HOW TO LIVE LIKE A LOCAL IN CALLAO SALVAJE, ADEJE

Having spent seven hours travelling to Callao Salvaje, we were pretty hysteric to find that the Airbnb owner we had booked to stay with had suddenly refused to take us in, leaving us stranded in the middle of town. Luckily, after several hours of us being stranded on the island, some distant friends were able to take us in – promoting us from tourist to temporary local.  It didn’t take long to settle into the sunny, slow-caed life of the island.

NEBULA

From profiteroles stuffed with creamy white chocolate, to salads spliced with gourmet sauce and topped with basil, everything that Nebula does matches that of a 5* establishment. Just up the street from the ocean, it’s the perfect place to stop off for a stunning little meal, before heading out to watch the sunset. Surrounded by places offering entertainment, it really is the best place to spend an evening.

SANSIBAR AJABO 

We spent a ridiculous amount of time indulging in the typical Spanish food served here, with morchilla for breakfast and pimientos de padron for lunch. The hazy island of La Gomera sits in the distance, with the ocean waves lapping at the black sand below you. In the evening, covers drop over the open sides and roof, filling the eatery with warmth as the chefs fire up the open barbecue.

Can’t miss: The mojo – both the red pepper or green parsley and coriander variations

Situated at the end of a gorgeous white-walled walk by the seaside, this little restaurant offers typical Spanish food such as chuletas de cerdo and papas arrugadas, whilst also having a wider variety of dishes available. It’s the sort of place that will have you sitting back with a glass of vino tinto and sighing, as the sun flits through the window and you overlook the ambrosial turquoise of the ocean below you.

Don’t miss: The seafood! Gorgeous prawn cocktails, fried baby squid, grilled sole – all absolutely divine.

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What to Do

WHALE AND DOLPHIN WATCHING

An excursion which is typically pegged solely for tourists, the locals also love getting out for a few hours on a tacky little pirate ship eating paella and spotting some bottlenose dolphins and well-fed whales. Whilst I found myself seasick for the first time in my life, I still couldn’t resist flinging myself from the masts to the ocean (similar to commercial boat trips in cities like Corfu in Greece). I’ve never seen so many wild dolphins in my life than I haveon these little tours – and with over a third of the world’s dolphins and whales swimming through here a year, it’s no surprise.

Don’t miss: companies that offer seagulls as entertainment. There’s nothing quite like watching a gull sweep down to steal a chip from the captain’s mouth, that’s for sure

VISITING MOUNTAIN VILLAGES

Taking a day out to visit places like Orotava is well worth it just to explore. Especially up in Garachico, the views can be incredible. The little roads off of Los Gigantes lead to some stunning places, featuring little apartments gripping to the mountains as they hang over the black sand and marble water. If you want to move away from the two-for-one cocktail billboards and want to walk by terracotta and moss houses and fishing shacks, the mountains are much better to explore than the ground.

GO HIKING

Much better in winter where you won’t sweat off your skin (think 25 degrees celsius in the dead of winter), hiking is a close and personal way to explore the island. To avoid the tourist buzz, hiking rather than festering in the back of a bar is one of the greatest things you can do, as Tenerife offers some of the best views on all of the Canary Islands. Hiking here is such a common feat that they even have Chozas – little resting huts – dotted along the paths.

TAKE A BOAT TO MASCA

Taking the boat to Masca and then walking up from the bay is probably the best way to take in the views. Taking public transport or driving  on the thin roads is not for the faint hearted – think tiny winding roads and steep drops with a five-hundred-foot plummet.  Masca looks a lot like the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, just with a slightly more temperate climate and less tagged Instagram photos.

PEARLY GREY

I’m slightly biased here because my family knows a lot of people working here, but regardless, it’s still an awesome little place to check out. In fact, I spent my New Year’s here listening to some pretty good 1960’s entertainment and laying it easy sipping green teas – but everyone there can vouch for the good red wine. The food is also great, with massive cooked meals and live entertainment during events.

ROUTE 66

Again, I’m probably biased here just because I adore the live entertainment (incredible bands with incredible music), but I was here for both my 14th and 19th birthday, and on the latter, drank so many Canarian Cocktails that I fell incoherently in love with a band member and spent a good hour after the set mumbling about how different life is in Wales. The people are great, the entertainment is great, and it’s pretty much just everything you could need.

MAD HATTERS

Remember I mentioned the fact that I got stranded in the middle of the island without accommodation until some friends put us up? Said friends own this bar – and boy is it cute. We ended up visiting voluntarily simply because the atmosphere was great, and whilst more of a typical English bar, it’s still a chill place to unwind and play some darts.

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WHO TO SEE

THE BLACK HOLE TENERIFE

I am forever in love with this band, despite how the members are all probably at least double my age. I saw them four years back, and have since wanted to keep flying back to the island just to watch them every time they came up on my Facebook dashboard. I went to watch them the night before my birthday as they weren’t playing on the 30th, and the lead singer did the classic “I hear it’s someone’s birthday?”, before launching into a slightly more alternate version of the well-known song. They sing rock and blues and I’m honestly still madly in love, especially as between songs you’ll hear them chat briefly to the staff and other band members in Spanish, every now and then insulting a drunken English lass or that guy in the back that won’t dance in their home tongue, which is highly entertaining.

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THE JERSEY BOYS TENERIFE

Super touristy but also super fun to watch. Whilst you’ll get a bunch of random Mancunians and lasses from little Welsh Wales jamming to their music, you’ll also find your local Enrique or Nico tapping their feet. They’re one of the most involving bands up on stage, and manage to get a bunch of people up to dance as they jump around synchronised in their bright red blazers covering popular songs from the 60’s to early 00’s. Mega fun to watch them play out a gig, I definitely recommend catching a set.

LISA MAC

The sort of performance you don’t want to see whilst recovering from a hangover, she’ll probably call you up on stage to dance with her. I didn’t stay for her whole set, as I wanted to chat with people rather than get dragged up digging my nails into the ground to the front of the room, but it was fun watching other people get humiliated as the room gradually got less and less sober. Entertaining, even if not something I would like to get forced into myself.

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