At this time of year there are regular weather warnings for high seas and big waves in particular. When people in Britain who are planning a visit to Tenerife hear about these, they’re understandably the cause of some concern.
When the alerts are purely for big waves there’s nothing to worry about… unless you ignore them and take a stroll along the top of the harbour wall.
We had a yellow alert this week and Richard, a windsurfing friend who knows about such things, had given me the heads up that there might be some mad fools trying to surf them.
On Wednesday, hoping that I might get to photograph the biggest wave of them all ‘El Bravo’ and even better, some loon surfing it, I headed to Punta Brava; the magnet for monster waves.
Unfortunately it was overcast, the lighting was bobbins from a photographic point of view and I’d mistaken overcast skies for cool ones. Wearing a hoodie had the same effect as sitting in a sauna fully clothed and it was soon wrapped around my waist.
Unfortunately there weren’t any surfers riding the waves, but the tsunami sized waves were impressive and I joined a few other wave watchers to be hypnotized by the huge rollers pounding away at the Punta Brava coastline.
The photos aren’t great, but here are a few to give you an idea of what a yellow alert for high seas really means in Puerto de la Cruz – nature putting on a spectacular show.
She's hoping she doesn't have to rescue anyone today
And she's too engrossed in her book to notice the waves
White Horses
Who'd live in a house like this?
They had a look and decided against it...
And this is why you don't walk along the sea defence wall when there's a yellow alert.
