In Abbots There are not the large hotel establishments in Tenerife, but rather an incredible tranquility. In this small hamlet of low houses, in the municipality of Arico, Vicente Valles and White Angels they have the dwelling where they hope to spend long periods of time when they leave the news. This is what the presenter told Antenna 3 in an interview for NT, Binter’s magazine.
The story of their platonic love for this place began one Christmas that the family spent in the Canary Islands, more than ten years ago, and shortly before the couple’s youngest son was born. They returned with the idea of finding their own place on the islands, so they wouldn’t have to organize the trip from scratch each time. “And we found it there, in Abades,” summarized Vallés.
Since then, they visit Abades when their schedule allows, although not as frequently as they would like: “Less than we would like,” they say themselves. They usually go at Christmas and in summer. Over time, this custom has become a routine that they never tire of doing to continue visiting one of the corners that changed their lives. In addition, the family says that they have already been to all eight islands, including The Gracious.
A town that emerged from a sanatorium
The curious thing about Abades is everything it doesn’t have. There are single-story white houses, blue and green windows, and straight streets, a rare regularity on the Canary coast. There is no traditional boardwalk or tall buildings. A uniformity that dates back to its origin.
The town was built in 1943 at the service of a sanatorium for leprosy patientswhen isolation was considered the only available remedy. On the hill overlooking the town, a hospital, bungalows, an administrative building, a crematorium and a concrete church whose cross can still be seen from the South Highway. The work was never finished: medical advances left the project without purpose and the site was used for military purposes before ending up in private hands. Today, the ruins of the Abona Sanatorium welcome hikers, onlookers and photographers, with walls covered in graffiti.
Further down is Los Abriguitos beach, a coastal coastline of dark sand protected from the wind by the bay. The water is usually calm and the volcanic bottoms are clearly visible, which is why the place is known among divers and snorkelers. Vallés has already said on some occasions that he comes down from his house with his glasses.
He speaks of retirement in not very romantic terms. He continues reading the press every morning, iPad in hand, and he has no plans to stop doing so. What Abades is looking for, now or when he retires, is not having to decide, at eight in the afternoon, how he is going to tell everything that happens in Spain, which lately is not a small thing.