4 FEB, 2020
It was morning, 3rd September 2019. The beginning of this day was similar as other days in my life. Morning routine, breakfast. Nothing interesting. But something was in the air. There was a feeling in the air that it was time for a change. Like the morning of the famous D-Day. And finally, 11 a.m. - the beginning. Thanks to my cousin, who gave me a lift to the Vienna International Airport, I was ready for the biggest adventure of my life, called Tenerife. Before this stay, Tenerife was a small and unknown island for me. I did not know much about the nature, people, or cities here. I had some information only about the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, or IAC for short, located in a city, called San Cristóbal de La Laguna. I will work here almost four months. Unbelievable. Before this stay, I had many work trips to different European countries. This trip is, however, so different. Firstly, because the duration. Almost four months. Secondly, because the distance. 3857 km. Thirdly, because the Spanish language is completely foreign to me. Can I survive there so long time? I had these and similar thoughts during the flight, when I finally saw the peak of Teide from the airplane. I am here...
On my left side is the ocean, on my right side there are some mountains. This was the welcome landscape at the Tenerife South Airport, when I left the airplane. I never forget this. A completely different world. But this was only the beginning. I had to travel to the northern part of the island. Since it was early evening, I could see only the silhouettes of the island. Mountains, buildings, and wind turbines. Interesting. Thanks to my colleague from the IAC, Marco Gómez-Muñoz, I could find my accommodation in La Laguna. During the next day morning, I successfully found my workplace, as well. I can note that it was not a big problem to find it, because I had to use only the Tenerife tram lines, and I had to find only the correct tram-stop. However, I was surprised, how big is the headquarter building of the IAC. It is like a labyrinth and it took me almost two weeks, when I was able to find my office without help. During this first day at IAC, I got an identifier badge, a key from my (shared) office, and, of course, a writing table. Yes, this is why I am here (mainly). For working. For cooperation. To learn something new. The Universe has hundred faces. Different galaxies, interstellar matter, different kind of stars, planetary systems, different kind of exoplanets, planets in our Solar system, interplanetary matter, energy... Since my field of interest is the exoplanet science, I started a cooperation with the exoplanet science group at IAC. I worked together mainly with my local supervisor, Enric Pallé, and with Hannu Parviainen. Thanks to these colleagues, I had a possibility to work with multicolor photometric data, obtained previously at the 1.52m Carlos Sánchez telescope, using the MuSCAT2 instrument, which uses four camera to observe simultaneously in four bands. This was my first experience with such an instrument and data. And, of course, I also had a perfect opportunity to meet new people here, to discuss interesting things with astronomers from a world-leading institution and to visit the famous Teide Observatory.
At this point, I could be write an epilogue. Something about my results, about the last days on the island, at the IAC, or how I traveled back to Vienna, but this is not the case. Why? Because Tenerife is not only the city San Cristóbal de La Laguna, not only the IAC. And my stay was not only about work behind my writing table (fortunately). As I mentioned earlier, Tenerife is a completely different world, which you must see. Really. During my work trips, I always take some time to discover the country, where I am. For this island I reserved a whole week, but I still have a feeling that I could see only the minor part of the "must-see" places, although with my friend we took a car to travel faster between the planned places. The main goal of the week was, of course, the peak of Teide. Except this, we had a possibility to visit many different places, like Puerto de la Cruz, where we saw Orca show in Loro Park, Icod de los Vinos, where the Millenary Dragon Tree is the most symbolic landmark, the Teide National Park, which is like a land on the planet Mars, or on the Moon, and where the Teide Observatory is located, Masca, which is one of the most picturesque part of the island, Los Gigantes, where the giant rock formations reach the height of about 500-800 m, Bajamar, withtwo ocean water bathing pools, Los Cristianos, which is one of the most popular touristic resorts on Tenerife, or Anaga, a protected natural area with some endemic species. I was really surprised, how is it possible that on a relatively little island there are so many different types of landscapes, from mars-like badlands near Teide, trough endemic forests in Anaga, giant rocks at Los Gigantes, to the beaches with black sand. This island has really hundred faces, like the Universe...
At this point, it is really time to write an epilogue. Or summary. But how? It is very difficult (or even not possible) to summarize these 110 days full of adventure. Just briefly. I have learned something new. I had a possibility to meet new people. I have visited a lot of fantastic places on Tenerife. I could see a lot of new things. I have survived almost four months here. After the takeoff from the Tenerife South Airport, I again saw the peak of Teide from the airplane. Can I see it again in the future? Can I visit the IAC again? Can I cooperate with the astronomers from this world-leading institution in the near future. I had these and similar thoughts during the flight back to Vienna. I hope, the answer is: YES.
Zoltán Garai, Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Tatranská Lomnica