Potatoes, pasty, chops, tortilla and to combat the heat a good glass of wine or a cold beer. The tables of the Parque de Las Mesas in the capital of Tenerife were filled yesterday with food, drinks, music and games on the first weekend of reopening of this iconic open-air space in Santa Cruz to which chops and gatherings have returned family and friends after 13 years of closure.
“They brought me with a handkerchief that covered my eyes, I did not know where it came from, but when I arrived this seemed great.” Roberto Fernández premiered his 36th birthday yesterday and to celebrate it his family and friends decided to go to a space that is also inaugurating: the Park of the Tables from the capital of Tenerife. After 13 years of closure, the stoves of the only grill area in Santa Cruz they turned on again and food, drink and good energy flooded this corner that has been reopened to the public this weekend after its rehabilitation. After hearing the news, his girlfriend, her mother, and his mother-in-law agreed that his birthday celebration should be there. “Above all, looking for good weather because at this time of year there can be a downpour.”
But the day accompanied them. Yesterday the sun shone and the heat was even intense during midday. For this reason, the shadow was one of the most coveted attractions in the recreational area. On the table the tortilla, the homemade sausages, the salad and a scrambled egg were already prepared. Cristóbal González, a friend of the birthday boy, was in charge of the meat at the steakhouse. “I have no secret, I do it by eye,” he acknowledged. Of course, he cannot miss the salt when it is already in the fire. This user admits that after its rehabilitation the area “has been great” and remembers coming back years ago and seeing it “abandoned, with four stoves and little else.”
Although Roberto Fernández’s family and friends do miss some things. “There are no water points, nor in the bathrooms,” says his mother, although she assumes that it will be a matter that will be resolved in the coming days.. They point out that a little more shade would not be a bad thing either, since in many tables there is not even a tree in which to take water. However, other details stand out that have been very successful, such as the coat racks installed next to each table so that attendees can leave their bags and coats and not disturb.
The music also sounded again in the Parque de Las Mesas yesterday after a long time. There were even those who dared to take the odd dance while the meal was finished. Some of those who had the radio on were Yeidy and Geral Ramírez and Yolanda Ocampo, who had also brought bingo, ludo and dominoes to entertain themselves. “The goal is to spend the day as well as possible,” Yeidi confessed. And for this, they had also brought everything necessary to not go hungry. Chops with chips and mojo, Colombian chili and parakeet, a traditional recipe from the cuisine of this country based on scrambled eggs, butter, sautéed chopped onion, bell pepper and tomatoes.
“We think it is very good that this space has been reopened because since we live in the La Salud neighborhood, it is very close to home,” they stressed. And this is one of the advantages of this open-air space, its proximity to the capital, since from there it only takes 12 minutes by car to reach the city center.
Geral also appreciates that pets are allowed so they can spend the day with them too, though he noted that they must remain on a leash. Thus they were, attached to the table of their owners Gaia and Tintin, two five-month-old puppies, who found it difficult not to run out and play with the rest of the dogs that were walking with their owners in the surroundings. “We liked it so much that we will return for sure,” Yolanda admitted.
The attendance on the third day of reopening of this space was massive and, except for the tables that were completely in the sun, there was no free space after one o’clock. “You have to come early because otherwise you won’t get anything,” admits the López family who met yesterday with their matriarch in Parque de Las Mesas. They assure that before 10:00 in the morning there were already people taking tables, although they appreciated having been able to use one of them that is specially designed for use by people with reduced mobility. It is taller, does not have stone seats on one side, and is located next to the concrete walkway to make wheelchair access easier.
The family was farsighted and came last Saturday to take a look and see first-hand how the space had turned out. It seemed that they did not quite believe that the rehabilitation had finished and that they could now enjoy the completely renovated area. “We had been thinking of doing a chop for a long time and when we found out that it was reopening we thought of coming here,” said one of the members. However, there was a change of plans as they decided to bring only ready-made food to enjoy together. “If you start roasting meat, unfortunately, in the end there are the men in the stove and the women at the table.” For this reason, they shared the work and each one was in charge of an elaboration. “We have brought homemade vegetarian empanada,” commented Miguel López, before detailing everything that was on the table, including potatoes, bread and wine.
The López family intended to enjoy Sunday outdoors and would remain in Parque de Las Mesas until it was time for another unavoidable event for them: the match between the Spanish team and Germany in the World Cup in Qatar. An appointment that, like them, the attendees of most of the tables in the park also had scheduled.
Dozens of users decided to go to Parque de Las Mesas to enjoy Sunday. A recreational area that has reopened its doors after years of neglect after the investment of almost one million euros made by the Cabildo de Tenerife. Now, the Santa Cruz City Council will be in charge of keeping the space in good condition.
For this, a series of rules of use have been issued. One of them is the schedule. The park will be open between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. between November and April and the hours will be extended until 9:00 p.m. between the months of May and October. There will also be a time limit for the stoves, which can be used from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in winter and until 7:00 p.m. in the summer months.
The regulations also prohibit camping in the recreational area or spending the night in the parking area. The use of portable barbecues, the access of motor vehicles or bicycles, nor the transit of horses is not allowed. The reservation of tables or the use of amplified sound equipment is also prohibited.
With these rules, The City Council hopes to tackle the problems of vandalism that caused great deterioration in this space in the capital in the past. And with this objective, the Consistory also recalled that those who fail to comply with them will be fined and those who engage in uncivil behavior or commit acts of vandalism may be expelled from the park. From now on, the Local Police and the Forestry Unit will be in charge of the surveillance of this space.
pitfalls
Achieving the reopening of Parque de Las Mesas has not been easy. It was in 2009 when work began in the area to turn it into a large urban park. Some jobs that never materialized. Since then, storms, delays, lack of budget, numerous acts of vandalism that were merciless with the facilities and problems with the company that was awarded the work were just some of the inconveniences that had to be settled for the stoves to burn again this year. Weekend. An agreement signed in 2019 by the Tenerife Cabildo and the Santa Cruz City Council allowed the completion of the work, which the Island Corporation tendered for a value of 936,855 euros in August of last year.
Now, just over a year later, the area has bathrooms, stoves and tables, as well as a children’s playground that also includes a zip line. Yesterday there were several minors who had fun in this area of the recreational area, thanking their parents for having taken them to spend Sunday there. The car parks, the furniture and a viewpoint have also been adapted.
Later on, it is planned that a cafeteria will be opened, whose management the city council will have to put out to tender, and it also wants food trucks to be installed in the parking area. In addition, it is planned that the area will have a visitor center in the future. Facilities that will be an added bonus to this leisure area of the capital that is back to life.
