2015 - Tenerife, Spain

Background

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands.

Approximately five million tourists visit Tenerife each year; it is the most visited island in the archipelago. It is one of the most important tourist destinations in Spain and the world, hosting one of the world's largest carnivals, the carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Highlights

The three highlights picked for this vacation are, Mount Teide, Siam Park and, Loro Park.

Mount Teide

Teide, or Mount Teide, is a volcano in the Canary Islands. Its summit at 3,715 m (12,188 ft), and is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic. If measured from the ocean floor, its height of 7,500 m (24,600 ft) makes Yeide the third-highest volcano in the world, and is described by UNESCO and NASA as earth's third-tallest volcanic structure.

Teide's elevation above sea level makes Tenerife the tenth-highest island in the world. Teide is an active volcano: its most recent eruption occurred in late 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the North Western Santiago rift. The volcano and its surroundings make up Teide national park, which has an area of 18,900 hectares (47,000 acres) and was named a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2007. Teide observatory, a major international astronomical observatory, is located on the slopes of the mountain.

Figure 1 - A view upwards on the Mount Teide

Figure 2 - A view downwards off the Mount Teide

Siam Park

Siam Park is a water park in Costa Adeje, a coastal suburb in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Siam Park features a Siamese theme. The park was opened by the princess of Thailand, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The park is built on a hill, which permits the slides to follow the park's terrain similar to terrain roller coasters.

To conserve the island's water, Siam Park has a desalination plant on site, which desalinates 700 cubic meters (25,000 cu ft) of sea water per day. After the water is used in the rides, the park recycles the water by using it to water the park's plants.

Loro Park

Loro Parque (Spanish for "parrot park") or 'Loro Park' is a 13.5-hectare (33-acre) zoo on the outskirts of Puerto De La Cruz where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species. The park was conceived as a paradise for parrots and has developed over the years into one of the biggest attractions of the canary islands, with over 40 million visitors.

Since 1972 when the park was founded by Wolfgang Kiessling and opened on 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres) with 150 parrots, it has grown to 13.5 hectares (33 acres) and is home to some 4,000 parrots representing 350 species and sub-species, as well as many other animals. This parrot collection is the largest in the world and makes the park one of the main references in the study and conservation of these animals worldwide.

Other records the park has set include Europe's largest dolphin show pool, the world's largest indoor penguin exhibition, and the longest shark tunnel in Europe. The park is only the second place in Europe to house orcas.

Figure 3 - Loro Parque's white (albino) tigers

 Figure 4 - Loro Parque's 0rca show