Apr 18, 2010 - Welcome to Teneriffe!

This morning we arrived in the Canary Islands to the largest island of Teneriffe. We signed up for a shore excursion to the Loro Zoo about 45 minutes west of Santa Cruz. Getting on the bus was a little bit crazy when you consider there are 3000 people on this ship that havent seen land in nearly 9 days, but we made it! Teneriffe is very interesting, it reminds me alot of the pictures Ive seen of Hawaii but not nearly as much foliage. They do have the most incredible array of flowers Ive ever seen anywhere. There was even a tree that had...

Apr 17, 2007 - Las Palmas, CANARY ISLANDS

April 17th The Gran Canaria landscape is dramatically beautiful. Even though the volcanoes have fallen silent, they are not all extinct. The last major eruption came from Teneguia [on La Palma], and lasted for nearly a month between October and November 1971. The volcanoes have not been entirely destructive - the rugged islands owe their very existence to the smouldering cones after all. Everything seems to thrive in the sub-tropical climate - unlike the nearby Sahara Desert. Even though the Canary Islands are near Africa, they share few of...

Nov 6, 2005 - Tenerife, The Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are Europe's Hawaii. They are a group of seven volcanic islands located far enough south that they have a mild spring-like climate year round. For Europeans they are an affordable spot to catch some rays, but at times they have been overrun by stoned backpackers and their reputation has suffered as a result. Although the Canaries are less than one hundred miles off the coast of Africa depending on which island you are talking about, they have belonged to Spain for five hundred years and there is hardly a black face so be...