A Week In Tenerife - The Mt Teide Observatory Part 4

Now that I've covered the astronomical aspects of the trip to Tenerife, I'd like to share some of the more touristy things I did on the island.

The one, unavoidable activity on Tenerife was site seeing. Even during filming it was impossible not to get distracted by the scenery. The same can be said about the sunshine, actually and I took advantage of that whenever I had a bit of down time during the day.

Typical example of down time

I put together a short video of some of the sites on Tenerife, which you can check out below. Now, I apologise for the repetitive camera moves, but it's a little hard to concentrate of filming when you're looking at some of these breathtaking views.

Yes, the second last shot is my hand in a vent of steam coming from the volcano.

Another fantastic way to enjoy the sites is to hike one of the many marked trails in Tenerifes National park, Parque Nacional del Teide. A lot of these trails begin near the base of the conical Mt. Teide.

Perhaps one of the best places in the world to put a hotel. The Parador Hotel is smack bang in the middle of the national park and also has telescopes available for rent! Best hotel ever!

The beginning of a hiking trail, sporting a fabulous weather warn rock formation.

Another rock formation. This one was giant, and splits the track.

The only thing missing from my holiday was my own telescope to use. It wasn't feasible to bring one along this time since most of our check in and carry on luggage was comprised of filming equipment. Next time however, I'm going to plan a full on amateur astronomers holiday to Tenerife, complete with telescope and equatorial mount. Not a tripod however, because get this; in the Mt. Teide Observatory they provide permanent telescope piers with power supplies for public use. All you need to do is pop the equatorial head on and away you go. See below.

Clothes took a back seat in terms of luggage space.

Two of the telescope piers available for use at the Mt. Teide Observatory.