Canary Islands: Land of Volcanos and Sand

So the kids had a week and a half break from school in October, so this summer we started talking about where we should go on vacation - something rich in culture and learning? Somewhere warm to get out of the oncoming Switzerland cold? Something with fantastic natural beauty? We wanted to pick a place that we normally wouldn't go from the US due to distance, taking advantage of our central Europe location. On the list, but didn't make the cut:

1. Ireland - after consultations with others, it was deemed to risky to be cold and wet the whole time
2. Kenya / African Safari - upon review (and again advice of others) it seems most tours with kids might not let them out of the jeep due to their "snack" size - which we thought might be frustrating for them and would be better off waiting until they are older
3. Egypt - now this seemed to fit the whole bill: a bit of history, a bit of sun and relaxation, some amazing natural and manmade beauty. However, due to our late planning, the plane tickets alone were going to cost something close to $8000 - ouch! So Egypt is still high on the list, but just postponed until we plan ahead next time.
4. Greece - we had just been there
5. Istanbul - heard it is better without the kids
6. Southern Italy - no guarantee it would be warm enough

So we began to be paralyzed by all the choices in the world - truly pathetic. I think in retrospect our attempt at making everything "perfect" was in turn narrowing us to such a small space that nothing could meet the requirements.

So we thought a little harder, and came up with the Canary Islands.

Now the Canary Islands is one of those places both Eric and I had heard about before, but if you had asked us to point to them on a map we would have been hard pressed. It is one of those places that we never thought we would ever go in our life. After a bit of research, and great prices due to a multitude of tour operators that send British people here for sun burns, we knew we had a great choice for a vacation.

Now a bit of geography and history for the often world-knowledge challenged Americans (no offense to any individual - but when eductated friends confused Switzerland and Sweden before we left the US, we knew we had trouble): Canary Islands are actually owned by Spain, and were a stopping off point for a lot of explorers on their way to the Americas (Columbus stopped here on his way). The name has nothing to do with birds, but actually is translated to be "Islands of the Dogs" - which was probably a reference to monk seals that no longer exist here due to overkilling from early settlers. They are 7 main islands, with the furthest east located about 100 km off of Africa, right at the Morrocco / Western Sahara border.

Eric, after much research, picked a resort in Fuerteventura, the most easterly island, for us to stay for the week. The mix of reviews and family friendly hotel advertisement made it seem suitable for us. All the islands are volcanic, but Fuerteventura, and its neighbor Lanzarote, are virtually void of all plant life - it looks like Mars. Eric and I have been loving the green of Switzerland, but we have to say that the remote, rugged landscape was really cool - gave us a whole new appreciation for the Southwest US and why people have such an attraction to the desert.

The resort has been quite comfortable, with nice rooms, pleasant pools, mini club for the kids, tennis and ping pong, swim lessons, and a nightly disco that proved to be the coolest thing ever for the kids. They got swimming certificates, Eric won the ping pong contest, and Sue just sat around the pool and did nothing - just like vacation should be.

We did journey out on occasion - we spent a whole day driving around Lanzarote - visiting a spectacular cactus garden as well as a cave with the best optical illusion Eric and I have ever seen (sworn to secrecy by the tour operator - you have to go there yourself to see it...). We even tucked in a very touristy camel ride - and for those of you who want to complain about animal cruetly hold your anger - these camels had muzzles and halters, where the camels we rode in India years ago were led around by piercings in their nose - ouch. So torture and cruelty are all relative...



We also got a chance to explore Fuerteventura (though getting the bum off the pool lounge chair wasn't easy). There is a whole set of big sand dunes just south of the town we were in that were just amazing. The story goes that the sand blows in from the Sahara due East, but there are differing opinions on the internet. Believe what you will, they were incredibly picturesque. The beach was equally beautiful, with enourmous sand dunes in the background of clean turquoise waters. Paradise found...

For next time: the great hotel buffet and all the naked people....