IS a bird of paradise flower along with another pretty red flower.

I must have loads more photos with flowers and petanque in them, but I think this is probably more than enough for today!  I may just have one more episode to write about, and that was our coach tour round the volcano, Teide (rhymes with Lady, I believe), down to the north coast and up into the mountains where the roads are SCARE-EEEEE!

Talk again soon!