THE Canaries is divided into two major tourist hubs – Tenerife and Las Palmas. Of the two, I know more about Tenerife because I have been there already so let me tell you about it first and how you can help in your own little way to save the Spanish economy. That may sound cliché but let me tell you this. We are always constantly facing a threat to recession until May when the United States community gets boosted with a stimulus tax discount package. So until then, we must constantly be on our guard to not let our own economy here in Spain sink in.
Of course, both the Spanish central bank and the central bank of the European Union are doing everything they can to mitigate the situation but you can certainly do something about it simply by bailing some of your cash. This year, why not spend your summer vacation in the Canaries? Here in mainland Spain, you have been constantly bombarded with freezing temperatures even during summer especially if you are located in such highland regions as Garabandal. The highest that you can get is only at 23 degrees Celsius. You even need to don another layer of clothing in your body even at this point in time. In the Canaries, that can certainly change.
The Canaries actually border the Horn of Africa. Its nearest country to the east is Morocco. It is actually located near the equator already so it definitely is warm in there. You don’t need to go to Phuket in Thailand which is pretty far away to bask and tan in the sun. Because the Canaries are still Spanish territory, it’s just not like living the country at all. Therefore, you can save on a lot of expenses like passport and stuff like that. Still, you can definitely contribute to the Spanish economy because in coming here in the Canaries, you are already bailing out your cash.
Here is a possible rundown of your expenses. If you are based in Salamanca, the first rational thing that you do is book your flight through such reputable online agencies as Travelocity or Expedia. They are both American-based so obviously part of your money goes to the United States economy. Don’t be too selfish and overpatriotic for saving the United States economy means positive economic vibe to your country as well.
Say for instance, you are from Salamanca. There are no direct flights to Tenerife’s Reina Sofia International Airport for sure so you need to book a flight to Madrid for travel. From Madrid, you have to take a flight to Reina Sofia International Airport. Then you have to settle down in a vacation home preferably the beach. Then you have to rent a car at the airport. Although all of the roads going to El Teide National Park are paved, nothing hurts an adventure using a dirt road so a sturdy SUV is recommended for renting.
IT’S time now to party as 2008 is welcomed all over the Canary archipelago. The Canary Islands are actually a group of islands splashed off the coast of the Horn of Africa. Two of the archipelago’s biggest islands are Tenerife and Las Palmas Gran Canaria. Although the latter is the capital of the archipelago, the former is more hip and brings forth lots of tourists from Britain and northern Europe. Tenerife can be accessed through Reina Sofia International Airport which services flights from the Spanish mainland and back as well as selected destinations in Europe. There are a number of regional airlines such as England-based Ryannair which land in Tenerife every day. Aside from the famed El Teide national park which is a dormant volcano, there are also lots of nudist beaches there. It is not a surprise though because the climate here is temperate all year round even in the middle of winter. But then again, aside from those beaches, other tourist spots in Tenerife include the following: Mirador La Corona, Mirador de Baracan, Punta de Teno, Benijo, La Laguna-Santuario del Santisimo Cristo, Mirador El Guincho, Masca, Playa Las Vistas, San Miguel de Tajao, Plaza Ayuntamiento, Mirador de Chipeque and Garachico as well as its swimming pool El Caleton.
This early, a string of activities is already lined up in Tenerife. Late this month will be the annual Tenerife Carnival. In this carnival, the carnival queen will be paraded and there will be an all-men marathon. The most spectacular piece of architecture in Tenerife though is the Tenerife Opera House. It looks similar to the Sydney Opera House. Zarzuelas are held here periodically but are more common during the weekends and these zarzuelas are usually flocked by foreign tourists who are curious how a zarzuela looks like.
Other foreigners who troop here usually love diving. In Tenerife, there are lots of diving spots. A typical dive resort has its own qualified diving instructors who will assist diving amateurs who are curious enough to try the pastime. A typical diving excursion costs £485. Aside from the usual diving, there are also special diving classes available where you will learn how to have open water dives, fine-tune buoyancy underwater as well as weight positioning for visualization.
Another pastime in Tenerife is going to the gym for the men and going to the spas for the women. Being gender sensitive is practiced in the island of course but the residents there remain to be choosy in whatever pastimes they like. For example, the men go to the gym so that they can have abs as well as biceps and broad chests. They usually practice boxing, krav maga, pentjak silat, fencing, parkour and other martial and escapist arts. Meanwhile, the women go to the spas to tend their skin and make them even more glowingly beautiful. The spa industry here is one of the more prolific industries the island has. After all, this is tourism-induced Tenerife.
THE Canary Archipelago is composed of several islands but the most popular of them all are Tenerife and Las Palmas. In turn, there are two kinds of attractions in Tenerife – El Teide National Park which is actually a dormant volcano and the beaches along the coastline. There are two kinds of beaches there as well – the typical beach resorts and the nudist beach resorts. Both of these are regulated by the Spanish government since all of them receive the blue flag accreditation by the European Union. It simply means that these beaches excel in terms of quality service. On the other hand, one cannot go to the nudist beach resorts if one is not naked as well. These beach resorts are understandably unoccupied during winter because it’s too cold in there. So during winter, people in Tenerife just stay in their homes and wait for Christmas celebrations.
Meanwhile, El Teide National Park is reachable only through cable car. By the Canaries are located off the coast of Africa. But planes coming in from Europe, Middle East and South Africa do not necessarily go to Africa. They fly straight here and all visitors carry with them Spanish visas because the Canary island paradises belong to Spain. There are three international airports in the Canary Islands. Two of them are in Tenerife, the Reina Sofia International Airport, named after the reigning queen of Spain and the North Tenerife Airport. The other is located in Las Palmas. Being a tourist destination, the Canaries still attract foreign visitors even though it’s the middle of winter. Aside from the regional airlines, there are also flights from smaller airlines such as Ryanair. Aside from the planes that fly here every day, there are also various cruise ships calling port here all year round. If you want to know the schedules of their port calls all across the archipelago, then just call your favorite travel agency.
But even though the Canaries is located in Europe, it is not as humid there as you think. The Canaries has a temperate climate all-year round but in winter, skinny dipping is still not a choice because it is still cold at -3 degrees Celsius. There are no snowstorms or ice storms as well as tropical cyclones here and there is no impending danger of a tsunami because the Canary Islands to not sit in a ring of fire and there are no volcanoes in the vicinity except for Mt. Teide of course but this is a dormant volcano.
The trend in Tenerife and Las Palmas Gran Canaria nowadays is the surge of spas. Spas offer various treatments as body wrap, body scrub, shiatsu massage, Swedish massage, exotic massage, facial scrub, jacuzzi, seaweed body scrub and hydrotherapy, among others. The therapists in these spas are graduates of a course uniquely available for them – they are trained on how to handle Western tourists, they know both English and Dutch since those are the ones used by most tourists here and they are trained in physical therapy.
