World Cruise--Santa Cruiz, Tenerife

Back in November, just five months ago, we had visited Santa Cruz, Tenerife, on our homeward cruise from Barcelona after our India trip. At that point I was a bit lax in posting any information. Sometimes you just want to experience, not document. I was regretting that a bit. I couldn’t remember what we’d done. Bob to the rescue though. He had some pictures on his phone and we recalled our walk through the city.

Rather than retrace our steps, we looked for an excursion that would take us out from the city of Santa Cruz but we didn’t want to spend all day on a bus either. We considered a day pass to one of the hotels but the resort hotels were all about an hour’s drive from Santa Cruz and it looked like a taxi fare could be pricey. Add the fare to the day pass cost and we decided the ship’s excursion price for one particular place would give us the pool/beach experience we were looking for, the look at the countryside and all for a reasonable cost. We booked it—Siam Water Park.

As we awaited our bus to arrive on the pier, I was beginning to wonder if we’d made a good choice. The weather had cooled and there was a breeze blowing that was less than warming. The excursion staff member on the pier assured me that once the sun got going, it would warm up pleasantly. It always did in Tenerife. She has a second home there. I guessed I would take her word for it.

Our bus ride to the park took us past beautiful mountain views and seaside as well. It was nice to see something other than just buildings. In one area we passed what must have been several hundred wind turbines. As we travel, we see so many countries using alternative energy sources. I don’t understand the reluctance in our country.

The traffic got a little snarled nearer the park so our ride was a bit longer than expected but we arrived to the cheers of the kids on the bus. Did I mention there was lots of high energy on that ride? You could feel the anticipation in the young ones grow.

Once the bus was empty, our group was led directly through the entrance security line, much to the disappointment I’m sure of those waiting in that line. Inside the park, everyone took off in different directions. We had the day to ourselves until 3:15 when we needed to meet our bus for the return to the ship.

The park was all that had been advertised on their website. Wonderful landscaping with shady paths that led to all the various rides. Our plan was to find a spot on one of the sandy beaches by a wave generator and then travel the lazy river and settle into a chair or lounger for the rest of the time with a book to read.

We found one of the wave pools with a beach. At first we didn’t realize it was the children’s wave pool which explained why there were so many beach chairs available. We settled into two of them and relaxed for a bit watching some of the little ones squeal as the pint-sized waves hit them.

The sun was definitely warming the air and we decided we could brave the lazy river. We left our things in place and walked the trails until we finally found the lazy river. Along the way we could hear the screams of those on the more challenging slides and vortexes that were provided for the pleasure of the younger generations. On to the lazy river for us.

We found the river but explored the area a bit more before we picked up our water ring. There was a larger restaurant near there that featured a little more than the hamburgers, hot dogs and sandwiches we’d seen at a couple others. There was also a sea lion area with a couple of entertaining sea lions swimming and waddling around. A koi pond was wound around the floating market area which featured the usual amusement park type souvenirs. But, back to the river.

We got a double ring and I sat in the front, Bob in back. Not the most comfortable arrangement but it worked. I won’t describe our getting into it more than that. Just imagine two in their late seventies with joint problems, etc., managing a bobbing inflated ring and trying to get in gracefully. Once in the concern was how to get out later.

With a little push off from the shore, we were in the current carrying us and many others along the river’s path. The sun was shining warmly and even the bumping into one another’s water rings was not disturbing but actually a fun time. There were places where it moved a little faster and then a little slower and one place we assumed was called “the rapids” bubbled water up quickly and created a bit of a thrill.

After quite a long ride, we came to a fork in the river with an attendant standing there. He was pulling some rings off to one side, ours included, on a narrower path and we didn’t think anything of it until the narrow path took us to a moving belt that carried us up. “You know the saying,” Bob said, “What goes up…”

I finished it, “…must go down.” My heart started to speed up.

The top of the moving belt deposited us in calm waters. I breathed a sigh of relief but not a few moments later I realized the calm water disappeared sharply in front of us and another attendant was making sure the floating rings were pointed in the right direction. In a flash, we were careening down a water slide, swishing side to side. My mind kept saying, this isn’t what I signed up for. I pulled my feet up as much as I could. I was afraid of stove-piping my legs and messing up my knees even more. We finally exited into the river again and everything slowed. I exhaled. Guess it hadn’t been that bad after all.

We passed a spot we’d been past before. “If we don’t want to go down the slide again, we’d better get ourselves to the other side of the river before we hit the fork.” Wiser words were never spoken before by my husband. We worked our way over and made sure that we were headed for the exit this time.

And then there was the getting out. I felt a foot in my back as I tried to stand and it steadied me enough to get to my feet and stand. I turned and helped Bob as best I could. All in all, these two old people didn’t embarrass themselves too much.

We returned to our chairs on the beach, ate lunch, dried out and read out books until it was time to return to the entrance and our bus. The grins on our faces told the story though. We had a great time. A perfect day. A great way to spend the last port day of our world cruise. In three days we would be in Southampton and switching to our ride home.