Boroughs of Tenerife: GARACHICO

The first colonists of Garachico were Genoese bankers. Soon, these colonists, among them Cristóbal Ponte, who is cited as its founder, started putting up sugar mills and made it the most important port on the island. With the eruption of the Trevejo volcano in 1706, the flourishing mercantile activity entered into a decline; however, thanks to the strength of its people, the city was reborn from the ashes. The natural pool of El Caletón, which can be found in front of the Castillo de San Miguel, was created from the capricious forms that the magma left on contact with the water. The centre of Garachico begins at the coast with its cobble stoned streets leading to the Plaza de la Libertad , among whose gardens stands a 1912 kiosk and a monument to Simón Bolívar, of Canary descent. The Consistoriales House and those of Los Condes de La Gomera and Piedra, as well as the Santa Ana church can be found around the plaza. Among the buildings that were saved from the lava spewed from the Trevejo are the San Francisco Convent from 1527, restored at the beginning of the 80's, and the Ponte family house with a tower from which they could make out the movements of the boats in port. A visit to the borough should include the San Roque Hermitage, the Marqueses de Villafuerte house, the ex-convent of Santo Domingo and the Museo de Arte (Art Museum).