The one where we went to an island
Lilac Route in Tenerife, 31/05 - 03/06
Qué pasa, muchachos! And greetings from Tenerife!
After a 30-hour long travel day, with a lot of snacks and not a lot of sleep, we finally arrived in Tenerife. Even though it was the middle of the night, Lara and Jorge from AEGEE-Tenerife picked us up from the airport, greeting us as if we were old friends. Aside from the ease with which we all got along, I also felt an instant bond with Lara and Jorge as both had connections to my home country, Ireland! Listening to Greek pop music while cruising from the airport to our accommodation in Puerto de la Cruz, it’s safe to say that we were all very excited to see what Tenerife had in store for us.
After a good night’s sleep and a well-deserved morning in, Dimitris and Ewa strolled towards the coast to conduct some street interviews in the hopes of hearing young people’s thoughts on the climate crisis. Gladly, people were very receptive to their questions and generally happy to be on camera, although there was a bit of a language barrier. Luckily, Dimitris’ and Ewa have both studied Spanish, so they did their best to conduct some interviews through Spanish (great job guys)! Once I met back up with the group, we decided to go for lunch with Lara, Eugenia, and Andres (all from AEGEE-Tenerife) and some of their friends. We ate arepas, a Venezuelan sandwich made with cornbread. We all agreed that it was very tasty. After some strolling, ice cream eating and ice cream dropping (in my case), we said goodbye to our new friends and headed to the beach. We later wrapped up the day by cooking various pasta dishes, chilling on the rooftop, and making calls to our loved ones at home. All in all, we enjoyed spending a relaxed day together, and were excited to give our workshops the following morning.
On Tuesday morning, we took the bus from Puerto de la Cruz to La Laguna, where our first workshop of the stop would take place. Coincidentally, it would also be our first time to give this workshop; Climate Emotions 101. Differing from our time in Antalya, where we conducted our workshops in a café, this one was set to take place in the International Offices of the Universidad de La Laguna (La Laguna University). We felt very welcomed by the staff there, and with help from AEGEE-Tenerife, we were able to turn the classroom into a very nice workshop space.
And so, the workshop started with a meditation activity in which participants practiced gratitude, and were asked to imagine their futures. It was interesting to note how many of the participants described images of the weather, environment and climate – indicating what a central role the environment plays in life in Tenerife. Moving on, an activity that involved mapping feelings on the climate emotions wheel brought forth a clearer picture of environmental protection in Tenerife. Many of the participants described anger towards the Government of the Canary Islands for allowing the overexploitation of the islands resources. One participant in particular explained how, “all of the water goes to the hotels”, indicating how the island operates more for tourists than for residents. In general, there was a strong sense of frustration and powerlessness amongst our workshop participants. Yet, they were determined to try to turn those feelings into action, heeding our advice about setting realistic and impactful goals. For example, many participants pledged to join climate movements within the next couple of months. After many interesting conversations, we headed for a coffee break, which included many wonderful homemade snacks provided by the locals of AEGEE-Tenerife.
Our second workshop, Slow travel, slow living was well received, despite our initial nerves about giving a slow travel workshop on an island where such travel was largely inaccessible. Many of the participants were inspired by the activity which required them to plan their own eco-trips, wanting to adapt some of the sustainable habits we discussed. We also spoke more generally about the benefits of public transport and the severe problems that Tenerife has with traffic congestion. One example that really stuck with us was that of Bocacangrejo, a village that recently went viral because of its decorated beach. The participants explained how, when an old man fell ill in the village, emergency services were unable to reach him because of the traffic congestion close to the viral beach. Stories like this, and the workshop more generally, caused us to personally reflect on the often detrimental intersection of tourism, the environment and human rights.
Despite the harsh realities, we were feeling enlightened after the workshops, and ready to explore all that Tenerife had to offer. The three of us, along with Jorge and Eugenia headed to Las Teresitas Beach in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Santa Cruz was much warmer than the gloomy temperatures of La Laguna, owing to the diverse microclimates that can be found on the island. While the others took advantage of the beautiful Las Teresitas beach, myself and Eugenia chatted some more about life in Tenerife. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she explained how people in the Canary Islands often feel separated from the “Peninsula” (mainland Spain). I was also shocked to learn that Tenerife has a population of nearly 1 million, and there are serious concerns about overpopulation on the island. Overall, chatting with Eugenia was extremely informative; reshaping my views of Tenerife, reminding me that, at least for the locals, it wasn’t the paradise it was made out to be.
After our beach trip, we headed back into Santa Cruz for some sightseeing and to grab coffees. I had been learning so much about Tenerife, but now I had a chance to share some of my own culture too. Jorge, from AEGEE-Tenerife, had spent many summers in Ireland, and we enjoyed reminiscing about Gaelic foods, drinks and sports. Maybe, our islands weren’t so different after all.
Eventually, with heavy hearts, it was time to say goodbye to the lovely Tenerife and its even more lovely locals. We headed back to our accommodation and caught some sleep before another day of travel. Next stop, Alicante!
Written by: Sheenagh Rowland
(and the Lilac team)
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