LANZAROTE & GRAN CANARIA - 1st Port of Call - SUNSHINE ROUTE

LIFE ON EARTH IS A PRECIOUS THING TO MARVEL AT AND PROTECT

Please use our A to Z INDEX to navigate this site

 

 

 

The Canary Islands have a climate of their own, due in the first place to their geographical position in the middle of the Atlantic, near the African coast; secondly, because of their place in the path of the trade winds, which are responsible for the peculiar character of their climate, and thirdly, because of the variety of their geographical features, ie, the more mountainous islands have more rain, such as Tenerife, La Palma and Gran Canaria, and the less rugged ones, such as Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, have less rain. Consequently, the mountains have a direct bearing on the amount of rain that falls and not the proximity of the African continent, as is commonly believed.

 

All the climatic indicators based on the sensation experienced by the human body when the values of temperature, humidity and wind speed are combined coincide in showing that the islands have the best possible conditions for eternal spring throughout the year.

 

Location: 29.0N, 13.6W
Elevation: 2,060 feet (670 m)

 

 

 

 

 

Isla de Lanzarote 

 

 

 

The aborigines called the island 'Tite-roy-gatra', or Red Mountain; the Romans called it 'Pupuria' because of the abundance of purple lichen (orchil), but the name Lanzarote comes from the Island's discovery by the Genoese, Lancelotto Malocello, who reclaimed it from the obscurity it had fallen into since classical times.  

 

About 100 km off the African coast, Lanzarote is in the temperate zone of the Tropic of Cancer, warmed by the Saharan temperatures meeting the Gulf Stream.  One of the many reasons for coming to the archipelago is to see why UNESCO, in 1993, declared this flat, volcanic Island of sparse vegetation and fields of lava as a World Biosphere Reserve.

 

Lanzarote, in common with the other Islands is a shield volcano made of prominent fissure vents, approximately 20 million years old.  There are four main calderas and numerous cones and fissures. Basalts erupted in 1730-1736 and 1824 cover about one fourth of the surface of the island. The vents for the 1730-1736 eruption are near Montanas del Fuego. The 1824 eruption lasted about three months and was focused at the Nuevo del Fuego vent. The north end of the Island of Fuerteventura can be seen near the bottom of the photo. The shape of the island differs on space photos compared to maps.  However, both views are correct. The map shows the island as it would be seen looking directly down on it, with no distortion. The space photo was taken through the window of the Space Shuttle when the island was off to the side. The oblique view made the island look shorter.

 

 

 

         

 

 Cactus Garden                           Lanzarote architecture

 

 

 

Gran Canaria

 

Location: 28.00N, 15.58W
Elevation: 6,398 feet (1,950 m)

 

Folklore and crafts

 

Popular songs and dances have a characteristic cadence, in which contributions from the Peninsula mingle with a native basis. An exotic, original feeling is conveyed by the expressive stances of the dancers, by the many coloured costumes, which are different on every island, by the rhythm of the melodies - some of which have airs of a certain languid slowness. The isa and the folias are the most popular songs and dances, apart from the malagueña of Andalusian origin, which has taken root in the Canaries. The typical musical instrument used for accompaniment is the timple, a kind of ukulele with a harmonious sound. Crafts mainly take the form of openwork and embroidery, which are done by Canary women with great skill and refined taste. It may be said that the first Canary greeting which the traveller receives upon his arrival in the islands are examples of this delicate work shown and on sale everywhere. Pottery also has a long tradition and is of the greatest interest, as is making baskets with palm leaves, reed and wicker. Delicate objects are also produced by carving wood.

 

 

 

 

Gran Canaria

 

 

Shopping

 

The Canary Islands are a shopping paradise because there is no customs barrier. Not even the tax-free shops at the airports can compete with prices in the Canaries.  Liqueurs, tobacco, cameras and film cameras, tape recorders, transistor radios, watches, everything is cheaper than in their countries of origin.

 

Communications

 

The Canary archipelago is connected with Europe, Africa, but especially with the Spanish peninsula, by numerous sea and air links.  The shortest distance between these islands and Africa is 115 Km. From Gran Canaria and Tenerife to the port of Cádiz, there are 680 and 705 miles, respectively, the equivalent of two days at sea. Direct flights by jet from Madrid take a little over two hours. Every island, with the exception of Gomera, has airports for national and international flights. For the moment, the airport on the island of El Hierro only receives national flights. There are numerous air and sea links between the different islands of the archipelago. Especially between Tenerife and Gran Canaria there are several air and sea links every day.

