Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune

Today we had a beautiful pre-sunrise arrival in beautiful Tenerife. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands with exotic flora spilling down the mountainsides. The volcanic Mount Teide, Spain’s highest point, watches over much of the island.

That’s not the sun in the above photos, but the remanent of last night’s full moon, just before sunrise.

We had an early morning bus that took us from the port in Santa Cruz, located on the northwest end of the island, to Puerto Colon, located approximately 70 kilometers away on the south side of the island for a whale watching excursion.

These waters are the year-round home of Pilot Whales and the seasonal home for other migratory whales. It was a beautiful day, and we were entertained by many of the resident Pilot Whales.

After the whale sightings we anchored in a sheltered cove where we could swim or just sit and enjoy the beautiful views of Tenerife and the Atlantic Ocean. We were served a light lunch while anchored.

After the whale watching we reboarded our bus for the return trip to Santa Cruz. Kully and I spent two hours exploring the archipelago’s capital which exudes equal parts Spanish flair and island tranquility, brimming with lushly painted building of all colors, trendy shops and lush city parks.

Our next port of call will be tomorrow, 25 April in Agadir, Morocco where we will disembark for a two-day overland trip to Marrakech, Morocco and on to Casablanca, Morocco where we will rejoin the ship on 27 April.