Final thoughts: Canary Islands and Barcelona

As one of the Canary Islands ( El Hierro) shakes and a volcanic alert is in effect, we are reminded of our unforgettable adventure on this volcanic archipelago The turbulent archipelago is as beautiful as it is unique with the perfect weather of eternal spring. The islands bear the name Insula Canaria, meaning “Island of the Dogs” and not, as I erroneously believed, from the bird Canary. In fact, the bird is named after these islands, where they are native.

We had an opportunity to explore only three out of its thirteen islands. Every island delivers breathtaking views and its own unique character. Tenerife is the largest and most developed. It provides the mix of luxury, topographical variety, dark-sand beaches and great infrastructure, yet it’s still full of small hidden gems. Fuerteventura however, is all about beach life, adventure and R&R. Lanzarote is breathtakingly cute with its uniformly coloured houses (green and white) against the dark volcanic backdrop and charming little towns and villages.

We also had a 2-day stopover in Barcelona, the Catalan capital. It has been a while since our last visit, but we loved the city even more this time around with its welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, Gaudi’s architectural influences and amazing tapas. So far, it’s our favourite small city, with a big attitude.

1. What we enjoyed the most or the least:

Tenerife

The sky was often covered with dark clouds suggesting an approaching storm, but the rain never came. The island of Eternal Spring is truly a sub tropical paradise with temperate weather. Volcanic beaches followed by pine trees, fed by clouds a few hundred meters up the mountain and mars-like dry and orange panorama around el Teide, are all examples of its geological richness. We liked the variety of activities you can enjoy on the island from adventuresome drives on “forgotten” roads, discovery of its ancestral (Guanches) and colonial past, unbelievable views from tiny villages or its rich infrastructure.

Here are some highlights:

Parque Nacional Las Canadas del Teide is centred around 3718m Mount Teide, the highest mountain in Spain and the islands of the Atlantic (it is the third largest volcano in the world from its base) and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007.

E Teide Volcano

Masca is a small mountain village in Buenavista del Norte on a small mountain road (accessible only since the 70’s). The village is home to circa 150 inhabitants. The views are spectacular and reminded us of Machu Picchu in Peru.

Garachico is a little unspoiled gem in the northern part of the island with a very Spanish character and natural volcanic rock pools made into swimming pools.

Fuerteventura (strong winds and strong adventures)

This island is every surfer’s paradise with its waves, open waters and perfect winds. The island is home to over 150 white sand beaches compliments of the Sahara desert, just 100 km east of the island. During sand storms that originate in the African desert you can expect visibility to drop to just a few meters and temperature to rise by 10 degrees Celsius.

I particularly loved one hour of glory as a body-board surfer on the largest waves I have ever met. I also loved spending time with Niko and Natasza on the widest beaches we have ever seen with naturally formed lakes or lagoons. The Island is more laid back than its siblings to the west with its surfer community and sun worshippers. That makes it the perfect place to catch some much-needed R&R.

Here are some highlights:

Jandia and Sotavento – you can expect only the largest and most beautiful beaches of the island. At high tide, enormous “lakes” form on these grand beaches providing warm and shallow pools perfect for kids.  It is also home to windsurfers and kite boarders practising their sport here. Sotavento Beach in FuerteventuraAs it’s so large (20km), you can run naked without being seen by another human … and yes, I did run around nude with Niko. What a feeling of freedom! Highly recommended:)

El Cotillo – is a small fishermen village at the northern end of Fuerteventura, surrounded by amazing beaches and naturally formed lagoons. El Cotillo surfer's beachYou will also find some charming restaurants here. We kept returning to this part of the island because of the variety it delivered.

Betancuria (and the drive via PAJARA, a real green oasis at the foot of the mountains) – bears the name of its founder Jean de Béthencourt and was founded in 1404.

 

 

Lanzarote

We took a day trip from Corralejo with a ferry to explore this little gem. Lanzarote is a UNESCO protected biosphere that almost lost its status. The status is well-earned however with such geological world wonders as …

Timanfaya National Park is entirely made up of volcanic rock and sand-like soil giving the viewer unreal visuals. This national park makes up the core area of the biosphere reserve on the island.

Timanfaya National Park - Vulcanic Scenery

El Golfo and Los Hervideros– Imagine the Volcano vs. the Atlantic. The orange, dark brown, black, green colours of the coast mix perfectly with the coastline carved by the waves … truly amazing!

La Geria region is drawn up with mini craters of volcanic stone called Zocos, built to protect each vine from harsh winds of the island. The dark volcanic soil mixed with the green vineyards and the Zacos deliver a wicked panorama.

Papagayo Beach is a protected national park accessible only by a dirt road. It is made up of tiny beaches seperated by high cliffs. I’m glad such a gem still exists, considering the pressures to develop this natural land into hotel-land. I hope it stays this way.

What we didn’t enjoy?:

Tenerife

As Tenerife is highly developed and modern and you can expect many tourists here. You can expect many  signs in English, German and Russian as well as the multitude of British pubs which make up much of the landscape in touristy areas including Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos. Considering the many Europeans who moved here permanently, I’m not surprised they wanted to bring a piece of home here.

Fuerteventura

The weakened economy is felt in some parts of Fuerteventura with many unoccupied buildings. The unemployment rate there is one of the highest in the EU standing at 20%+. It’s too bad but not too surprising considering the island’s reliance on tourism as the main contributor to its economy.

2. Activities our toddler Niko enjoyed the most:

Running around the Sand Dunes of Corralejo. Every beach was a treat for Niko, he especially loved the lagoons by El Costillo with warmer waters full of fish for him to feed.

