…And while we’re on the subject of exposés, in July’s issue we interview Joe Quaranta, owner of Bobby’s Bar in Veronicas; one of the south’s best known characters and star of the nineties UK TV series ‘Tenerife Uncovered’ which did so much to paint an image of Tenerife that still endures in the minds of millions of Brits today.

We talk to Joe about the new face of Tenerife tourism in the 21st Century and find out why he feels the island is in danger of throwing out the baby with the bath water.

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For the penultimate in our ‘Walkabout’ series, I thought I’d go for something a bit different and seeing as summer is now officially upon us, I thought a spot of naked hiking might appeal.

Okay, to be a tad more honest, and accurate, ‘naked’ was not on the menu when I left the bohemian southern resort of El Médano to investigate the view from Montaña Roja, but accidentally stumbling into one of Tenerife’s most popular male naturist beaches makes for some ‘up close and personal’ hiking.

You can find out why I had Terence Stamp’s immortal line from ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ on my mind in the July issue of Living Tenerife.

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On any Friday or Saturday night of the year, the Noria District of Santa Cruz is where you’ll find the coolest of Tenerife’s cool. Whether it’s downing a Dorada at JC Murphy’s, snacking on sushi at Mojos y Mojitos or chilling with chums at Bulán.

But last weekend the Noria District took on a whole new bag of cool when The Robert Cray Band took to the stage to welcome in the 2008 Santa Blues Festival.

A small stage set at the foot of the tower of Iglesia de la Concepción provided the intimate venue for Cray’s languid vocals and sensual stratocaster serenades.

From old favourites like “Right Next Door” and “Smokin’ Gun” to “12 year old Boy” and “Time Makes Two” from the new album ‘Live from Across the Pond’, the Santa Cruz warm night air was washed in the coolest Blues.

For those lucky, or early, enough to have grabbed a table outside JC Murphy’s it was like having Robert Cray perform in your living room and a brewery housed in your kitchen…if Carlsberg made apartments they’d probably look like that.

Santa Blues runs until the 20th June and features ‘Three Ladies of Blues’ and ‘Funktastic Band’ at 10.30 pm on the 20th and ‘Point Blank Blues Band’ and ‘Keiko & EvilMrSod’ tonight at 10.30pm, entrance is free.
Be there, or be square.

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One of the wonderful things about exploring Tenerife is that you can stumble across fantastic restaurants in any little town or pueblo. In this month’s issue, we review one such treasure; Rincon de Roberto in Vilaflor.

Homemade pâte, fig jam and apple crumble are amongst the delights on offer in this gourmet corner of Vilaflor.

Get your taste buds tingling with the June issue of Living Tenerife and ¡buen provecho!

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Tapas is a wonderful culinary tradition which allows you to sample a variety of flavours in a single setting and it’s a very sociable and informal way of dining with friends.

There’s a certain art to tapas too: deciding how many dishes will satisfy depending on whether you’re peckish, hungry or downright starving; getting a nice balance of flavours and ingredients and, not least, identifying the ‘tapas type’ that your friends fall into…

‘The Devourer’ – gets through dishes at a rate of knots. Phrases such as “pleasant aftertaste” and “lingers in the mouth” giving way to “who ate all the pies”.
‘The Hogger’ – discovers one particular dish that tickles their fancy and you have to physically move the plate from their vicinity if you’re to get a look-in.
‘The Vicar’ – waits patiently until everyone else has had a try before taking the most miniscule of portions onto their plate and never, never takes the last prawn; this is my favourite tapas dining companion.

In June’s issue of Living Tenerife, Jack lifts the lid on tapas; from its pungent origins and the influences that have developed it, to its ‘nouveau cuisine’ rise to popularity in trendy restaurants all over Europe.

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In the pretty hamlet of La Montañeta the church only has four pews inside the small building; the rest are under a roof but exposed to the elements on three sides.

You can be pretty sure that on cold January mornings you’ll be killed in the rush to get to mass early. But when the temperatures soared into the 40 degrees in May’s intense calima as I explored the hiking trails of the upper reaches of Isla Baja, the shady open air pews of the church of San Francisco de Asis were as close to heaven as they were no doubt intended to be.

In June’s Walkabout you can find out how I coped with the heat and why, having been outpaced by a tortoise, I now have a yearning for carrot cake.

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Where on Tenerife, without the aid of hallucinogenics, can you watch an Iguana in a tree house being stroked by a feather duster on the end of a long pole; caterpillars turn to chrysalids and chrysalids give birth to butterflies and a moth the size of a small bi-plane sleeping on the bark of a tree?

Answer: in Mariposario del Drago in Icod de los Vinos.

Gen up on your Malachites and your Monarchs in the June issue of Living Tenerife and then head off to Icod to add ´watching the birth of a butterfly´ to your list of top ten things to do on Tenerife.

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Last night I went up to La Laguna University for the City Centre FREE concert which had Echo and the Bunnymen headlining.
Support band ‘The Mistake’ warmed up an audience of around 3,000 already sweating from the 30 plus degrees of calima-induced night air.

Earlier this month the band’s official website had referred to the upcoming venue under the headline ‘Echo and the Sunnymen’ which had made those of us familiar with La Laguna’s normally ‘fresh’ April temperatures smile. And obviously Ian McCulloch had been given the tip off because he took to the stage in a T shirt, a hoodie and a coat.
But last night our knowing smiles melted into the night as La Laguna turned up the heat.
Despite the electric fan placed at his feet, throughout a set which included some new songs as well as trademark favourites like “Killing Moon” and “Lips like Sugar”, Ian McCulloch never even removed his coat and still managed to look cool throughout. Now that’s class.

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Next month Jack and his camera lens take us on a breathtaking journey through the narrow streets of La Orotava’s old quarter to witness the creation of Tenerife’s most transient works of art.

Using petals, seeds and coloured sand, the Alfombristas (carpet makers) of La Orotava create vast biblical masterpieces alongside intricately detailed patterns along the streets and in the main Plaza of this stunning Renaissance town, solely for the purpose of having them walked over by the evening’s Corpus Christi procession.

Witness the incredible tapestries of La Orotava and find out why Jack took the rap for the Cuban Revolution in May’s issue of Living Tenerife.

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Now call me Mrs Prudish if you must, but if I’m contemplating a spot of public naked sunbathing anywhere other than on a nudist beach, I’m going to opt for a location as far away from the beaten track as I can muster and then I’m going to lie quietly down and not draw attention to myself.

But not everyone it seems, shares my natural reserve.

From the new extreme sport of volcano surfing to naked buttocks amongst the plovers and curlews, Tenerife’s east coast may not make in into any walking guides but it comes up with a few choice surprises in the May issue of Living Tenerife.

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