SAN TELMO CHURCH PUERTO DE LA CRUZ TENERIFE

San Telmo is the patron saint of sailors, and the seafarers of Puerto de la Cruz erected this simple waterfront chapel in his honour in 1626 Irebuilt in 1780 after a fire). Its also known as the Capilla de San Telmo (Chapel of St Elmo). Dazzling white but for a tiny bellcote, it stands in a lovely little garden surrounded by the noisy ebb and flow of tourists and traffic. Although the street outside is named after the church, as is a nearby beach, there is something that touches the soul in this humble place. Here fishermen gave thanks for having been spared from the dangers of the ocean, while beneath the floor are buried some who were less fortunate, victims of a flood in 1826.