Laro Park is a zoo located on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife. It is a must see place when you visit with your children. Loro Park Orcas - at the zooSome say the park has Europe’s largest dolphin show pool, the world’s largest indoor penguin show, the longest shark tunnel, the largest Thai village outside Thailand, and second largest place in Europe to house orcas:)

Sand Dunes. As you arrive by car from the airport towards Corralejo you will experience an amazing landscape change. All of a sudden you will migrate from volcanic rock into the Sahara. I’m not kidding, as the enormous sand dunes you see ,are in fact blown in from Africa. This is an amazing sight and loads of fun.

3. Our average expenses: The Canary Islands are affordable (in Europe)

 

  • Accommodations: This was an amazing treat from our friends Justyna and Arkadiusz … once again thank you!
  • Restaurants: 30 – 50 euro/visit for 3 of us
  • Food, transportation (car rental) and entertainment: 40 euro/day ($60)

4. Our first impressions of the locals, their culture and customs:

People were friendly and helpful. The relaxed atmosphere and the mañana approach is felt at times … and the siesta is still a daily routine (expect closed doors between 2 and 5 PM sometimes longer).

As much as we loved the local cuisine featuring its fresh seafood and the Canary potatoes with mojo sauces, we still preferred the seafood more on the Greek Isles. Our search for the greatest seafood dish goes on:).

We can’t wait to discover other islands in the future as we will return for sure. We truly recommend these islands to anyone, even with the looming dangers of volcanic eruptions in the Canaries!

Volcanos vs beaches? Do you still think it’s worth a visit? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Here are some of our photos from this trip:

Trip Pulse: Holidays in Turkey: Perfect weather and loads of eggplant.

How can we sum up our stay in Turgutreis, the Aegean Riviera?


Perfect beach weather, hot sun, cool sea breeze, amazing dishes that contain just the right mix of Turkish spices and the best eggplant we have ever tasted. The red and white moon flag is well deserved, after seeing the most beautiful moon sets.


The moon in the Turkish flag

We spent only a week in this modern Eurasian country but we had a long-enough glimpse at the place and its people to make us want to come back and explore much more of this unique country.

Turkey is a muslim country with over 77 million inhabitants and 97% of its land in Asia. During the last years of Ottoman Empire, Atatürk’s reforms started the much controversial secularization of the country. The reminders of its religious importance within the Islam world include the most beautiful mosques and adhān (calls to prayer throughout the day).

We loved their strong Turkish coffee (called ‘coffee’ by locals) and the potent teas (çay) served in delicately shaped glasses. Tea is at times even considered a substitute for alcohol by locals and that’s probably why Turkey is now the biggest consumer of tea per capita in the world!

Turkish cay is the key


Turkey’s well deserved claim to fame includes … its baths, booze (Raki), tea (çay), coffee, the expected respect of bargaining, great hospitality, amazing fabrics, kebab joints at every corner and to top it off with sweet Baklava. Not all in this order of course:)


We took short day trips to explore the local life in Bodrum and Turgutreis, popular holiday destinations yet full of local character, beaches, waterfront restaurants, bars and markets of counterfeit items. We had a glimpse of local life at a little gem joint where locals played Bastra.

Bastra players in Turketreis

 

I was also hunting for the best kebab only to be surprised by the simplicity and lack of sauces that I learned to love back on Queen Street in Toronto. Both towns offered a hint of its grand and vivid history and made us want to go back and see Istanbul and the rest of this beautiful country … one day:) Niko really enjoyed exploring the castle, looking for dragons but instead found some stuffed lions!

… the best part? You can expect the locals to be very friendly, helpful and family oriented, just some of the reasons we decided we want to come back to explore further.

Kebabs, tea and really awesome people. What else can you ask for. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Here are some of our photos from Turkey:

Trip Pulse: We loved Tricity by the Baltic Sea

The travel gods are back with us.

It was a sign! We met one of Poland’s most intriguing travel personalities on the streets of Gdańsk: Wojciech Cejrowski who traveled much of the world barefoot … . We bought his book with his autograph and inscription … Now it’s our turn … But not necessarily barefoot:-)

Martin is happy after meeting Wojtek Cejrowski, the travel guru

We also met the members of a great busking band from Katowice, Cocotier who play a fusion of flamenco, jazz and folk. They performed this weekend during the Dominican Fair (Jarmarki Dominikanskie) an annual street festival in Gdańsk that’s been taking place there since 1260!

We loved the city of Gdańsk or Danzig, depending which part of its thousand-year history you decide to look at. Completely rebuilt after its Soviet ‘liberation’ after the war, the city today explodes with vitality, nightlife, restaurants and the most amazing scenery.

Here are some interesting facts about Tricity:

  • Gdańsk was an independent state before WWII
  • Hitler used the independent status and the internal conflicts of Gdańsk’s citizens as one excuse to invade Poland. He attacked the Polish troops 1 September 1939 off the Gdańsk coast, beginning WWII
  • Gdańsk is the birthplace of Solidarność and their leader Lech Wałesa at the Gdańsk Shipyards. The Solidarność movement had a big impact on the fall of communism in Central Europe.
  • Sopot is not only one of the most beautiful Baltic resort towns that hosted such personalities as John II Casimir and Emperor Wilhelm II, but is also home to the strangest building in the world called the Crooked House (Krzywy Domek)
  • We walked to Gdynia by the beach from Sopot and we really enjoyed the rustic untouristy beaches surrounded by a protected park…Gdynia is the most modern out of the three cities as it evolved from a small fishing village into one of the most influential sea ports on the Baltyk
  • P.S. My parents (Martin’s) lived in Gdańsk in the 70’s and it’s possible I was conceived there:)

    P.P.S. Avoid travel on trains (PKP) during long weekends! It was an unwelcome adventure.

    Have you been to Gdansk or the Tricity area in Poland? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

    Here are our pictures from our visit to Gdansk: