Sailing to the Canary Islands and back

Continued from the first post on our days in Barcelona (¡Visca Barça! ¡Visca Catalunya!).

We departed from Barcelona on the Norwegian Spirit for a cruise that took us through the Strait of Gibraltar (in the dead of night in either direction, to our disappointment) to Madeira, Portugal; Tenerife and Lanzarote of The Canary Islands, Spain; and to Malaga, in the Spanish region of Andalusia. All of these places were so lovely and interesting it felt like a pity that we had but a few hours at each setting to take things in...

Click here for the entire set of photos from everywhere-but-Barcelona.

Funchal

We (surprise) headed straight for the Mercado dos Lavradores upon disembarking. After visiting the market (and much to my annoyance, playing an easy mark for an aggressive and wily fruit vendor), we hopped the funicular to take us up the mountainside. It was too foggy, unfortunately, to see much at the top, so we  moved on immediately to find and experience the famous Funchal basket rides. We trekked the rest of the way down the mountain on foot back to the port. 

The road into town from the Port of Funchal

We stopped on our trek down the Caminho do Monte for a selfie

One of the many richly adorned house gates along Caminho do Monte.

Those were some beautiful house gates. I hadn't given the idea an thought until I saw them there.

Tenerife

We took a guided walking tour around Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It was a beautiful, laid back, eminently walkable city, a combination of all those qualities that score highly with us. After a while, we broke off from the walking tour and returned to the market (well of course we did), the Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África, and then back down a street filled with tapas bars; we picked one and enjoyed a leisurely supper. It was really wonderfully relaxing.

Angles at La Iglesia de la Concepcion

Reflections across Plaza Espana

Tenerife against the sky on the way out the port.

Lanzarote
I think Lanzarote was easily the "sleeper" highlight of the trip. We were told that each of the Canary Islands had its own personality, and this was demonstrated most starkly by the contrast offered by the island of Lanzarote, which was simple or even Spartan compared to Tenerife.

We took a guided tour of this island, which proved to be an excellent choice. Our guide and bus took us to the gorgeous Timanfaya National Park to drive through the lava fields of this volcanic island. Everything about this island bore the fingerprints of its native son and patron saint, the artist Caesar Manrique, from the dedication to conservation of the islands natural beauty to the visionary landscape and aesthetic planning (all buildings on the island were painted white by his mandate; it made for a striking appearance that I wish I'd had the presence of mind to capture while there). Also, to entirely bury the lede, the tour included both visits to the winery and camel rides! It was singular experience.

Our tour guide, in the vest in the center, explaining how the heat for this restaurant's stove came colely from the volcano....

The vineyards at La Geria windery. The bricks are laid into this pattern because apparently it helps prevent wind erosion.

Low tide all around in Arrecife

Malaga

We battled the weather in Malaga. We made a beeline for the marketplace, which probably ranked as our second favorite of the trip after the Boqueria in Barcelona, . We hopped on a tour bus that climbed Monte de Gibralfaro, letting ourselves off to explore Castle Gibralfaro and to wistfully imagine the clear vistas of the Mediterranean that were otherwise obscured by the day's generally poor weather. Once we finally made it back down the mountain and found a place to eat and partake of the (extremely sweet, clearly intended as an aperitif) Malaga wine before boarding the ship, naturally, the sun came out. Oh well. I enjoyed Malaga greatly, actually; I'd go back again if given the opportunity.

Peaking out the "window" of the old closet to see the Mediterranean

The beautiful view of Malaga from Gibralfaro

Now my computer background. So serene.

I'd go back again, as I said before, to any of these places, including Barcelona. If we would be so lucky to be able to go back, I'd pick some of these spots and spend a lot of time there to absorb even more of it. What a delightful trip.