 

Cooking

 

Canary cooking includes many dishes prepared with fish caught in large amounts along the coast. Fish is served with the famous papas arrugadas, potatoes boiled in salt water, and a hot sauce called mojo. Traditional dishes are watercress stew, the popular sancocho canario, made with salted fish and mojo, rabbit in salmorejo, a sauce consisting of water, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, sweet black pudding, etc. Banana and tomato, the main source of wealth of the islands, also occupy an important place in Canary cooking as do avocado pear and papaya fruit as well as gofio, a roasted mixture of wheat, maize or barley, which is eaten with certain dishes of the country instead of bread. Among the sweets, especially outstanding are tirijalas, bienmesabes, frangollo, bizcochos lustrados, turrones de melaza or gofio and pastry. Typical of the island of El Hierro are quesadillas and of La Palma rapaduras and marquesotes. Among the drinks produced in the islands, there are especially rum, rum-cum-honey, malmsey wine and the reds from Tacoronte.  A splendid complement to a Canary meal is the excellent, native tobacco, world-famous because of the quality and variety of its tastes, among which the typical cigars, exported to countries of all kinds deserve special mention.

 

 

 

 

 

Palmeras 

 

 

 

The temperature variations between the different seasons are especially eye-catching: 6C (42.8F) between the warmest and the coldest month. The number of really good days varies from between 90 per cent in August and 50 per cent in January, and it is typical for them to be mild - between 18 and 24C (64.4 and 75.2F) -, with clean, fresh air, a rather high degree of humidity (80 per cent) and a partially clouded sky in places lying east of the mountains and close to them. The less agreeable days with a southern African wind only account for 7 per cent (26 days in the whole year). At the same time, its mountainous features produce temperature changes depending on the altitude so that even snow is found on some peaks.

 

The so-called Canary current contributes to the mild climate. It keeps the surface temperature of the sea below that corresponding to the latitude. The mean temperature of the sea water is 22 in the summer and 19 in the winter.  As a result of their pleasant spring with a mean temperature of 18C (64.4F) and their splendid summer with 22C (71.6F), the climate of these marvelous islands is unmatched and the feeling of well-being constant.

 

 

Sports

 

The islands are the ideal setting for the practice of all kinds of sports. There are many fans of underwater fishing, swimming and whatever other sports there are on the beach and at the swimming pools. The traveller has a thousand training possibilities at the tennis courts, trap-shooting, riding clubs and the magnificent golf courses with a perfect lawn on undulating terrain. There are also occasions to get to know local sports, such as cock fights, the game of sticks, a kind of fencing with two long poles, and the famous Canary catch as-catch-can of remote origin, which requires great skill and strength and is a spectacle of major interest. Another tradition is el salto del regatón or de la garrocha, practiced above all in the island of La Palma.

 

 

 

 

 

Gran Canaria

 

 

 

Temperatures: Minimum, 18ºC in January. Maximum, 24.5ºC in July

Canary Underwater Activities Federation: C/ San Sebastián, 76. 2º Floor Santa Cruz de Tenerife Tel: 922 22 67 71 Fax: 922 22 04 85

Canary Underwater Activities Delegation: Apdo. de Correos 1339. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Tel-fax: 928 23 49 45

Canary Water-Skiing Federation: C/ Pérez Reyes. Pabellón de Deportes de Tacoronte 38350 Tacoronte. Santa Cruz de Tenerife Tel-fax: 922 57 28 13

Canary Sailing Federation: Muelle Deportivo, s/n. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Tel: 928 23 47 69 Fax: 928 24 24 68

Vela Latina Federation (local sport): Explanada Muelle Deportivo, s/n. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Tel: 928 23 06 16 Fax: 928 29 33 56

Canary Canoeing Federation: C/ Alemania, 62. Bajo. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Tel: 928 29 07 16 Fax: 928 24 0l 94

Tenerife Inter-Island Council Sailing School: Vía Auxiliar Paso Alto, s/n. Valleseco 38150 S/C de Tenerife Tel: 922 59 72 58

Canary Speed Boating Federation: C/ San Sebastián, 74. 1ºD. 38005 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Tel: 922 20 48 07

Sea Sports School in San Sebastián de La Gomera: Plaza de Las Américas, 4. 38800 San Sebastián de La Gomera Tel: 922 14 10 72  

 

Sources of Information:  

 

Carracedo, J.C., 1994, The Canary Islands: an example of structural control on the growth of large oceanic-island volcanoes. J. Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 60, p. 225-241.

 

Carracedo, J.C., 1996, Morphological and structural evolution of the western Canary Islands: hotspot-induced three-armed rifts or regional tectonic trends? J. Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 72.

 

Krafft, M., and de Larouziere, F.D., 1991, Guide des Volcans d'Europe et des Canaries, Delachaux et Niestle, Lausanne, 455 p.

