The Cologan Mansion in La Paz

Perhaps of all Tenerife mansions, this is the one that I like most, or at least the one that matches better with my concept of an ideal mansion, for its original location, scale, some of its details and its distribution.

While it is known currently as the home of the Cólogan family in La Paz, in the municipality of Northern Tenerife's Puerto de la Cruz, formerly known as Puerto de la Orotava;  the truth is that this beautiful mansion of Tenerife was built in 1702 by the Irish wine merchant, Mr. Bernard Walsh Carew. He was born in 1663 in the port of Waterford, and arrived in Tenerife, after passing through Flanders and France, fleeing the religious persecution that characterized the landscape of Great Britain and Ireland during the Commonwealth period overseen by Oliver Cromwell. It is therefore not surprising that over the central window of the main façade bears the Latin inscription "Hic Requies Mea" (Here I rest), what can only be considered a just reward for one whom had such a troubled life.
This Tenerife mansion is characterized by a perfect and symmetrical distribution of both windows and doors in the main house, which show the noble coat of arms of its owners proudly above the main entrance gate. The façade is topped by a fine balustrade.

On both sides of the main house, there are located auxiliary buildings, such as garages and service houses. A lovely garden, which once was one of the largest of the island of Tenerife, completes the beautiful entrance.

This Tenerife mansion, which combines stark white walls and dark green and white woodwork, sits on an imposing cliff over the sea, which in the olden days was reached through a promenade of Cypress Trees, which is still preserved.

Thanks to the aerial photo dated in 1945 that we have been able to obtain from the CologanValois Blog, we can fully understand the unique location of this northern Tenerife mansion and its relative isolation from the village of Puerto de la Cruz. A place that in its climate and in its views is unmatched.
 

It was this mansion of Tenerife host of many famous people who visited the island of Tenerife in the last three hundred years, most notably the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, although it was Agatha Christie, British writer who visited Tenerife in 1927, who more attraction felt by this place, to the extent that it is believed that it inspired one of her novels; which eventually made the old cypress walk, perfectly observable in the aerial photo, turned to be called, today,   Agatha Christie Street.