Canary Islands

We spent 3 cool, rainy days in the Canary Islands. They’re extremely interesting, but not somewhere we’ll return. First of all, to put them in perspective, they are to Europe as the Hawaiian Islands are to the United States. They’re vacation paradises with lovely beaches, warm weather and relatively close to Europe, except when we are here. They’re also like Hawaii because they’re volcanic and rose from the ocean floor as the volcano grew over millions of years.

There are 7 islands and our first stop was on Lanzarote, the northernmost island. The last major volcanic eruption here was in 1829, following several in the 18^th century. About ¼ of the island is covered with lava, like that shown in picture 1. The remainder of the island is covered in lava sand, which means black beaches and an interesting growing environment.

We visited Timanfaya National Park, which covers a large part of the volcanic area. Most of our pictures come from the Montañyas del Fuego (Mountains of Fire) area of the park. Pictures 2 and 3 show some of the cones from the volcanic eruptions. These volcanoes are considered extinct, but, interestingly, the eruptions did not allow all the magma below the surface to escape, which means there’s still more to come out! The experts expect that future eruptions will be from new cones. The magma is close to the surface and produces a lot of heat. Picture 4 shows how the restaurant in the park cooks. This is the top of one of the cinder cones and 30 feet below that grate containing potatoes, the temperature is 400 degrees Celsius. If you pick up the volcanic rocks and sand in the area, they’re very warm.

The Spanish have done a wonderful job managing this national park and protecting the lava. They insist that everyone traverse the park on a bus, rather than in hundreds of cars. It’s good for the park, but results in bluish pictures through the bus windows—no getting out for pictures.

At the northern tip of Lanzarote we stopped at a mirador (viewpoint). Picture 5 shows a view down the coast and across a strait to the small island offshore. The colors, rocks and soil shown here are all volcanic. Picture 6 shows a close-up of some volcanic rocks. Little is growing where the lava has flowed—even almost 200 years later. What you see growing on the rocks are lichens—some 200 hundred varieties. From a distance they look like just one variety, but this close-up emphasizes the complexity.

Lanzarote does grow grapes and there are several bodegas. While the wine is not very good, it is interesting to see how it is grown. To protect the vines from the prevailing winds, the vines are laid on the ground and rock walls are built around them in the direction of the winds, as in picture 7. The only other place where vines are put on the ground to protect them from winds is on Santorini in the Greek Islands. Maintaining the vines and managing the grapes is extremely labor intensive.

Finally, we stopped at a lava tube that has been converted to a tourist attraction. It was designed by César Manrique, a local artist, who has greatly influenced tourism and development on the island. There are bars, restaurants and a swimming pool around the actual lava tube, shown in picture 8. The lava tube was originally 7 km long, but much has collapsed. The remaining sections are called Jameos. From this section the original lava tube carried on under the ocean. The water in the lava tube is home to an albino crab, found only here. Picture 9 shows some crabs in the water, each about 1 cm long.

Our second stop was on Gran Canaria Island. Our goal was to go up into the mountains for some beautiful views. Unfortunately, the winds were so strong that we were not allowed above a few hundred feet.  We did manage to visit 2 churches of interest. The first (Picture 10) was a cathedral in the town of Arucas. It was built in the early 20^th century by a student of Gaudi and is very somber looking from the outside. Our guide told of a little boy who once told her it looked like Hogwarts! I can see that.

The second church was the basilica in the town of Teror and is a major pilgrimage site on the island. Picture 11 shows the exterior and Picture 12, the interior—note the lovely wooden beams on the ceiling. It was built on the spot where someone had a vision of the Virgin among the pine trees and is, therefore, called the Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Pino. Picture 13 shows the statue that everyone comes to visit.

Finally we visited La Palma Island. Like Gran Canaria, the winds were so strong that we had to remain off the mountains. We did find beautiful scenery (Picture 14 is one example) and loads of banana plantations (Picture 15).  Bananas are actually bushes that will sprout new bushes, and the grower decides which sprout will be the trunk of the following year’s plant, cutting off the rest.  This cycle continues year after year. Picture 16 shows one plant, with the bananas growing. The bananas actually grow out of the purple bulb at the bottom and not all bananas mature. Clustered near the purple bulb are miniature bananas that did not mature.

Sailing for 2 days to get to the Cape Verde Islands. By then we’ll be in the Tropics and, hopefully, warm!

Morocco

Our ship docked in Tangier Morocco, which is a short hop across the Mediterranean from Gibraltar. There are many ferries, an easy day trip from Spain and, therefore, pretty touristy. Nevertheless, if you’ve never been to Morocco, it’s a great place to get a taste of the culture.

Years ago, we did that day trip from Málaga, so we decided to trundle up the coast to Tetouan, which is about an hour’s drive away. Great place—some tourists, but mostly local people wandering the Medina with you. The Medina is the old market. It’s a labyrinth of narrow paths between shops selling everything from food to fancy underwear. People stop at a vendor, pick up a sandwich and eat standing at a counter. We saw many people eating a sandwich of bright red/pink something, bearing a faint resemblance to a southern red hot dog. Didn’t give it a try!

The following 4 pictures show some of the interesting paths, arches, old timbered ceilings and window from an upstairs apartment.

Arabic architecture fascinates us. Two of the most interesting features are shown in the next picture: a carved wooden ceiling and carved plaster walls.  This was taken at the School of the Arts. This school provides training in the “ancient arts”, such as wood carving, plaster work, embroidery and pottery. The school has 2 main functions: to keep the skills alive and provide a career for children who are poor or have not made the grades to get into college.

The following 4 pictures show the sequence of making a plaster carving. After making plaster, you pour it into a mold.

