In 2008, I quit my corporate job, sold off everything I owned and moved overseas with my husband Drew. Since then we've traveled around the world, started our careers over as creative types and nurtured our love of sleeping in late. Oh and we had a baby. Cole, our almost 2 year old has been traveling since he was four months old and probably knows more Thai than me (not that he brags).
The Canary Islands, Where There Are No Small Yellow Birds Who Like to Sing
They should have named this the Goat Islands, but really the Canary Islands weren’t named after the bird either. A fact about the signs in Fuerteventura: they don’t make goat crossing signs, so the resourceful islanders use deer crossing ones instead. So I spent the first day driving past the sand dunes on one side and the beach on the other, wondering what kind of deer (!) I should expect to see bounding my way.
This was the view from my apartment. At the end of the day, I would just watch the windsurfers and kite surfers battle the waves for an hour, and occasionally pull off some amazing jumps.
This was taken at about 11 AM. The beach was practically deserted. I was told that when the surf is good, you’ll see 40-50 kite-surfers on the beach. Today all you can see is the neighboring island of Lanzarote.
The interior of the island is a mixture of mountains, desert and dunes, and often it feels more like a moonscape than an island paradise.
And your moment of zen: the cliffs at El Cotillo.
Gorgeous pictures! Love the warm shade of blues
Lolas last blog post..Storforsen
Stunning! What an idyllic paradise!!
Great pics. Fyi, the name Canary comes from the Latin Insula Canaria meaning Island of the Dogs, referring to a breed of large fierce dog common on Grand Canary Island, and on their coat of arms too. I had to learn this when I was fact-checking a story about the Canary Islands for National Geographic Traveler two years ago. What I’m curious about is: Did you hear anyone whistling while you were there? They have that whistling language, you know, to compensate for the difficulty in communicating across the wildly mountainous countryside. Here’s a photo from the story I worked on that shows why such a language would be helpful:
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/enlarge/hermigua-village-guariglia_pod_list.html
Marilyn Terrells last blog post..A Villa for One Euro?
I love the moment of Zen picture. No wonder you don’t want to leave! I don’t think I would either. What camera do you use to get these stunning pictures?
I loved the Canary islands!! I spent 2 months in Tenerife this year and had an amazing time hiking up to the peak of mount Teide. The locals are so nice, and their Spanish is linguistically half way between peninsular (Spain) Spanish and Latin American. Excellent place!!
The Goat Islands! LOL! My parents went there for a holiday once. They loved the place.
Marilyn: The whistling language you speak off is called “silbo” and it is only used in the island of Gomera where there are very steep canyons and mountains and they used the echo to drive the sound many miles. Fuerteventura is much flatter, which is why it never evolved there.
The canary birds do sing, but in their natural state they are lemon green, not yellow. The Canary finch is found mostly in the other islands, Gran Canaria being the main one. They are everywhere in the country side. Singing canaries are bred like dogs for their singing, so captive Canaries tend to sing much louder and elaborate songs.
The type of dog that the Canaries got their name from is named a Presa Canario, and it is one of 4 legal breeds worldwide that does not have a genetic register, which is why they are hard to prove.
I’ve lived here for 6 years and not seen a Canary yet! But plenty of people ask me if I live on “Grand Canary Island”, when of course it is really “gran canaria”. I try to keep a straight face and state the proper name clearly, it isn’t fun to laugh at people for a little mistake is it?
Victoria´s last blog post..It’s Carnival Time in Gran Canaria!
I love the Canaries. I’ve visited Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife and had a great time in each place. Lanzarote was my first intro to the islands and I loved its stark beauty. I’d love to get back there one day. Great photos!
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WOW those photos are amaaaaazing!
.-= Elysia´s last blog ..Our Trip To Banaue: More Than Terraces =-.
Beautifulll! You and Nomadic Matt are my inspiration. 30 days a year of vacation can’t fit my plans anymore.
El Cotillo is a smallest resort found in the North-West coast of the Fuerteventura having beautiful cliffs and beaches. This area in Canary Island is less developed to maintain the authentic looks of the resort. The place is very ideal for charming pictorials.