The Chapel of San Telmo in Puerto de la Cruz is situated on a steep rock between the sea water swimming pools Lago Martiánez and the Plaza de Europa. If you stroll through the pedestrian precinct beside the sea you're sure to come to the square where the small fare-free train starts and ends its tour to Loro Parque, the greatest tourist thing on Tenerife.

From there some steps and a ramp lead up to the Chapel, Africans selling watches and knickknack and local men with parrots waiting for tourists to be photographed with the birds can be found there at any time.

The Chapel is a small white building with a tiny bell tower on the roof, surrounded by patches of grass and some palm trees and enclosed by a low white stone wall. It's a pretty and picturesque sight. People walk up to it even if they're not interested in the Chapel proper to take a photo or to look down into the water which offers an interesting view into the history of the island. Big ragged rocks lie in the shallow water from one of the eruptions of the volcano Teide, the highest mountain in Spain.

What we see now is not the original building. The Chapel was founded in 1626 by fishermen and their families who dedicated it to the Dominican priest Pedro Gonzalez Telmo, the patron saint of the Spanish province Galicia. About three decades later a monastery was added which, however, was completely destroyed together with the Chapel in a great fire in 1778. Two years later only the Chapel was rebuilt by sailors. The close connection of the worshippers with the sea can be seen in the statue of St Telmo above the altar from 1783 holding a fishing boat in his hands.

In 1826 another natural catastrophe struck the Chapel, a flood caused enormous damages on the north coast of the island. Considering that the Chapel is built on a high cliff if must have been a veritable tsunami which hit it. Some victims were buried beneath the Chapel according to a memorial plate in the floor.

After this the Chapel was neglected, renovation started only in 1880, yet service wasn't held again until 1948. Since 1955 St. Telmo's Day has been celebrated every year on the second Sunday after Pentecost.

Another important date in the history of the Chapel is the year 1967. German-speaking tourists holidaying in the north of Tenerife wished to attend religious services in their mother tongue. The Committee for the Foreign Affairs of the German Bishops' Conference got into contact with the Bishop of Tenerife who permitted the use of the Chapel for services held in German. It was renovated and got the appearance it has today. The German architect Fred Hellwig preserved old elements and combined them with new ones. A modern crucifix made of forged steel hangs on the left side of the altar, the altar is made of pewter and bronze. The lamps hanging from the ceiling, also created by Hellwig, are made of iron and silver.

Two statues of St Blasius and St Martin de Porres stand in niches of the wall, a statue of the virgin del Carmenis on the right side of the altar and the statue of the patron saint, St. Telmo, has its place above the tabernacle.

When there are no Holy Masses or services, the Chapel is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 1pm for everyone seeking a place for contemplation, meditation or private prayer.