Designs to carve are on paper, which is then traced on the set plaster.

Carve away what you don’t want.

And the result is amazing.

We’re now on our way to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde Islands, where we hope the weather is warmer! It has been consistently in the 60s since Barcelona and we want to stop wearing long sleeves and long pants. I know I’m getting lots of sympathy from the folks “up north”!

Málaga, Gibraltar and Cadíz

We’ve made 4 stops so far—only one of which is new for us. So this is a brief Málaga, Gibraltar and Cadíz blog. Having been to Málaga and Gibraltar before, these stops turned into mainly exercise stops. We managed to walk about 5 miles in both cases.

Málaga in November is very quiet. The day was gloomy, so we hiked to the Cathedral and back to the boat, rather than strolling the beaches. Picture 1 is the best we could do for the Cathedral. There was nowhere we could stand to do it artistic justice.

Gibraltar ranks right up there with Gatlinburg TN, Stratford-on-Avon in England and Bran Castle in Romania—amazing tourist traps! Gibraltar is known for it’s shopping, since it’s a duty-free zone. Having gone up on the rock in a previous trip and seen the apes, we did the walk, took a picture of “The Rock” (Picture 2) and headed back to the ship.

Cadíz was more fun. We trundled off to Jeréz de la Frontera. It’s the sherry capital of Spain—probably the sherry capital of the world. The locals describe themselves as worshiping at 2 cathedrals: the Catholic cathedral and the sherry bodegas. Picture 3 shows the Catholic cathedral in the background and a statue of Don Manuel Maria Gonzalez, who is credited with creating the first sherry. His bodega is now called Gonzalez Byass and his main brand was Tio Pepe—named for his uncle, Joe.

We visited Bodegas Tradicion—a small sherry producer (20,000 bottles per year), with really fine sherry. We sampled their 5 types of sherry, including 2 cream varieties and their 2 brandies (all before noon!). All were fine; the more expensive brandy exceptionally fine (at 250 euros per bottle). No, we did not purchase…. Picture 4 shows where some of the barrels are stored. Interestingly, the barrels are reused over and over without cleaning—they claim they have little sediment.

What was amazing about this Bodega was the private Spanish art collection of the owners. Picture 5 shows one of the two wings. This wing contained early (14^th-16^th century) religious art, plus one wall of paintings just of the Annunciation. The second wing was more contemporary. Pictures 6, 7, and 8 show works by El Greco, Zurbaran and Valazquéz—pretty amazing. Unfortunately, the lighting seemed suboptimal.

Today we’re sitting in Casablanca and haven’t left the boat. We’ve seen everything to see in Casablanca on a previous trip and it has rained in the desert. Tomorrow we go to Tangiers and hope to see some new stuff there. More then….

Barcelona

You gotta love Barcelona—the food, the architecture, the history, the excitement that seems to run through the city. We’ve enjoyed them all for 3 days.

We’ve had tapas—probably too many! Picture 1 is just a sample. We’ve had croquettes, Spanish omelettes, tomato bread, tomato salad, grilled vegetables, jamon and lots of fried green peppers. Add a bottle of rioja. Enough said….

We’ve tried to do new things this trip. We tried to visit the Picasso Museum Sunday, but couldn’t get near the place because of crowds. So we’ve wandered the Barri Gotic, El Born, Montjuic and Eixample. Each neighborhood interesting. Fitbit tells us we’ve wandered 24 miles.

And this is earth-shattering! We decided not to lug all the stuff that we could get here—toothpaste, mouthwash, hand lotion, etc. Shopping was an interesting experience. There’s no Crest, no Scope, no Jergens…. It will be interesting to see how the new brands do.

One day we went up to Montjuic (literally, Mount of the Jews). Initially, We road a bus up part way and then climbed up to the castle. It’s an 18^th century typical fortification that was originally meant to protect the city. Until recently it’s purpose was more to repress the people of Barcelona—keep them from rebelling. During the Franco period, if you were sent to Montjuic, you didn’t come back. In the late 20^th century it was turned over to the city of Barcelona and today is a lovely park with wonderful views of the city. Pictures 2 shows a zoom into the Sagrada Familia church, while 3 and 4 are views of the seacoast and city.

Yesterday we ended our walk at Las Arenas shopping mall. Picture 5 shows what it looks like. This is what cities do when they outlaw bull fighting. Picture 6 shows what the interior looks like today.

We wandered the Gothic part of the city today and visited the Barcelona City Museum. Barcelona has an amazing Roman history. Rather than excavating the Roman columns and “bits”, they left them in place and you actually get to walk underground and visit the winery, tannery and home. Picture 7 shows you what it looks like.

Finally we wandered in the Eixample area. This is the Modernista part of Barcelona, where Gaudi is King. You just wander and are amazed at the beautiful balconies and flowing lines of the buildings. Picture 8 shows Gaudi’s Casa Batilo and Picture 9 shows a beautiful apartment building we happened across.

A great three days! Tomorrow we board our ship, the Seabourn Sojourn, and begin the adventure. We wander along Southern Spain, Morocco, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Island, Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Then we get off for a while and get back on to wander our way to Singapore. We were supposed to make a couple more stops in Africa, but Ebola put a stop to that.

We’re often asked “Don’t you miss your home and family?” Home—no. Home is wherever we are. Family—yes. We do miss our daughter, son-in-law and 2 amazing granddaughters, but I think they enjoy sharing our adventures and we try to make up for it by spending a lot of time with them when we’re home. We do this blog for the girls so that they will appreciate our world and become great travelers (not tourists) themselves. Some day, when our bodies tell us we’ve done enough, we’ll have lots of memories to enjoy.