Cruise take three

The feature destination of the cruise is the Canary Islands. There are 7 islands and the cruise ship was stopping at two of them. The islands were settled by the Berbers (also known as the Gaunches) of Northern Africa, a blond haired blue eyed people. The islands got their name, not from canaries, but due to the large dogs (canines) that populated the islands. The Canary Islands were thought to be imaginery and were known originally as the Fortunate Islands. They remained a myth until the middle ages. The first European visitor was Lanzarote Marcello, a Genoese sailor, who colonized the Island of Lanzarote in the early 14th century. By the end of the 15th century the Spanish conquest succeeded in controlling all 7 islands, but not without resistance from the Portuguese who also fought for ownership in the mid 1400s. With the Canaries being the world's most westerly stopping point for, the islands became the last stopping point for the explorations of Christopher Columbus before venturing into the unknown. For the next several centuries, the islands became a bridge between the Old and New World. In the 17-19th centuries, the Canaries experienced economic ups and sowns due to their dependence on various crops. Sugar became the first staple crop but profits declined witht the arrival of cheaper sugar from the West Indies. Grapes became the main crop producing a sweet wine called Malmsey. In the mid 19th centuries through today, bananas and tourism provided a stable economic base.
Lanzarote Known as the island of 100 volcanoes, it actually has over 300 volcanoes. It is only 12 miles wide by 37 miles long. Its landscape is described as lunar - like the US midwest, but with volcanoes all over the place. The landscape completely changes in the north of the island - completely green. The volcanic soil is extremely moist despite receiving almost no rain. The volcanic granules absorb moisture from the trade winds thereby sustaining the vegetation growing on it. The trade winds are very strong - they exist 95 percent of the year. Small stone semi circular walls are built all over the island to protect the plant life from the winds. Cesar Manrique is a local artist whose creations around the island made Lanzarote a tourist destination. We visited one of Manrique's creations - Jameo Del Agua - a cave complex that resulted from volcanic activity now includes a natural concert hall, a subterranean lagoon, a restaurant and museum, all designed by Manrique. Jameo means "hole" and this Jameo is actually a "tube" created from volcanic lava flow. There is a species of crab that lives exclusively in this particular volcanic tube. They are small and bright white. We saw many sitting on rocks in the lagoon. We next visited another one of his creations, Mirador del Rio. This is a a scenic viewing platform at the very northern tip of the island at the top of a cliff overlooking the coastline and the neighboring island of La Graciosa - truly spectacular views. A unique feature of the island is that all houses are white - something mandated by the government. They are also all built in pretty much the same style - the only distinguishing characteristic is the chimney. Our last stop in Lazarote was the old capital ofTeguise. This is the third oldest settlement in Europe. The capital became Arrecife in 1852. San Antonio texas was settled by Canarians.

Tenerife Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and is actually shaped like a duck. Its main attraction is Mt. Teide standing at 12,198ft high, making it the highest point in Spain. The name Tenerife comes from the Gaunches language and means "white mountains". We took a bus tour starting from Santa Cruz de Tenerife to see Las Canadas National Park, home of Mt, Teide. We traveled along the Anaga mountain range, the actual spine of the island, and admired the laurelwood, a vegetable relic from prehistoric times which can be found only in Tenerife. We did not travel up the mountain, but once we reached the park, we stopped at the Roques de Garcia, which provide incredible views of not only the mountain, but also the surrounding area covered by baren volcanic rock and minerals created by millions of years of volcanic activity. It was about a 1.5 hour trip back to the ship. We had a quick lunch, got the kids, and enjoyed the rest of the sunny afternoon on board the ship.