Lars it seems there is no one chart which describes the temperatures accurately here as there is such a difference from one end of the island to another. The south is much warmer and Santa Cruz - the capital city about a half hour drive from here on the east coast - has another temperature range again. Here's the official temps for Santa Cruz from the Spanish Office of the Environment: Coldest month Dec....mean temperature is 66.2 F. (19C) Warmest month Aug.....mean temp is 77F. (25C) Yearly mean temp is 70.16 F. (21.2C) That's taken from a study 1971 to 2000. Another range of temperatures comes from the north airport - Los Rodeos, and still another from the top of the volcano area. Sufficient to say that it's shirtsleeve weather during the day most of the year - except when it rains, or if you're hiking up on top of the mountain when there's snow LOL. One of my ex-work colleagues in Ibiza lived for years in Costa Rica and her sons now live permanently in San Jose. She told many stories of her interesting life there. One of my cousin's sons has also settled somewhere in Costa Rica. I hear many Canadians have retired there because of the beautiful climate and peaceful life. Lars if you like hiking then this is hikers' paradise. Our German friends love coming here and spending many days climbing all around the ravines and the volcanic area. There are many hiking groups here which organize and transport folks with buses to the main starting points for hikes from the easiest to those reserved for experienced alpine climbers. It is a common daily sight to see people walking around wearing German hiking shoes, shorts, walking poles and knapsacks. They will have just come off a bus after having been somewhere up in the mountains. The large older crater area at the base of the volcano is called "Las Cañadas" and it has an amazing lunar-like landscape, part of which was used in filming the original Planet of the Apes. You can see plenty of images of that on this Google image link. Teide is the name of the volcano. There was a cable car which ran nearly to the top which may still be in operation. My brother once took it and walked right up to the existing crater where it was hot, and the air was thin. Another beautiful hike is to the mountain hamlet of Masca. (Click to enlarge the photo at top left corner.) There the roads are so steep that I am nervous even driving in a car. There's a very steep hike from there down to the sea, where a small boat will pick up the hikers, but it's really for only the most experienced mountain climbers. Needless to say I haven't done that myself but I love to see the photos LOL. Ilisa I think everyone is feeling the cold right now even in Europe. A friend just e-mailed me that it's -0.4F in Munich, Germany right now ! Guess I shouldn't complain when I have to wear an extra sweater at night ! SharonCb

Thanks Teresa.... Well by looking again at the leaves of the plant I photographed and comparing them with those that show up on a Google image search of Ageratum, I see that they are both very similar.....roughly heart-shaped and serrated, whereas the spirea leaves are narrow and lance-shaped. I noticed there are also quite a few different hybrid cultivars of ageratum so this one probably belongs to that family. Closeup of the bush I'm questioning: I guess I can always go back there and ask those gardeners lol. SharonCb

She's a beauty--love those big eyes. Your dinner sounds delicious--wish ours was over!! LOL!

I suggested ribs to Glenda, but she talked the waiter into getting her a sample of the bbq beef brisket and decided right then that's what she wanted. I just ate some ribs the other day and didn't want anymore right now. Lydia, I made some peanut butter fudge for Glenda for a b'day gift. I didn't know what to get her, but I figured if I made something with peanut butter in it she would like it. Linda