 

Neumann van Padang, M., Richards, A.F., Machado, F., Bravo, T., Baker, E., Le Maitre, W., 1967, Part XXI, Atlantic Ocean: Catalogue of the active volcanoes of the world, International Association of Volcanology, Rome, Italy, 128 p.

 

Simkin, T., and Siebert, L., 1994, Volcanoes of the World: Geoscience Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p.

 

 

 

 

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

 

 

 

Adelaide

Aden - Yemen

Afghanistan

Africa

Alaska

Albania

Algeria

Amazon Rainforest

Amsterdam

Antarctic

Arctic North Pole

Argentina

Asia

Athens

Atlantis - Plato's Lost City

Australia

Austria

Aztecs - Mexico

Baghdad

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Beachy Head, England

Belgium

Benin

Berlin

Bermuda

Black Rock Desert

Bohemia

Bolivia

Bonneville Utah History

Bonneville, Utah, USA

Brazil

Brighton - West Pier

British Columbia

Buckingham Palace

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burma

California

Canada

Canary Islands

Cape Horn

Cape Verde

Cape York - Au

Caribbean

Cayman Islands

Central Africa

Chichester Harbour

Chile

China

Columbo - Sri Lanka

Columbia

Corfu

Cowes, Isle of Wight

Croatia

Crooked Island, Bahamas

Cuba

Cyprus

Czechoslovakia

Darwin - Australia

Daytona Beach

Denmark

Eastbounre Pier, England

Earthquakes

Ecuador

Egypt

Eindhoven

Estonia

Equator

Europe

Falkland Islands

Falmouth, Cornwall

Fiji

Finland

France

Galapagos Islands

Geography Links

Geography Mountains

Geography Records

Geography Resources

Geography Statistics

 

 

Germany

Ghana

Gibraltar - Links

Greece

Greenland

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Hawaii

Holland the Nertherlands

Hollywood, California, LA

Hong Kong

Hungary

Hurricanes

Iceland

India

Indonesia Links

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Isle of Man

Isle of Wight - The Needles

Israel

Italy

Ivory Coast

Jakarta - Java

Japan

Johannesburg

Jordan

Kent, England

Kenya

Korea

Kuwait

Kyoto

Lanzarote, Gran Canaria

Las Vegas

Lebanon

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Life on Earth

Lithuania

London - Big Ben

London Eye

London Houses Parliament

London - Buckingham Palace

London - Old Bailey

London - Overview

London - The City

London - Tower Bridge

London - Trafalgar Square

Luxembourg

Madame Tussauds

Malaysia

Mali

Malta

Marshal Islands

Mauritania

Maya Empire - Central America

Melbourne, Australia

Middle East

Melbourne, Australia

Mexico

Monaco

Morocco

Mountains

Mumbai

Naples- Italy

National Geographic

Nepal

New York

New Zealand

Niger

Nigeria

North Africa

Norway

Nova Scotia

Oceans and Seas

Oman

Pakistan

Palermo - Sicily

Palestine

Palma - Malorca

 

 

Panama Canal - Links

Paris

Pendine Sands

Peru

Philippines

Pisa, Leaning Tower

Planet Earth

Poland

Port Moresby - PNG

Port Said - Egypt

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Qatar

Quebec

Rio de Janeiro

Romania

Rome

Russia

Salt Lake City

Samoa

Saudi Arabia

Scandanavia

Scotland

Senegal

Siera Leone

Singapore

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South Africa

South America

Southampton

Spain - Espana

Sri Lanka - Links

Stonehenge

Sudan

Suez Canal

Sundancer Holiday Resort

Sussex, England Index

Sweden

Switzerland

Sydney, Australia

Syria

Tahiti - Polynesia - Links

Tahitian - Men & Women Customs

Taiwan

Thailand

The Gambia

Togo

Tokyo, Japan

Tonga - Polynesia

Toronto

Trinidad - Lesser Antilles

Trinidad and Tobago

Tsunami

Tunbridge Wells, England

Tunisia

Turkey

Tuvalu Islands

UAE - United Arab Emirates

UK Statistics

Ukraine

United Kingdom

United Kingdom - Gov

USA

Uruguay

Vanuatu Islands

Vatican City

Venezuela

Venice

Vienna

Vietnam

Volcanoes

Volendam

Wales

Washington D.C.

WAYN Where Are You Now

Wealden iron industry

Wendover

West Africa

World Peace Supporters

Yemen

Yugoslavia

Zurich

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solar Cola drinkers care about planet earth

 

.. Thirst for Life

 

Planet Earth Solar Cola can 330 mil

 

(330ml Planet Earth can)

 

 

 

 

This website is Copyright © 1999 & 2024. The bird logo and name Solar Navigator are trademarks. All rights reserved.  All other trademarks are hereby acknowledged.       Max Energy Limited is an environmental educational charity.