Canary Islands and Maderia

Hubby and I have never been on holiday in January but we decided on a trip south to escape our usual wet cold weather. Our Canary Islands cruise took us to a different island every day bar one which was a day at sea. We flew into Tenerife South Airport and after a 40 minute coach transfer we arrived at our ship Marella Explorer.

Our winter sun cruise took us to La Gomera, Maderia, Lanzerote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. One of the channels on our cabin tv displayed our route showing our journey over the week.

The first morning saw us arrive in San Sabastian on the small island of La Gomera. It was a lovely sunny morning with a slight breeze. The distant island of Tenerife looked beautiful in the early light.

We decided not to do any excursions at each island as, although we knew we'd be in port cities we just wanted to wander and get a idea of each place. San Sabastian is a small port with a selection of bars, small shops, a beach and an interesting tower, Torre del Conde. This 15th century fortress has had a varied history including a visit from Christopher Columbus before his journey to America.

Leaving La Gomera early afternoon we had a long, and choppy, sea crossing to Funchal, the capital of Maderia. It was a chance to explore our ship, my Cruise Life post is all about the fun we had on board.

All our arrivals were early morning and a beautiful rainbow greeted us as we docked in Maderia. There is so much to see and do in Funchal, the best known is the cable car up to the botanical gardens and the basket toboggans back down, neither of which we did on this visit. 

The promenade stretches right round the bay and from the far side gave us a great view of Marella Explorer and the gigantic MSC cruise ship moored behind. I'm not sure I would like to be on board such a large vessel, we still got lost at the end of our week.

Funchal was lovely with such variety of buildings from bars, cafes, shops and restaurants to impressive Government buildings and a beautiful Cathedral. Famous for its wine we visited Blandy's for a tour of their cellars and followed by a wine tasting, I've detailed our visit in a separate post.

The flowers in Funchal were amazing, we were so surprised to see Birds of Paradise in bloom in January. I'm not sure what the swanlike plants were, they seemed to be seed heads. We also spotted a tiny lizard in the hot stone wall, very cute.

Our journey back from Maderia to Lanzerote was also long and choppy, a full day at sea which was a welcome relax. Unfortunately one of our fellow cruisers needed emergency medical help and so midway the Captain had to slow and turn the ship so the rescue helicopter could winch the patient off. You can see on the travel map where we deviated off course. 

Unplanned we were in the area where the helicopter hovered and where the full medical team brought the patient, what an amazing job by all involved from securing the ship from down draught, the medical team, the landing team and the amazing helicopter crew; winchman and skilled pilot who hovered above deck keeping in sync with our choppy ship - huge admiration for our air ambulances. The rescuers posted this on their Twitter feed. We hope the patient was ok, it must have been worrying for everyone.

Arriving in Lanzerote we took a bus transfer into the port city as our ship had to dock a little further out. The P&O Iona was also in dock, another huge vessel. Although a working port Arrecife also has a pleasure marina, it was lovely walking along the palm lined street with the yachts moored by. There were plenty of shops inviting tourists in to buy souvenirs but we wander by to the sea front along the coast a little where we enjoyed some liquid refreshment. 

We walked along the sea wall to Castillo de San Gabriel which was once a castle protecting the coast and is now a museum. We didn't go in as it's very small so limited numbers at a time, it was quite impressive standing out at sea.

A lovely stroll back along the palms and marina to our transfer coach and that was Lanzerote. As with all our shore visits we didn't really see the islands but we did get a flavour of each and they were different. I'm not sure this island is one we'll choose for a holiday but it's somewhere else added to our 'visited' list.

After another super night onboard enjoying good food, wine and entertainment we arrived in a very windy Fuerteventura. It was a Sunday and a Puerto del Rosario was a very small port although the capital city. It's main attraction for the cruise ships was the beautiful sandy beach. We took a stroll along the sea front to Fabrica de cal Callao de Los Pozos, an old lime kiln that looked like a castle. We were joined by a few friendly friends who I think would have come closer if we had food.

One reason for choosing this cruise was because we visited so many places and had just one day at sea. It was a super way to discover more, our final visit was Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. There was ample to do here on foot with plenty of public transport if you wanted to travel further. 

We wandered into the shopping area to a large department store a little similar to our John Lewis chain. We have ordered from their Spanish stores before (not now we've left the EU). It was lovely to browse in person.

We wandered through many streets, large and small, to the other side of Las Palmas to it's beautiful beach. This side had a very different feel than the port, certainly popular with tourists. It certainly feels like a holiday walking along a sea front promenade, stopping for a glass of local wine along the way.

All our on shore visits gave us a taste of new places, we loved Funchal and enjoyed Las Palmas. As Tenerife was our arrival and departure island we did not have the time to explore, maybe another holiday. 

This was our second sea cruise, we had a super time on board and on shore.