Canary Islands: Where Brits and Germans Reign Supreme

            This past week was our spring break, so Diane, Maggie, and I decided to head somewhere exotic; somewhere we had never been before. We all finally decided on going to the Canary Islands, specifically to the island Lanzarote. The Canary Islands are a province of Spain and are between the eastern coast of Spain and Africa. We were all very excited for some tropical atmospheres and exotic landscapes, however we were slightly disappointed when we arrived our first day. The Canary Islands are a huge vacation destination for the Brits and Germans, which we knew going in, but had picked the least touristy island out of the big ones. Lanzarote was still extremely touristy and full of Brits and Germans all speaking English! Not a single person spoke Spanish to us the whole week, which was slightly odd seeing that we were still in Spain. We stayed in Puerto del Carmen, which is one of the most touristy areas of the island, which was a disappointment as well. The weather wasn’t fabulous as it was windy and cloudy most every day, but we still managed to soak up as much sun as we could and still got a bit tan! We rented a car one day and headed to the Timanfaya National Park, which is the volcanic national park. The park was cool and we learned a bit about how the island was created by volcanic eruptions, but we weren’t allowed to get out and walk through the volcanic rock. We also found a nice secluded beach named Papagaya, which was a little bit of paradise so hung out there for an afternoon. Overall it was a good trip and we still had a lot of fun, but the Canary Islands are certainly one of those places that I am glad I went to, but don’t feel the need to return. So if anyone is planning a trip to the Canaries any time soon, just be prepared for lots and lots of English speakers and touristy strips!

Volcanic rock beach in Puerto del Carmen

Boats in Playa Blanca

Old castle used to ward off pirates

More volcanic rock in Playa Blanca

Palm trees!

Timanfaya National Park

Part of the volcano

Crater

One of the other islands off in the distance

Papagaya beach: now this is what I call paradise

Sunset in Old Town Puerto del Carmen

Sunset on our last night

Man struggling to fish haha