A few weeks ago I traveled to Tenerife and Gran Canaria with Corendon. A flash visit, but one that surprised me more than I dared to imagine. The Canary Islands are beautiful, especially when you give the undiscovered corners attention, go North when South is regarded and dive into nature. When I exit the plane I sweep my scarf away and put sunglasses on my nose. It’s november, but the sun is shining powerful in my face. A suitcase filled with both short skirts and wool sweaters follows, I had no idea what to expect. But rumors are true, is what they call a winter sun destination. A perpetual spring.

In my head these islands were situated near Mallorca(?). Or close to Salou. Something like that. How wrong could I be. I can give up my reputation being a world traveler now – turns out they’re next to Africa. And hell yeah you can feel it. On all of the islands, a mixture of Spanish temperament and exotic, African spheres roams. In two days Gran Canaria I walk through Las Palmas with open mouth, I drink sangria like an alcoholic, I become a board chick during sunset, I hike within a volcano, grab tapas with two hands at the same time and let sand blow along my cheeks while running through infinite sand dunes.

Tenerife surprises me even more. This island grabs me as soon as I stumble off board. The town of La Laguna is more than beautiful. It is real. Strolling around the market I feel like being in Africa, sitting on the terrace I am in Spain, in the church I go three hundred years back in time. During sunset I find myself 3500 metres up the Teide volcano. It’s dark, I hardly distinguish the whimsical shapes of the rocks. Delighted I admire the starry sky from the highest point of Spain. I enjoy the thousands of stars that appear one at a time and let my imagination run wild. Even more I enjoy the road trip to the north. Driving along countless banana plants, picturesque villages and black beaches. We even find a way up to the volcanic peak where witches still use magic and time seems to have stood still. The North, I love it.

After four days spend on these two islands, I would like to do more, reach higher and look longer. I’ll be back. A small retrospective in pictures. Next week my Must do’s in Gran Canaria & Tenerife will be online, with more pretty pictures. Even more fun: there will be a travel movie as well!