¡Hola from Tenerife! Today, our pupils explored the agricultural side of island life with a visit to Las Margaritas banana plantation. After a filling buffet breakfast, we travelled south, catching stunning views of El Teide on the way—prompting plenty of excited questions (and lots of photos!).

At the plantation, our enthusiastic guide Ana gave an engaging tour, explaining how bananas are grown, harvested, and turned into everyday products—¡super interesante! Did you know that banana “trees” aren’t really trees? They are actually giant herbs! And did you know that each banana plant only produces fruit once? After one harvest, the plant dies – but a new shoot grows from the same root to take its place and start again. Pupils wrapped up the visit with a tasty sampling of banana treats and time to browse for souvenirs.

Next, we headed to Las Galletas beach for a delicious pizza lunch at a local restaurant, followed by a peaceful walk around the marina, where pupils spotted fish in the crystal-clear water and reflected on the contrasts between life in Tenerife and back home in London. Lisa said “I love being able to see the ocean all the time. The sea is so close – at home we have to drive hours to get to a beach! Akram said “There are hardly any tall buildings here, but the cliffs and hills are huge!”

After a late afternoon walk to explore the town of Puerto de la Cruz and buy some postcards to send home to our families, the evening was spent capturing the day’s highlights in our trip diaries—plenty of memories already, and much more still to come!