The Canary Islands are a Spanish Archipelago of seven islands off the coast of Northwestern Africa. They are known for their stunning beaches, spectacular landscapes, and year-round sunshine.
We love visiting the Canaries and have been to four of them over the years - Lanzarote, Grand Canary, Tenerife, and La Palma. We wish this visit was for more than one day!
Lanzarote
We arrived in the port of Arrecife on the island of Lanzarote. The first part of the day we hosted a group of our Cruise Specialists guests for a unique tour called the “Island of Fire Mountains” - a reference to the volcanoes that have defined the landscape here.
Leaving the very attractive city behind and entering Timanfaya National Park, it was like stepping off the edge of the planet to find yourself on the moon. This island has been defined by the volcanic eruptions from 270 years ago that covered three quarters of the land with lava. From the visitor’s center in the park, we saw demonstrations of how just below the surface it is still hot enough to start a fire or produce steam or even cook chicken, which they do over a long well of heat from below the ground! Then we took a ride in our coach on the 11-mile Volcano Trail, seeing lava fields, dormant volcanoes, and the most gorgeous and stark scenery.
A brief stop at Camel’s Rest got us up close with what looked to be several hundred camels resting in the sun, waiting for the next group of tourists to hop in the double baskets they carried, for a bumpy ride out into the desert. We skipped the ride.
Next was a fascinating visit to La Geria, the wine-growing region of the island, to see their unique vineyards, composed of tiny little grape bushes planted in the cinder pits surrounded by half-moon-shaped rock walls to protect them from the wind. We had the opportunity to taste local wines and stop for some retail therapy at their extensive gift shop.
Everywhere we drove out in the countryside, through small, neat villages, we saw the characteristic white houses. There were green, blue or brown trim and shutters, but every house is white and generally one story. This was also true in town. It makes for a unique and beautiful landscape.
Our guide lived in one of the small villages we passed through, and he was happy to explain how life is peaceful, quiet, and provides all they need. He pointed out their supermarket, school, bakery, library, and other necessary services. The streets are clean, graffiti-free, and decorated with natural cactus and flowering plants. More than one of our 43 guests said it sounded very appealing - sign them up!
This was a part of the island we had never seen before, and it just reinforced our love for the Canary Islands.
Returning to the ship, we hopped on the shuttle that took guests from our port to the marina in a very upscale part of Arrecife. A large MSC ship was docked downtown, and her passengers were everywhere - streaming back to their ship from what looked like successful shopping outings. We had only about two hours left, so we chose to walk the promenade by the water to admire the sculptures on display and grab a few geocaches before returning to the ship.
We reluctantly said goodbye to the Canaries to head back to the mainland of Africa, for two stops in Morocco: Agadir and Casablanca.
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir is another upscale resort community. It was scheduled to be a short day from 7:00 am to 12:30 pm. We had a beautiful day for walking and chose to spend most of it along the Corniche, or what we would call the Promenade. It is wide, beautifully maintained, and leads directly to the attractive beaches that run for miles. Giant resort hotels line the waterfront with reserved beach space for their guests. We could see their extensive facilities like outdoor pools, cafés, bars, and lounge areas.
Armed law enforcement does regular patrols, but we couldn’t see any signs of crime. Evenings are probably quite lively, filling the many restaurants and bars that occupy the spaces between the hotels.
We did walk a bit into the city to see one of the mosques and watch the cable cars that dangle over the city on their way up to the Kasbah (more commonly called a fortress), but time was very short. We did not get to the souk, the bustling market selling absolutely everything, or even stop for coffee. We wouldn’t want to miss that last shuttle at noon! We did walk about 8 miles and found 13 geocaches along the way - a good day in a surprisingly beautiful city!
Casablanca, Morocco
It was a bumpy ride crossing the coast of Morocco to get to Casablanca. Some guests left us in Agadir to make an overnight excursion to Marrakech. Others will make it a very long day trip from Casablanca. It is a bucket list place for many and since Wendy made that trip last year, we know it is worth the effort.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco with a certain mystique, at least in part created by the movie of the same name. There is even a Rick’s Café in town, which was created for and patronized by tourists.
The most important destination here is the Hassan II Mosque, a towering structure that dominates the skyline and is a perfect example of Arab-Islamic architecture. We have visited it several times and can report it is gorgeous inside and out, definitely worthy of a visit. The chandeliers alone are breathtaking.
Looking for something different to do, we signed up for a ship excursion to a Moroccan market, followed by a cooking demonstration and lunch at a local restaurant. What a great tour it turned out to be!
Then we headed to Umayya Restaurant where mint tea and Moroccan cookies were served while we waited for the cooking demo. The local chef showed us how he makes Tagine Chicken, and we learned about some of the unique spices and other ingredients used in Moroccan cooking. The tagine is the distinctive clay pot with the conical cover that is routinely used here.
Then the incredible amount of food was served! Plates full of what they referred to as "salads" started arriving - grilled red peppers, carrots in a yummy sauce, an eggplant spread, an actual mixed salad, and a liver and olive dish (it was surprisingly delicious), along with several kinds of rolls. We unfortunately forgot there would be a main course following these - until we saw new cutlery arriving. Out came the individual tagine dishes filled with the chicken, olives, and preserved lemons we had seen in the demo. More mint tea and little pastries followed. We were all stuffed.
We thought that was the end of the tour, but we were early, so Naima took us to her preferred shopping spot, where we had a half hour of hassle-free browsing for all kinds of locally made goods - carved wood, leather, silver jewelry, rugs, pottery, spices and oils. Almost everyone went home with something. We even managed to get a geocache located in a coffee shop not far from the square where we stopped.
This was a different and fun way to spend the day. Naima told us a lot about how the king of Morocco has worked hard to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and how much better off and better treated women are here than in other Arab countries. That left us with a more positive feeling about Casablanca than we had on previous visits.
Tomorrow is a short visit to Gibraltar before our much-anticipated meetup with our sister ship - the Zuiderdam - in Barcelona.
Fondly,
Wendy and Steve
Continue Reading:
A Bon Voyage! | Costa Rica & Panama | Ecuador and Northern Peru | Wendy's Adventures in Peru | Steve's Adventure in Machu Picchu | Arica and San Antonio, Chile | Robinson Crusoe & Southern Chile | More Chile & Argentina | Antarctica | Falkland Islands | Montevideo & Punta del Este | Brazil | The Amazon | Salvation Islands | Arriving in Africa | Canary Islands & Morocco | Gibraltar and Barcelona | Spain & Portugal | France, Belgium and The Netherlands | Scotland and Norway | More Norway | Iceland | Greenland | Canada & New England | Voyage Summary
See upcoming Holland America World Cruises >>