Completely blind and suffering from debilitating pain and limited mobility, James Holman, undertook a series of solo journeys. In 1832 he became the first blind person to circumnavigate the globe and, by 1846, he had visited every inhabited continent.
I decided to investigate, and yes, he did visit Tenerife, if only for a few days, in 1827. Luckily, for us, he left a wealth of information that he had gathered. He hadn’t climbed Mount Teide because he didn’t have the time. What a man! What is more, I found his book on the internet.
His first impression of Tenerife was promising, – “My friends were very much pleased with the town (Santa Cruz) and good pavement affording a striking contrast to Funchal (Madeira) which, like most Portuguese towns, was dirty and badly paved. There was another agreeable sight, the Spanish women, with an interesting character of expression in their faces, which is much heightened by their beautiful dark eyes and jet black hair. The dresses are remarkable for their neatness.