Canary Islands Cruise 2013 Madeira.

After leaving Lanzarote, we arrived in Funchal on the island of Madeira.

We hired a taxi to take us around part of the island, and our first stop was the Botanical Gardens. The following are all views from there.

Bird of Paradise flowers.

We had quite a conversation with this parrot. I think he was hoping for a tasty finger to be put through the wire. We didn't oblige!

Not sure if the tabby lived in the gardens or was visiting from nearby houses.

From there we headed towards Garajau high up on the cliffs.

I don't know what these flowers are but they were growing everywhere and very pretty.

Garajau has a replica of the Christ the Redeemer statue, but is much smaller than the ones in Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon.

View taken from beside the statue. This photo is zoomed in and it is a long way to walk down there. We didn't do it!

Santa Cruz: The white attractive church is from the sixteenth century and is well preserved. From Santa Cruz we headed to Machico.

Bananas ripening.

We were being watched!

The Fort of Our Lady of Amparo.

The airport can be seen on the top coastline.

We looked down on one of the golden sandy beaches befor going back down to sea level and enjoying a drink in one of the many cafes and bars down there. From there it was back to the ship and on to the next port of call which is Vigo in Spain.

Canary Islands Cruise 2013 - Lanzarote.

After leaving Tenerife, our next stop was Lanzarote.

We didn't do a lot when we got there, just strolled around. This is the Castillo de San Gabriel.

Castillo de San Gabriel, Arrecife, Lanzarote

The Castillo de San Gabriel was first built in 1574 in order to defend Arrecife Harbour.
However it was destroyed just a few years later by the Algerian Pirate Morato Arraez in 1586.

The castle was then rebuilt in 1599 and was used for military purposes right up until the 1950s.
It now houses an archaeological Museum.

The Puento de las Bolas is the drawbridge entrance to the Castillo de San Gabriel and dates from 1559. 

The following are various photos I took as we walked around.

Next stop, Funchal, Madeira.

Canary Islands 2013 - Tenerife continued.

Our tour took us on to Mt. Teide and the National Park.

Mount Teide is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Its 3,718-metre summit is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic.

Above the clouds!

Tenerife is also home to one of the world’s most advanced astronomical observatories - the Teide Observatory - from which the entire northern hemisphere and part of the southern hemisphere can be viewed.

Some rock formations in the National Park.

A quick stop at a town on the way back to the ship. Bought some lovely banana body butter there!

Note the black volcanic sand on the beach.

We left there for our next port of call, Arrecife on Lanzarote.

Canary Islands Cruise October 2013 - Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

It has been far too long since I last updated and I am nearly 2 years behind now.
After Lisbon we arrived at Las Palmas on Gran Canaria.

As we approached in the early hours, I thought this was a boat lit up but in fact it was a building beyond the pier.

We didn't do much there, just wandered around, had a drink or two and relaxed and just took some general photos.

They were having a fiesta that evening and were getting some of the displays ready.

Then we sailed on to Santa Cruz on Tenerife where we had booked a tour with a few other people.

Once there we headed for the town of La laguna.
This is a Dragon tree which is native to Tenerife. There is one growing on the island which is said to be 1000 years old.

Most of the houses opened on to their own courtyards.

Even though they are open, they are surprisingly cool from the sun.

They all had balconies with ornate carving.
From there we walked to the market but no photos. A market is a market wherever you go.

After that we moved on to Mount Teide which will come in the next part.