Far closer to Africa than to Spain

"K2T Wisata"

Far closer to Africa than to Spain, the sub-tropical Canary Islands are known for their budget sun and sand – although, as they are volcanic, the latter is often a rather uninviting shade of charcoal. Solutions have been found by importing golden sand from the Sahara 200 km away, and by building saltwater lidos. Nonetheless, the balmy year-round climate, cooled to a steadt 25-30º C by marine currents, has ensured that these seven islands have not only fabulously lush vegetation, including a sufeit of bananas, but also a constant flow visitors.

The majority are attracted by resorts such as Tenerife’s Playa de las Americas, yet their tarnished reputations – complete with satellite football and fish and chips – eclipse dramatic and incredibly varied scenery. This ranges from Tenerife’s cloud-forest and Teide volcano (Spain’s highest peak) to the canyons of Gran Canaria, the lush interiors of La Palma and La Gomera, the simmering craters and lava-fields of Lanzarote, or the windswept rock-formations of tiny El Hierro.

Two capitals serve the archipelago: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas on Gran Cnaria. Santa Cruz, a lively town with a 500year history and a gigant port, is famed for its exuberant February carnival which is massive fuelled by Gran Canaria’s excellent wines. A more sober policy has produced a spectacular new opera house courtesy of Santiago Calatrava. This ambitious architect has, once again, hit the headline with a sculptural desgign which resembles the Sydney Opera House. Herzog & de Meuron are meanwhile, hard at work on a new cultural center in the centre of the town. Similarly sleek, contemporary design approaches throughout the island have converted typical tinerfeno farm-estates into compelling specialist museums devoted to ethnography, ceramics, and wine. All this is a sign that islands, far from being culturally isolated, have caught peninsyular Spain’s self-renewal bug.