Yesterday, nearly a thousand individuals bid farewell to the training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano at the Port of Santa Cruz, where it was docked throughout the weekend as part of its XCVII Midshipman Training Cruise.
The vessel of the Spanish Navy departed from Cádiz on the 11th, carrying a total of 76 midshipmen, including Princess Leonor. During her time on the Island, she engaged in various cultural, training and social activities alongside her colleagues. Furthermore, the future queen of Spain, along with the other midshipmen, made the customary visits to Santa Cruz—such as Captaincy and the Almeyda Museum—as well as Teide and other notable locales; they enjoyed lunch at a restaurant on Combate Alley, had coffee at a terrace in García Sanabria Park, and strolled through the capital’s pedestrian streets.
The inaugural visit of Princess Leonor to Tenerife created an undeniable excitement among the local residents over the weekend, prompting many to visit the Elcano. As a result, long queues formed at the Los Llanos dock on both Saturday and Sunday, an occurrence rarely seen during the 62 stops of the training ship at the Port of Santa Cruz.
As was observed during the historic welcome on Friday, the “Leonor effect” was similarly noticeable during the ship’s farewell yesterday, which was significantly more crowded, heartfelt, and emotional than usual, enhanced by the customary aquatic salute from the tugboats at the capital’s port.
Today, the Juan Sebastián Elcano is making a stop in Las Palmas, where it will remain docked at the Navy Arsenal until Thursday. This XCVII Training Cruise will comprise 14 stops, nine of which are international, covering a total of 17,000 nautical miles. Following its departure from the Archipelago, the ship will head for Salvador de Bahía (Brazil), Montevideo (Uruguay), Punta Arenas and Valparaíso (Chile), El Callao (Peru), Panama City (Panama), Cartagena de Indias and Santa Marta (Colombia), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), New York (USA), and Gijón, Ferrol, and Marín, concluding its journey in Cádiz on 21st July 2025.
Throughout the voyage, the training ship undertakes its two primary assignments: providing comprehensive training for midshipmen as part of their third year in the five-year programme at the Naval Military School, and supporting the external actions of the State in the ports it visits. However, Princess Leonor’s presence aboard makes this XCVII Instruction Cruise of the Juan Sebastián Elcano a particularly notable event, just as her visit to the Island has been.
