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The craters of Teide evoke mountains of spices in the colors of Africa. - Jean-Claude Urbain

The Canaries are paradoxical islands, both sublime and disturbing. A stone's throw from the African coast, the Spanish archipelago is a work of volcanic art of diabolical beauty. The myths of Antiquity tell that these "Fortunate Islands" would have been shaped by very inspired Atlanteans. In their creative frenzy, these legendary colossi would have used all the colors at their disposal to design the most exuberant panoramas here. Indeed, very few places on the planet have such a concentration of exceptional sites.

In the shade of sharp peaks, the village of Taganana is the gateway to the rural park of Anaga, the wildest in Tenerife. - Jean-Claude Urbain

Less inclined towards poetic fables, the Spanish conquistadors took almost the entire 15th century to take possession of these seven islands fiercely defended by natives of Berber origins. With colonization, the mystery of the Canaries faded, and their splendours were better known. All different, some sculpted by the ocean and the trade winds, others by the hot breath of the Sahara, these islands nevertheless share an essential asset: an extraordinarily mild and regular subtropical climate. If there is a country of eternal spring, this is it.

Tenerife, the redhead

Famous for its resorts dedicated to mass hedonism, the largest Canary Island is also popular with active travelers who love the great outdoors. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its Teide National Park is the busiest in Europe! Impressed by the gigantism of this stratovolcano posed on the ocean, the first navigators saw there the mythical Atlas supporting the celestial vault. Culminating at 3,718 m, the flamboyant peak of Teide emerges from an immense caldera with chaotic contours, which can be visited between frozen lava flows and fairy chimneys.

The Teide peak accessible by cable car offers a bird's eye view of the volcano's caldera. - Jean-Claude Urbain

But Tenerife has many other natural and cultural wonders. Half of its territory is classified as protected areas. Far from the crowds of the south coast, the Anaga and Teno rural parks unfold an extravagant range of landscapes and each have numerous perfectly maintained hiking trails. Between these two primitive massifs, the northern part of the island is, for its part, punctuated by old prestigious cities where it is good to stroll, such as La Orotava, Garrachico, and especially La Laguna, whose architecture inspired that of Havana. , in Cuba.

Gomera, the green one

The Canaries are to the world flora what the Galapagos are to the fauna. They alone have more endemic species than all the countries of Europe combined! Designated a “biosphere reserve” by Unesco, La Gomera illustrates this incredible luxuriance. In the shadow of its large neighbor Tenerife, this small circular island remains uncrowded. People come here mainly to hike among trees bent under the weight of the moss.

The laurel forest of La Gomera is bathed in humidity. - Jean-Claude Urbain

On the central heights bristling with basalt peaks, the Garajonay National Park is a dome of greenery perpetually shrouded in thick mists. This humidity nourishes a primary forest of laurels: a laurel forest in which giant heather, hayas, junipers and ferns flourish. Once out of the fog and its spells, the many trails on the island offer the most athletic people the opportunity to hurtle down the barrancos , often laid out in terraces. These narrow, deep valleys plunge towards shores also steeped in history. La Gomera was indeed the last stop for Christopher Columbus before his discovery of the New World.

Fuerteventura, the blonde

The island of "Bonne Aventure" owes its name to the Norman gentleman Jean de Béthencourt, who undertook the conquest of the Canaries in the name of the King of Spain in 1402. His colonial stronghold, Betancuria, is today a lonely oasis. in a scrawny and hot environment. Fuerteventura is the oldest island in the archipelago. The most arid too. Eroded for millennia, it no longer has high enough relief to retain the clouds and their precious moisture.

Betancuria, colonial capital of Fuerteventura. - Jean-Claude Urbain

This "island skeleton", to use the expression of the philosopher Miguel de Unamuno, is sanded down by the hot winds which deposit the sand of the nearby Sahara on its shores. On the north coast, the Corralejo Natural Park is a real small desert whose waves of golden dunes undulate as far as the eye can see. In total, Fuerteventura has 150 km of beaches. Exposed to ocean waves or protected by natural rock walls, they are all more photogenic than the others! In the natural park of Jandia, that of Cofete is the longest of all: 15 km of immaculate sand, guarded only by a few solitary goats.

Lanzarote, the brunette

The most enigmatic of the Canaries is only a few fathoms from the exuberant beaches of Fuerteventura. But on Lanzarote, it is better to remain discreet. Because here, the volcanoes have just fallen asleep. There are nearly 300 on the island, including around thirty in Timanfaya National Park. Sleeping since 1824, these “mountains of fire” remain threatening.

Sheltered behind their - Jean-Claude Urbain

Near the El Diablo restaurant, designed by the famous local artist César Manrique, you just have to put your hand on the ground to feel the bowels of the earth gurgling. All around, the countryside is nothing but chaos: mounds of sharp slag, gaping faults, incandescent crevices… Rooted in this mineral apocalypse, the inhabitants of Lanzarote are models of resilience. Their white houses stand proudly in the midst of inextricable labyrinths of black lava. Their ingenuity even made the soil fertile in the La Geria Valley. Sheltered behind semi-circular stone walls, verdant vines emerge like a mirage from an ocean of ashes. Ultimate aesthetic wonder that the Atlanteans had not even thought of!

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Go

Several low-cost companies serve the various international airports in the Canaries for less than 100 euros AR. We then move from island to island by ferry or small propeller plane. Renting a car is recommended for venturing off the beaten track. Be careful, however, on the mountain roads with dizzying laces!

Housing

Housed in a former palace in the historic capital of Tenerife, the charming hotel Laguna Nivaria is ideally located for exploring the island. On La Gomera, the comfortable Gran Rey hotel stretches out its long facade facing the sunsets. Also on the beach, the Royal Palm de Fuerteventura is an upscale resort, reserved for adults. Families will opt for an apartment complex with a swimming pool, like the one at Villa Canaima on Lanzarote.

To have

Between the basaltic cliffs of the Canary Islands, the depths of the ocean are frequented by squids which pilot whales, also known as pilot whales, love. This “resident” population of several dozen families is readily approached by sailboats from Tenerife and catamarans from La Gomera. On the occasion of an excursion on this type of small craft, it is not uncommon to also see sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, sperm whales and Bryde's whales.

Information

The Canary Islands tourist office offers a good introduction to the destination.

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