Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are a modern vacation destination with well-developed resorts and harbours and all the facilities and infrastructure that you would expect, particularly on the larger islands, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. You can see a more traditional rural way of life on the smaller islands of La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. Although part of Spain the Canary Islands lie off the African coast of Morocco, and their name has nothing to do with song birds but with wild dogs – Canaria – that European explorers encountered when they landed on their ocean-going explorations, Christopher Columbus among them. Spanish traders and missionaries used the islands as a stopping point on their way to the New World of the Americas and brought prosperity in their wake. This attracted waves of invaders over the centuries, including a fleet of British ships led by Nelson who lost an arm in the unsuccessful attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797. Read more on Canary Islands