El Hierro
The AI view of the Canary Islands
It took me five minutes to write the destination descriptions below. That’s because I didn’t write them, ChatGPT did. This is the AI view of the Canary Islands. […]
La Palma
El Hierro
By the Time Dawn Breaks, the magic of the Canary Islands
By the Time Dawn Breaks is a story within a story. A young man seeking an off-the-beaten track spot on Tenerife in which to lick his emotional wounds stumbles across a mysterious journal. Within its pages, he discovers a fantastical account revealing an extraordinary side to the Canary Islands. […]
Hiking
Walking on La Palma after the volcanic eruption of 2021
La Palma’s world changes at Las Manchas. As well as the new ‘mountain’, the Volcán de Tajogaite (a name voted for by the islanders), there are smaller hills of ash, glistening in the sunshine as JCBs attempt to shovel them into some sense of order. […]
El Hierro
How many Canary Islands are there?
The Canaries are made up of large islands, small islands (islets), and lumps of land protruding from the sea that ambiguously lie somewhere between being tiny islets and big rocks. […]
El Hierro
The other Canary Islands, the green ones
Social media can often be a forum full of people spouting things they think they know and doing so with unshakeable, definitive confidence. An example of this caught my eye the other morning in relation to a comment on a sponsored post about the Canary Islands. […]
Europe
Discovering La Palma, again
Bejeques (house leeks) the size of small bushes burst from cracks in dry-stone walls. Sweet peas, snapdragons, and California poppies devoured whole sections of embankments outside traditional cottages. On grassy tracks between hamlets, wild flowers – proud tajinastes and aromatic wild lavender – took over the reins. […]
La Palma
Scenes from the water’s edge
As the wintery sun yawns and slips towards the duvet of the horizon there’s a mini pilgrimage in Alcochete on the southern banks of the Tagus. The place of worship is Alcach, a bar with jazzy sounds and chairs facing west. […]
El Hierro
Worlds of difference, comparing Canary Islands
Going into detail about the differences between the Canary Islands would fill a book, so I’m only going to provide a brief snapshot as an illustration why it’s essential to universe-hop when carrying out travel research. […]
Hiking
10 reasons we enjoy walking on La Palma
There are numerous factors why we particularly relish the opportunity to hike on La Isla Bonita. But to keep this shorter than it could be, here are ’10 reasons we enjoy walking on La Palma’. […]
Europe
Tsunamis and erupting volcanoes in the Canary Islands
There was bemusement in Spanish language press where the UK gutter press is often seen as something of a joke, not a particularly funny one. The Tenerife Tourism Board sent out a press release to counter what they referred to as “a number of misleading reports in the UK media”. […]
El Hierro
The colonial charm of the Canary Islands
Quite a few years ago, when we were wearing particularly thick rose-tinted glasses, we had a discussion with a Canarian friend about the beauty of the Canary Islands. Although she loved the islands she took […]
La Palma
Seven Wonders of La Palma
In the space of twelve months we visited the Canary Island of La Palma four times. We explored towns and trails and went off the beaten track on an island where everywhere is basically off the beaten track in order to help design two slow travel holidays… […]
Europe
La Palma after the forest fires
The news was devastating. La Palma was on fire. Images on social media showed a wall of flames lighting up the night sky. It looked like the whole island was burning. […]
El Hierro
Which is the Best Canary Island for…
All the Canary Islands are different in many ways. The differences may be big, such as diverse epic scenery, and they may be small, items on local menus or aspects of traditional architecture… […]
Europe
Changing Tastes, the Restaurant Scene on La Palma
It feels as though the gastronomic scene on La Palma has positively blossomed. We’ve visited La Isla Bonita three times this year… […]